NBA lockout?
What NBA lockout?
Ratings are way up over last year, never mind the missed games
By Toni Fitzgerald
Jan 25, 2012
Fans don't seem to be holding any grudges against the NBA over last year's lockout.
Ratings for all three NBA cable carriers are up to start the season, despite predictions that unhappy fans might boycott the league after the lockout wiped out 16 games.
Through the first 13 games of the year, TNT is averaging 3.1 million total viewers, according to Nielsen data, up 67 percent over last year at the same time. That's impressive considering last year TNT had its best-ever NBA regular season.
NBA TV is also on pace for a record season.
It is averaging 383,000 total viewers, up 68 percent over last year. The network aired its most-watched regular-season game ever on Jan. 14, averaging 756,000 viewers for a Los Angeles Lakers-LA Clippers game and besting a record set just two weeks earlier.
And ESPN is also off to a strong start for this year. The network drew its best-ever ratings for a Christmas Day game with the Clippers and Golden State Warriors contest averaging a 2.3, up 77 percent over the previous year.
The ratings bumps have come despite the fact that many in the media have criticized the quality of basketball being played.
Players showed up to an abbreviated training camp in December out of shape after months of uncertainty over the league's fate, and that's been evident in the low-scoring, ugly games.
But viewers haven't seemed upset. That's a stark contrast to their reaction following the 1999 lockout, when ratings for the NBA fell sharply upon its return with just half the season left to play.
Critics had warned the same thing would happen this year, after the league enjoyed soaring popularity and growing ratings over the past three years.
Instead fans have been content to forgive both players and owners and tune back in, perhaps because they tried to appease those fans by squeezing in more games per week than usual in order to play 66 games this season.
Or perhaps fans of all sports leagues are simply getting used to lockouts as a fact of fandom. The NFL also experienced a lockout in the past year yet viewership for last weekend's AFC and NFC championship games were the highest in 30 years.
***
In cable ratings for the week ended Jan. 22:
Top five networks in primetime (18-49s): TBS, USA, TNT, History, FX.
Top five networks in primetime (total viewers): USA, Fox News Channel, Disney Channel, History, TNT.
Top five cable news networks in primetime (25-54): Fox News Channel, CNN, MSNBC, HLN, CNBC.
Top five cable news programs (total viewers): 1 Fox News Channel's "Republican Presidential Debate" (Monday, 9 p.m.); 2. CNN's "Southern GOP Presidential Debate" (Thursday, 8 p.m.); 3. Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor" (Friday, 8 p.m.); 4 Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor" (Tuesday, 8 p.m.); 5. Fox News Channel's "South Carolina Primary" (Saturday, 9 p.m.);
Top movie (18-49s): Lifetime's "Drew Peterson: Untouchable" (Saturday, 8 p.m.) 2.18 million
Top sporting event (total viewers): TNT's "NBA Basketball: L.A. Lakers/Miami" (Thursday, 8:16 p.m.) 4.40 million.
Shows making the top 10 among 18-34s, 18-49s and 25-54s: MTV's "Jersey Shore" (Thursday, 10 p.m.); History's "Pawn Stars" (Monday, 10:30 p.m.); TNT's "NBA Basketball: L.A. Lakers/Miami" (Thursday, 8:16 p.m.).
Show on the rise: TNT's "NBA Basketball: L.A. Lakers/Miami," Thursday, 8:16 p.m. The game averaged a 2.6 household rating, up 117 percent from the corresponding game a year earlier. It was also the top sporting event of the week on cable among total viewers with 4.40 million.
Show on the decline: VH1's "T.I. and Tiny," Monday, 9 p.m. The reality show was No. 10 for the week among 18-34s, averaging 1.33 million viewers in the demo, but that was off 15 percent from 1.56 million the previous week.
|
TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Ranked on Household Rating
Week Ending Jan. 22 |
|
Rank |
Primetime |
Total Day |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1 |
USA |
2141 |
NICK |
1487 |
|
2 |
FOXN |
1864 |
DSNY |
1252 |
|
3 |
DSNY |
1651 |
USA |
1137 |
|
4 |
HIST |
1444 |
FOXN |
1053 |
|
5 |
TNT |
1438 |
ADSM* |
1043 |
|
6 |
TBSC |
1347 |
NAN * |
962 |
|
7 |
AEN |
1251 |
TNT |
912 |
|
8 |
LIF |
1162 |
TOON |
859 |
|
9 |
FX |
1149 |
HIST |
762 |
|
10 |
ADSM |
1137 |
AEN |
735 |
|
11 |
FAM |
1049 |
ESPN |
718 |
|
12 |
NAN |
1013 |
TBSC |
716 |
|
13 |
ESPN |
1010 |
FX |
700 |
|
14 |
SYFY |
965 |
HGTV |
594 |
|
15 |
FOOD |
934 |
FOOD |
579 |
|
16 |
DISC |
891 |
LIF |
579 |
|
17 |
MTV |
890 |
ID |
545 |
|
18 |
CNN |
874 |
TVLD |
543 |
|
19 |
HGTV |
838 |
AMC |
541 |
|
20 |
TRU |
809 |
FAM |
528 |
|
21 |
AMC |
769 |
MTV |
504 |
|
22 |
TLC |
767 |
