TNT Runs Ratings Fast Break with NBA All-Star Weekend

Ratings Up Across the Board for Cable Network’s Coverage of National Basketball Association All-Star Weekend

By Ben Grossman -- Broadcasting & Cable, 2/19/2008 5:59:00 PM

While cheating in baseball dominated much of the talk in the sports world over the weekend, Dwight Howard’s cheating of gravity helped TNT to a ratings bump for its National Basketball Association All-Star Weekend coverage.

Sunday’s NBA All-Star Game saw a 5% bump in adults 18-49, averaging 3.792 million viewers in the demo.

TNT’s All-Star Saturday -- featuring the Orlando Magic’s Howard strapping on a Superman cape en route to winning the Slam Dunk Contest -- was the most-watched Saturday night in the event’s 23-year history and saw double-digit-growth (13%) in the 18-49 demo.

For the three days of coverage (Friday-Sunday), TNT said it averaged 3.27 million homes according to Nielsen Media Research fast nationals. The network added that 3.2 million people went online for extra coverage via Turner’s TNT NBA Overtime broadband channel.