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Thursday, February 5, 2026
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    NBA Viewership Increases By 19%, Largest Audience Since 2018-19

    • Viewership across ABC, ESPN, and TNT increased by 19% from the 2020-21 season.
    • The 1.6 million average viewers is the league’s highest since 2018-19.
    By
    Apr 12, 2022 | 03:17 pm
    UPDATED Feb 11, 2023 | 01:35 am
    NBA
    Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

    The NBA has plenty to celebrate in its 75th season.

    According to the league, viewership across ABC, ESPN, and TNT increased by 19% from the 2020-21 season. The 1.6 million viewers are the league’s highest average since 2018-19.

    The league boasts other significant numbers in other media resources.

    • NBA League Pass subscribers increased by 30% from last season.
    • Social media platforms garnered 13 billion video plays — a 7% increase from 2020-21.
    • Rating should jump during the play-in tournament (Apr. 12-15).
    • Last year, the Lakers-Warriors play-in generated the most viewers (5.6M) for an ESPN telecast since the 2019 Western Conference Finals.

    Of course, several factors in the upswing are related to the pandemic.

    Arenas were back to 100% capacity, and the league had its first 82-game schedule since the 2018-19 season.

    With the play-in beginning on Tuesday night and the playoffs on Saturday, expect those numbers to skyrocket even more.

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