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So far, the NBA's inaugural in-season tournament is off to a great start. There has been a heightened level of competition that has led to an overall better product for the fans.
With a $500,000 bonus on the lineup, every NBA team played their hardest in the in-season tournament. The Group Play portion has come to an end, and now all the divisional winners will battle it out in the knockout round.
Some of the teams that advanced to the knockout round include the LA Lakers, Phoenix Suns, Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics. These squads will battle it out over the next week with the championship game being played on December 9th in Las Vegas.
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The league has had a lot of success through the first NBA in-season tournament. Here are some of the standout facts from a fan engagement standpoint.
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Eye-popping facts from NBA's inaugural in season tournament
1) National TV games were big success
In an attempt to get the most eyes on the in season tournament action, the NBA decided to have most of the group play games air on national television. This proved to be a smart idea, as there was a drastic increase in viewership.
The most-watched game of the in-season tournament was the Sacramento Kings vs. Golden State Warriors at two million viewers. This is a 93% increase in viewership compared to last season. Overall, the group play games averaged one-and-a-half million viewers, an impressive 26% from increase.
2) Local TV networks benefit from in-season tournament
The national TV networks weren't the only ones to benefit from the in-season tournament. All the local networks saw a nice increase in viewership as well. On average, the local stations saw about a 20% increase during the group play stage.
3) Fans showing up in person
Whether it was to see the brand new courts, different jerseys, or just competitive basketball, fans were pumped about the in-season tournament. Along with TV viewership going up, there was also a nice spike in attendance for the month of November.
This year, the league had its highest average attendance for this point of the season. Across all 30 teams, arenas had an average attendance of just over 18,000 for the Group Play round.
4) Social media traction
In today's digital age, a lot of fans consume league action through social media. The comeptitive action led to a wide range of highlights, resulting in a massive month for social teams across the NBA.
In total, the league tallied just under four billion views on videos posted by the league's account, along with the accounts for all 30 teams.
5) League Pass numbers spike up
For those fans that love watching out of market teams, League Pass is the go-to for league-wide action. With five teams in each group, fans had to monitor an array of teams to see how the in-season tournament was going to shape up come the knockout round. As a result, the league saw a 25% increase in viewers on League Pass during nights that Group Play games were scheduled.
