NBA All-Star Game ratings 2023: What caused the shocking, record-low viewership this year?

Although the 2023 NBA All-Star weekend was filled with plenty of excitement throughout the three days of action, viewership didn't reflect that. Things kicked off Friday with the Celebrity Game before the future of the sport took center stage for the Rising Stars Tournament.

The following night, fans tuned in for a thrilling 3-point contest that saw Damian Lillard emerge victorious. After that, Mac McClung, Jericho Sims, Kenyon Martin Jr. and Trey Murphy III put on a dunk contest that has been called the best in recent memory.

On Sunday night, however, the NBA's biggest stars took center stage for the All-Star game following a concert by Post Malone. Although the past few editions of the All-Star game saw fans highly entertained with the new format, this year's All-Star game wasn't very competitive. As it turns out, the ratings reflected the general sentiment.

According to Sports Media Watch, the 2023 All-Star game was the least watched. Viewership was down 27% and ratings were down 29% from last year. The contest performed worse than the 2023 NFL Pro Bowl and saw the steepest decline in ratings since 2000.

Why was the 2023 All-Star Game such a flop?

This year's game has received plenty of scrutiny thanks to a lack of competition on both sides. Gone was the competition seen in recent years thanks to each quarter being its own mini-game.

Instead, players had uncontested looks at the rim throughout the entire game as fans seemed less than engaged. After the game, Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone said what was on many fans' minds:

"It's an honor to be here, and it's an honor to be a part of great weekend with great players, but it's the worst basketball game ever played.

"I don't know if you can fix it. I give Joel Embiid and Kyrie Irving [credit], those two guys were competing. They tried to get some defense in. No one got hurt, they put on a show for the fans, but that's a tough game to sit through, I'm not gonna lie."

Denver Nuggets v Atlanta Hawks

While the sentiment was shared by many fans, it didn't change the fact that viewers simply didn't tune in to watch the game in the first place. When it comes to the game itself, there have been conversations taking place behind the scenes for years to increase fan engagement.

The new format, with each quarter being a mini-game for charity, and the addition of Elam Ending was supposed to engage fans more. Similarly, by having the captains draft their teams beforehand, there was hope that the twist would draw in more fans.

Neither strategy seems to have worked, leaving the league to question the change in format. Overall, it seems as though the general consensus going into the All-Star break was frustration given that many of the top stars were injured and unable to play.

Giannis Antetokounmpo, who injured his wrist against the Chicago Bulls in the Milwaukee Bucks' last game before the All-Star break, checked himself out after one bucket. Kevin Durant, who has been injured for several weeks now, also missed the game, leaving fans clamoring for two of the biggest stars in the league.

Do you think healthy stars would have drawn more viewers? Or does something else need to change?