Even before the Nets landed James Harden in Wednesday’s blockbuster four-team deal, Brooklyn’s ratings on YES Network were up 18 percent over the first 11 games last year, topping 72,000 viewers. That number is also nearly double what the Nets averaged for the whole season just two years ago, per industry sources.
And so far, this season, in three national TV games this season, Nets have delivered 8.2 million viewers. Nets-Warriors on Opening Night delivered 2.7 million viewers to TNT; Nets-Celtics on Christmas Day delivered 4.3 million to ABC, and on Wednesday, the Nets-Knicks game delivered 8.