Utah All-Star Game Draws Record Low Ratings
Feb 22, 2023, 12:24 PM
SALT LAKE CITY – According to newly released numbers, the NBA All-Star game in Utah drew a record-low for ratings.
Sports Media Watch, which tracks sports viewership, reported that Sunday’s All-Star game averaged a combined 4.59 million viewers between TNT and TBS which were both carrying the broadcast.
That’s down nearly two million viewers from the 2022 All-Star game which averaged 6.28 million.
NBA All-Star Game ratings, viewership *easily* the lowest ever.
Plus:
— All-Star Saturday Night and Rising Stars also down to new lows
— Celebrity Game bucks trend of record-lows with an actual increase over last yearhttps://t.co/xvxxauztTO— Sports Media Watch (@paulsen_smw) February 22, 2023
The NBA All-Star also drew significantly fewer viewers than the MLB All-Star game (7.5 million) and the reformatted NFL Pro Bowl games (6.28 million).
One major cause for the sudden drop in rankings could be the number of stars who either weren’t selected for the All-Star game or were ruled out with injury.
Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, and Zion Williamson were all scratched from the rosters due to injury despite being chosen as starters.
None of Anthony Davis, Jimmy Butler, or James Harden were selected to participate by voters and weren’t chosen by commissioner Adam Silver as injury replacements.
Worse yet, Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron James, the two captains of the All-Star teams hardly participated in the game.
Atetokounmpo entered the game with a wrist injury and left the court after a dunk on the opening play. James meanwhile left the game at halftime after suffering a hand injury.
Record Revenue Despite Poor Ratings
Though TV viewership may have been down, Commission Silver announced that the All-Star weekend in Utah saw record revenue for the league and the state.
“In terms of the magnitude of All-Star, this is our largest in our history,” Silver said. “They’re estimating the economic impact here in Salt Lake City will be roughly $280 million. That’s an all-time record.”
Last season Cleveland reportedly saw an economic impact of nearly $250 million, including direct net economic benefit to the city of $141 million.
Adam Silver projected a record economic impact for the state of Utah from the #NBAAllStar weekend.
"They’re estimating the economic impact here in Salt Lake City will be roughly $280 million."#TakeNote https://t.co/Iomfx9Rb14
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) February 19, 2023
“We have an all-time record in terms of hotel nights,” Silver said as part of his praise for the state. “We’re occupying 33,000 hotel nights in the community here, and we have more fan events than any time in history.”
Ben Anderson is the Utah Jazz insider for KSL Sports and the co-host of Jake and Ben from 10-12p with Jake Scott on 97.5 The KSL Sports Zone. Find Ben on Twitter at @BensHoops or on Instagram @BensHoops.
