The long-awaited debut of 2019 National Basketball Association (NBA) number one draft pick Zion Williamson proved a domestic ratings hit for ESPN, peaking at 2.8 million viewers.
The New Orleans Pelicans rookie had missed the first 44 games of the season due to a knee injury before finally making his first appearance for the franchise in a narrow defeat to the San Antonio Spurs on 22nd January.
The hype around Williamson did not disappoint, with the 19-year-old scoring 17 straight fourth-quarter points and delivering ESPN its joint highest rated non-Christmas game so far this season, tied with the Los Angeles Lakers’ 119-110 win over the Dallas Mavericks on 1st November.
Achieving 2.36 million total viewers, Williamson’s debut represented an 88 per cent increase in viewership on last year’s comparable game. ESPN also achieved a peak audience of approximately 2.8 million viewers.
Average viewership for the broadcasting giant’s games so far this campaign has been 1.48 million viewers, while Pelicans games were averaging 1.53 million viewers before Williamson’s debut. That has now climbed to 1.65 million.
The numbers will be a welcome boost for the NBA, which has seen ratings on ESPN and TNT slump 22 per cent and 19 per cent respectively. Those figures have led to commissioner Adam Silver admitting that the cable TV model is “broken to a certain extent” as more viewers turn to streaming.
Staying with the Pelicans, the franchise have announced a multi-year partnership with collectables giant Panini America that will feature real-time trading cards of the team’s biggest performances as well as in-arena activations and giveaways, with marketing focused around rookies.
The brand already has an exclusive trading card agreement with Williamson and will now also spend the remainder of the season focusing on the Pelicans’ Jaxson Hayes, Josh Gray, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Zylan Cheatham and Nicolò Melli.
Ahead of the Milwaukee Bucks taking on the Charlotte Hornets in the NBA’s inaugural regular season game in Paris, France, the Bucks have revealed that Fox Sports Wisconsin has reported a 28 per cent increase in the teams’ television ratings so far this season. It means Bucks TV ratings are now the second highest in the league for a local broadcaster.
The Eastern Conference leaders have enjoyed a 60 per cent viewership increase over the last two campaigns, their highest in nearly 20 years.
The broadcaster has netted its joint highest viewership for a non-Christmas game this season.
The long-awaited debut of 2019 National Basketball Association (NBA) number one draft pick Zion Williamson proved a domestic ratings hit for ESPN, peaking at 2.8 million viewers.
The New Orleans Pelicans rookie had missed the first 44 games of the season due to a knee injury before finally making his first appearance for the franchise in a narrow defeat to the San Antonio Spurs on 22nd January.
The hype around Williamson did not disappoint, with the 19-year-old scoring 17 straight fourth-quarter points and delivering ESPN its joint highest rated non-Christmas game so far this season, tied with the Los Angeles Lakers’ 119-110 win over the Dallas Mavericks on 1st November.
Achieving 2.36 million total viewers, Williamson’s debut represented an 88 per cent increase in viewership on last year’s comparable game. ESPN also achieved a peak audience of approximately 2.8 million viewers.
Average viewership for the broadcasting giant’s games so far this campaign has been 1.48 million viewers, while Pelicans games were averaging 1.53 million viewers before Williamson’s debut. That has now climbed to 1.65 million.
The numbers will be a welcome boost for the NBA, which has seen ratings on ESPN and TNT slump 22 per cent and 19 per cent respectively. Those figures have led to commissioner Adam Silver admitting that the cable TV model is “broken to a certain extent” as more viewers turn to streaming.
Staying with the Pelicans, the franchise have announced a multi-year partnership with collectables giant Panini America that will feature real-time trading cards of the team’s biggest performances as well as in-arena activations and giveaways, with marketing focused around rookies.
The brand already has an exclusive trading card agreement with Williamson and will now also spend the remainder of the season focusing on the Pelicans’ Jaxson Hayes, Josh Gray, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Zylan Cheatham and Nicolò Melli.
Ahead of the Milwaukee Bucks taking on the Charlotte Hornets in the NBA’s inaugural regular season game in Paris, France, the Bucks have revealed that Fox Sports Wisconsin has reported a 28 per cent increase in the teams’ television ratings so far this season. It means Bucks TV ratings are now the second highest in the league for a local broadcaster.
The Eastern Conference leaders have enjoyed a 60 per cent viewership increase over the last two campaigns, their highest in nearly 20 years.
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