DISC |
462 |
|
23 |
BRAV |
759 |
TLC |
455 |
|
24 |
MSNB |
657 |
CNN |
436 |
|
25 |
TVLD |
632 |
SYFY |
434 |
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data |
|
TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE PROGRAMS
Ranked on Total Viewers
Week Ending Jan. 22 |
|
Rank
|
Program |
Net
|
(000) |
|
1 |
Jersey Shore Season 5 |
MTV |
6158 |
|
2 |
Pawn Stars |
HIST |
6141 |
|
3 |
Pawn Stars |
HIST |
5931 |
|
4 |
Drew Peterson: Untouchable |
LIF |
5774 |
|
5 |
Republican Presidential Debate |
FOXN |
5475 |
|
6 |
Southern G.O.P. Presidential Debate |
CNN |
5022 |
|
7 |
American Pickers |
HIST |
4933 |
|
8 |
Storage Wars |
AEN |
4885 |
|
9 |
iCarly |
NICK |
4842 |
|
10 |
Gold Rush |
DISC |
4813 |
|
11 |
Storage Wars |
AEN |
4500 |
|
12 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
4447 |
|
13 |
L.A. Lakers/Miami |
TNT |
4396 |
|
14 |
WWE Raw |
USA |
4320 |
|
15 |
iCarly |
NICK |
4265 |
|
16 |
WWE Raw |
USA |
4258 |
|
17 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
4128 |
|
18 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
3954 |
|
19 |
NCIS |
USA |
3813 |
|
20 |
NCIS |
USA |
3775 |
|
21 |
Fred: The Show Sneak Peek |
NAN |
3696 |
|
22 |
The Game |
BET |
3644 |
|
23 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
3622 |
|
24 |
Fred: The Show Sneak Peek |
NICK |
3603 |
|
25 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
3426 |
|
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data |
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-34
Week Ending Jan. 22 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
TBSC |
606 |
ADSM* |
540 |
|
2
|
MTV |
597 |
NICK |
374 |
|
3
|
TNT |
560 |
NAN * |
360 |
|
4
|
USA |
521 |
TBSC |
319 |
|
5
|
ADSM |
472 |
MTV |
306 |
|
6
|
FX |
419 |
ESPN |
294 |
|
7
|
AEN |
408 |
FX |
292 |
|
8
|
FAM |
398 |
USA |
268 |
|
9
|
HIST |
369 |
TNT |
253 |
|
10
|
ESPN |
364 |
TOON |
250 |
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data |
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS
Adults 18-34
Week Ending Jan. 22 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
Jersey Shore Season 5 |
MTV |
3637 |
|
2
|
Teen Mom II Season 2 |
MTV |
2028 |
|
3
|
The Game |
BET |
1628 |
|
4
|
L.A. Lakers/Miami |
TNT |
1574 |
|
5
|
Family Guy |
ADSM |
1537 |
|
6
|
Kourtney & Kim Take New York |
EN |
1537 |
|
7
|
Family Guy |
ADSM |
1491 |
|
8
|
Love and Hip Hop 2 |
VH1 |
1396 |
|
9
|
Pawn Stars |
HIST |
1340 |
|
10
|
T.I. and Tiny |
VH1 |
1333 |
|
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data |
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-49
Week Ending Jan. 22 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
TBSC |
1073 |
ADSM* |
722 |
|
2
|
USA |
1052 |
NICK |
571 |
|
3
|
TNT |
998 |
NAN * |
536 |
|
4
|
HIST |
877 |
TBSC |
536 |
|
5
|
FX |
840 |
USA |
536 |
|
6
|
AEN |
831 |
FX |
520 |
|
7
|
MTV |
742 |
TNT |
515 |
|
8
|
ADSM |
685 |
ESPN |
491 |
|
9
|
LIF |
666 |
AEN |
465 |
|
10
|
DISC |
658 |
HIST |
442 |
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data |
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS
Adults 18-49
Week Ending Jan. 22 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
Jersey Shore Season 5 |
MTV |
4480 |
|
2
|
Pawn Stars |
HIST |
3007 |
|
3
|
Pawn Stars |
HIST |
2856 |
|
4
|
Teen Mom II Season 2 |
MTV |
2561 |
|
5
|
Storage Wars |
AEN |
2553 |
|
6
|
L.A. Lakers/Miami |
TNT |
2516 |
|
7
|
The Game |
BET |
2499 |
|
8
|
Storage Wars |
AEN |
2423 |
|
9
|
Gold Rush |
DISC |
2420 |
|
10
|
Kourtney & Kim Take New York |
EN |
2189 |
|
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data |
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 25-54
Week Ending Jan. 22 |
|
|
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Rank
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
USA |
1090 |
USA |
559 |
|
2
|
HIST |
1008 |
TNT |
528 |
|
3
|
TBSC |
981 |
TBSC |
484 |
|
4
|
TNT |
922 |
HIST |
481 |
|
5
|
AEN |
871 |
AEN |
474 |
|
6
|
FX |
791 |
ADSM* |
453 |
|
7
|
LIF |
697 |
FX |
451 |
|
8
|
DISC |
691 |
ESPN |
442 |
|
9
|
TRU |
618 |
NICK |
423 |
|
10
|
FOOD |
606 |
NAN * |
403 |
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data |
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS
Adults 25-54
Week Ending Jan. 22 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
Pawn Stars |
HIST |
3347 |
|
2
|
Pawn Stars |
HIST |
3187 |
|
3
|
Storage Wars |
AEN |
2809 |
|
4
|
Jersey Shore Season 5 |
MTV |
2711 |
|
5
|
Storage Wars |
AEN |
2636 |
|
6
|
Gold Rush |
DISC |
2559 |
|
7
|
Drew Peterson: Untouchable |
LIF |
2495 |
|
8
|
American Pickers |
HIST |
2351 |
|
9
|
L.A. Lakers/Miami |
TNT |
2084 |
|
10
|
WWE Raw |
USA |
2054 |
|
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data |
|
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