LeBron James's record-breaking performance delivers massive ratings for TNT and even tops the State of the Union with 3.7m viewers watching the star become NBA's all-time leading points scorer... but it is only the ninth most-watched game of the season
LeBron James's record-setting performance drew in a massive audience for TNT Tuesday night - but still wasn't the most-watched game of the season. James broke the NBA's all-time scoring record against the Oklahoma City Thunder, surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's 34-year mark with 38,388 points, during the LA Lakers 133-130 loss. The stunning performance drew an average of three million viewers to TNT, making it the network's largest non-Opening Night regular-season audience in five years. TNT's telecast peaked with 3.7 million viewers from 11.45pm to midnight - exceptional numbers for an NBA regular season game in February. It was the ninth most-watched game of the 2022-23 season with every game topping it either having been played on Christmas Day, Opening Night or shown on ABC, according to Sports Media Watch. The Milwaukee Bucks' visit to Boston on Christmas Day topped the chart for this season with a peak of 6.08 million viewers - 1.33 million more than the festive clash between the Memphis Grizzlies and the Golden State Warriors in second place. Viewership for Tuesday night's historic game dwindled after James scored the record -breaking shot. After James set the new record, numbers fell from 3.72 million at 11.45pm and 3.64 million at midnight to 2.40 million in the final full quarter-hour. TNT's telecast won the night across all of television in the key young adults demographics - between 18-49 years old and 25-54 years old - which is even more notable given President Joe Biden's State of the Union address aired across multiple networks Tuesday night. It was also the network's largest regular season audience outside of Opening Night since Clippers-Lakers on opening night of the 'bubble' restart in July 2020, which drew in 3.35 million. Excluding that anomaly, it was the most-watched since Lakers-Blazers in October 2018, James' first game with the Lakers, which 3.31 million tuned in to see. Fans had also shelled out thousands to secure a seat at Crypto.com arena to witness history in person, and James didn't make them wait - putting on a show to seal the record, while Abdul-Jabbar watched on from courtside. James went into the game against OKC needing 36 points to overtake the record of 38,387 - which was set by Abdul-Jabbar in 1989.
Via: Daily Mail
