Rockets-Thunder scores record-low for NBA game on broadcast TV
Despite two of the leading candidates for NBA Most Valuable Player squaring off in Russell Westbrook and James Harden this past Sunday at the Toyota Center, the viewing audience at home just didn't seem to care, which is apparent in the television ratings.
The Houston Rockets' 137-125 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on ABC's Sunday Showcase attracted fewer than one percent of U.S. TV homes, making it the first NBA game ever on broadcast television to score less than a 1.0 rating (0.9, 1.5-million viewers), according to Sports Media Watch.
The previous mark was held by the Cleveland Cavaliers visiting the Los Angeles Clippers on March 18 of this year, a game where the reigning champions didn't play LeBron James, Kevin Love, or Kyrie Irving.
Rockets-Thunder had a lower rating, yet an 11-percent boost in viewership over Rockets-Washington Wizards from 2015 (1.0, 1.3-million viewers).
Four of the eight lowest-rated games ever have come this month, with Clippers-Chicago Bulls and Bulls-Boston Celtics drawing 1.1 ratings.
While there's no precise reason as to why that's the case, the league's growing trend of teams sitting their star players, as well as NCAA March Madness basketball, surely has something to do with it.