The plummeting fall of an All-Star Weekend that becomes less interesting every year

The decline in viewership of the All-Star Game of the NBA is becoming increasingly evident, and the numbers confirm it. This year, the event's broadcast experienced a 13% drop in its number of viewers compared to the previous year, as reported by Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports. Only 4.7 million people tuned in to the broadcast on TNT, TBS, and TruTV, a significantly lower number than the nearly 5.4 million in 2024.

With these figures, the 2025 edition becomes the second least viewed in the last 25 years. In fact, the last four All-Star Games have recorded some of the lowest audiences in history, with less than six million viewers. In 2023, viewership barely reached 4.6 million.

In contrast to this trend, the most-watched game in this period took place in 2002 when over 13 million people witnessed the spectacle. That night was marked by the dazzling performance of Kobe Bryant, who scored 31 points amid the boos from the Philadelphia crowd, and by the unexpected miss by Michael Jordan in a dunk attempt.

Those were different times when these kinds of gatherings attracted much more attention in a pre-social media era. The All-Star game won't end because it still brings in a lot of dough for the NBA and because, despite the decline, it remains one of the most-watched events of the year. What the commissioner needs to do is reflect on how to create a product that, although average, is not as criticized as in recent years.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, La caída en picado de un All-Star Weekend que cada año interesa menos