On Tuesday, the NBC roared back into the NBA business. Glossy production, nostalgic framing, and co-signs from league luminaries helped to create a warm viewing experience for the first NBA game on the network since 2002.
That the first game of the doubleheader was a thriller didn't hurt either. The result, per NBC's PR team: 5.9 million viewers for the Thunder's 125–124 double-overtime win over the Rockets and 5.1 million for the Warriors' 119–109 win over the Lakers.
The last NBA tip-off doubleheader with a larger average audience came in Oct. 2010, helped by the Heat's 88–80 loss to the Celtics in the first game of the "Big Three" era. These figures come with the caveat that Nielsen has overhauled its data gathering processes this year.
The NBA's arrival on NBC followed a highly public battle for the league's media rights which saw the league undergo a bitter divorce with longtime partner TNT. NBC previously aired the league's games from 1991 to 2002—a period widely considered a golden age for professional basketball—and the network and NBA enjoy a strong association in the minds of older fans.
Whether that association can be replicated in the fractured 2020s remains to be seen, but it seems clear that the network has started off on the right foot.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as NBC's Coverage of NBA Openers Drew Biggest Audience Since LeBron James Joined Heat.
