The NBA likely has mixed feelings about its audience size for opening week of the 2020-21 season.

Viewership on ESPN, ABC and TNT from Dec. 22 to 25 was up 67% compared to last year. The nine-game slate averaged 3.4 million viewers across the networks, making it the league’s most-watched opening week since 2012.

Christmas Day fell during Opening Week and yielded big numbers:

• ESPN’s airing of the Heat-Pelicans game averaged 3.495 million viewers, up 5% from last year’s comparable game.
• The network’s second game between the Clippers and Nuggets averaged 2.056 million viewers, a 21% increase from last season.
• The Mavericks-Lakers primetime game averaged 7.01 million viewers on ABC and ESPN, the ninth-largest regular season audience since 2012.

Balanced Attack: Opening Week 2020 also saw a 67% increase from 2019 in average minutes watched on NBA League Pass. 

The league’s social media platforms had a 36% rise in video views and a 279% bump in minutes watched compared to last year. 

Put Into Context: Opening Week 2020 still pales in comparison to past iterations.

The Mavericks-Lakers contest was down 35% in ratings and 20% in viewership from last year’s Clippers-Lakers showdown, making it the lowest-rated primetime Christmas game since 2017.

The Nets’ 28-point victory over the Celtics drew 4.28 million viewers, and was the lowest-rated and least-watched NBA Christmas game in at least 20 years.

According to a recent Harris Poll, one in four Americans would be “more willing” to get a COVID-19 vaccination if LeBron James, Serena Williams, Tom Brady or Michael Jordan did so first. 

The stat legitimizes a train of thought experts have grappled with for weeks: whether or not certain celebrities should jump the line for a vaccine in order to encourage public adoption. 

Vaccines aren’t likely to be widely available to the general public for months. As planning for educational campaigns gets underway, experts hope that some influential individuals will get vaccinated on camera — but note that even a simple vaccine PSA could help. 

• NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has said the league will “very likely be part of some public service campaigns.” 
• Several city and state health departments told Yahoo Sports that sports figures will “definitely” or likely be involved in vaccination efforts. 
• Spokesmen for two prominent college coaches said the coaches would be willing to participate.

After already launching a $50 million “national vaccine education effort,” the Ad Council said that it is “exploring working with athletes.”

Peloton’s massive 2020 is ending on a high note. 

The connected fitness company released three exclusive remixes of Elvis Presley hits to be used across its classes, marking the first time that Peloton will use music created specifically for its platform. 

The remixes by DJ Dillon Francis, Outkast’s Big Boi and electro-funk duo Chromeo are part of an extended 60-day free trial offer for the Peloton app. Early in the pandemic, the company extended its free trial to 90 days — but had reverted to 30 days in recent months. 

In February, Peloton settled a lawsuit filed by members of the National Music Publishers’ Association that sought more than $300 million in damages over the alleged use of thousands of unlicensed songs. 

Financial terms of the settlement were not disclosed, but as part of the agreement, Peloton and the organization entered into a partnership to “work together to further optimize Peloton’s music-licensing systems and processes.”

Peloton’s exclusive remixes come after a year full of artist partnerships for themed workout series and a multi-year content deal with Beyoncé.

Peloton reported in its most recent earnings statement that its number of paid users had quadrupled to more than 500,000 members. The company’s stock price is up more than 417% year-to-date.