The Orlando Magic’s game against Flamengo did not have a strong draw compared to other preseason games aired on NBATV this season.
The Orlando Magic’s 90-73 win over Brazilian club Flamengo on Saturday garnered 45,000 viewers nationally on NBATV. The game was played in Rio de Janiero, Brazil, as part of the NBA’s global games initiative.
The 45,000 viewers are down from what NBATV has been getting for regular preseason games this season as they have been garnering more than 100,000 viewers per game.
But the low viewership is not the fault of the Orlando Magic as viewers for games that involve an NBA team against a non-NBA team do not fare well. On Oct. 11, the Los Angeles Lakers hosted Maccabi Haifa at the Staples Center at a friendly time slot of 9:30 p.m. The game garnered just 50,000 viewers.
Another issue is the time of the day. The Magic-Flamengo game tipped off at 5:30 p.m. on a college football Saturday. Among the competition the Magic faced during the time slot was the Florida Gators-LSU Tigers game, which garnered many viewers nationally as well as in the Orlando area.
Another example of NBA preseason games played early on a weekend was on Oct. 11 when the Los Angeles Clippers and Charlotte Hornets played in China and tipped off at 2:30 p.m. going up against the NFL on a Sunday. The game garnered 53,000 viewers.
The NBATV’s replay of the Magic’s game in Brazil which aired at 1 a.m. Eastern on Sunday morning garnered 39,000 viewers. That adds up to 84,000 combine viewers for the game.
The Orlando Magic will play a regular season game in London on Thursday, Jan. 14 against the Toronto Raptors with tip off at 3 p.m. The game will be carried nationally on NBA TV. The Magic have only one other national television appearance scheduled, but not until the final game of the regular season.
