As announced by the NBA itself, during the opening week of the season they have registered an audience that in total has seen 81.5 million hours live between the national television networks ABC, ESPN and TNT. This figure represents 95 percent more than the opening week of 2019, and reassures to some extent the League that it had been suffering spectator drops during the 2019-20 campaign.
In terms of total hours, this season’s opening week was the most watched since 2011. But these numbers are no coincidence. 2011 was also the last time that a regular season It opened during Christmas week. Knowing the tradition of the NBA in the so-called “Holidays”, and the arrival it has on its fans, it is not at all surprising that the two seasons that coincided with its opening on this date are the opening weeks with the highest audience.
On the other hand, games played on Christmas Day increased viewership by 10 percent compared to last season’s Christmas games.
The opening week of this campaign was also a great success on social media. The NBA saw a 36 percent increase in video views; and a 279 percent increase in the minutes played, compared to the opening week of 2019.
The NBA said the week of December 22 of this year was the most watched week in the 15-year history of its YouTube account. While the League account was the most viewed on Instagram last week. Clearly, the impact of social networks and the good use that the NBA makes of them will cause these numbers to increase more and more, given the increase in users who register day after day.
(Cover photo by Harry How / Getty Images)
