Fox News outshines the NBA in viewership

Dallas Mavericks owner and entrepreneur Mark Cuban was not happy to find that Fox News host Tucker Carlson had outperformed the NBA in viewership, insisting that the NBA had reeled in the views that count, according to the Washington Times.

Though the Daily Caller's David Hookstead took a jab at the NBA for drawing in less viewers than Tucker Carlson, Cuban tweeted that "in the advertiser coveted 18-49 demographic, our prime time outperformed Tucker in prime time by 215%," adding that "he [Carlson] did slaughter us in the 70+ plus demographic, so have to give credit there."

The Washington Times reported that it may be Fox who ultimately wins out, reporting that Fox was "not just the most-watched cable news network, but the highest-rated network in all of television."

The outlet reported that the average prime-time audience of 3.451 million viewers surpassed CBS at 3.43 million; the NBA at 3.155 million, ABC at 2.69 million, and Fox broadcasting at 1.414 million.

The NBA and MLB have yet to match Fox News's momentum with the primetime ratings of Carlson and Hannity.

The NBA has been operating at a 4% decrease in viewership since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, according to a report by Sports Media Watch.

“After nine of the first ten games averaged at least 1.3 million viewers, only three of the subsequent nine have reached that mark,” the report noted. To compare, Carlson racked up 3.65 million viewers for Thursday's hour-long show.

There has been speculation whether the drop in the NBA and MLB has something to do with their open support of Black Lives Matter—a group that has come on strong since the death of George Floyd.

“The NBA is struggling in a big way with their audience right now,” said Fox Sports Radio host Clay Travis, noting: “I think the vast majority of sports fans have no interest whatsoever in social-justice warrior-dom, or politics being mixed with sports.”