The 2022-23 NBA regular season averaged 1.59 million viewers across ABC, ESPN, and TNT, slightly down from last year's average of 1.61 million viewers.

The number represents the fifth least-watched season over the last 30 years, with the past four seasons ranking among the six least-watched during that time.

The most-watched regular season over the last 30 years was the 1998-99 lockout shortened campaign that averaged 3.1 million viewers on national TV.

The NBA accounted for a 3% share of the primetime viewing this year, the highest over the past 20 years.

In comparison to other major sports, Major League Baseball averaged 936,000 viewers across its national TV partners. The NHL averaged 470,000 viewers, with college basketball averaging 371,000 viewers.