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Inglewood, CA – February 15: Anthony Edwards was named the MVP after scoring 32 points across three games during the 75th NBA All-Star Game as part of the 2026 NBA All-Star Weekend on Sunday, February 15, 2026 at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
The 2026 NBA All-Star is officially a success after the ratings showed it was the most-watched NBA All-Star Game since 2011 and second-most watched since 2003. A total of 8.8 million viewers watched the event across three options of NBC, Telemundo and the Peacock streaming service. The NBA has not hit this mark in fifteen years to confirm that interest in the new format led to a spike in the ratings.
A drastic change saw the USA players and international players split into three rosters. Older American born All-Stars made up one roster, while the younger players had their own team. The players born outside of the United States or wanting to show love to their family heritage formed the international roster. Three short games saw the two best teams advancing to the finals.
Anthony Edwards led the younger USA team to a victory over LeBron James and the older players in the final game. Viewers tuned in with a confusing new format having the potential to jump the shark fast, but the audience stayed locked in to continue the overall product. Last year’s All-Star Game featured a less impressive 4.7 million to see the viewership nearly double.
Non-Basketball Reasons For All-Star Game Increase
There are variables off the court for this year’s game to see the numbers massively improve. NBC in itself is a much bigger platform than the previous network of TNT. Despite many fans preferring the TNT presentation, it is still a cable channel in far fewer homes than popular broadcasting network NBC.
Casual fans looking for something new to watch had an easier method towards finding the game and giving it a chance than in previous years. Telemundo added another big boost since it remains a popular network for Spanish speaking viewers. Peacock’s streaming service gave the viewers to cut the cord on cable a chance to watch for a cheap monthly fee.
Three different platforms meant that the NBA had more potential viewers across the aisle and added them all up. Past years didn’t see TNT using the online cable viewership numbers since television viewers only account for the viewership. This variable outside of anything on the court already gave them the opportunity for great viewership.
Basketball Reasons For All-Star Ratings Going Up
The new format certainly did help, especially since it created a lot of news and headlines in the sports world. NBA players were called out for not trying hard enough in recent years, so Adam Silver’s new format sparked a fan curiosity to give the games a chance.
Players taking it more seriously with three epic games going down to the wire to decipher the finals kept those viewers steady and added more throughout the night. The entertaining and competitive games made it clear that fans would prefer to watch this over the recent embarrassing contests.
Silver will likely keep this format for at least another year due to the critical acclaim and now ratings success making it a victory. Future years of legends like LeBron, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant eventually retiring will add even more importance to All-Star Weekend.
Joey Haverford Joey Haverford is a seasoned sports content writer with over 12 years of experience. He has covered the NBA, WNBA, MLB, NFL, and professional wrestling in the sports industry. More about Joey Haverford
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