The 2018 NBA All-Star Game handed Turner Sports with boosts across all platforms – television (TNT and TBS), digital and social, including a 4.3 household rating and 5.1 million household impressions – both up 2% over 2017 and marking the best for the event since 2013, based on Nielsen Fast Nationals. In addition, the telecast generated double-digit growth across all core demos including increases of 11% among People 18-34, 10% in Men 18-34 and 6% in People 18-49 when compared with 2017. Meanwhile, TNT’s coverage of the NBA’s Mtn Dew Kickstart Rising Stars averaged 1.4 million viewers last week was up 21% vs. last year’s comparable coverage and delivered double digit gains across all key demos, along with ranking as the net’s most-viewed Rising Stars telecast since 2015.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver told ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne that the All-Star player draft could likely be televised moving forward. “When we sat with the union and we came up with this format, we all agreed, let’s not turn something that’s 100 percent positive into a potential negative to any player,” Silver said. “But then … maybe we’re overly conservative, because then we came out of there, and the players were, ‘We can take it. We’re All-Stars. Let’s have a draft.’ So it sounds like we’re going to have a televised draft next year.”
