OKC Thunder: TV ratings jump 82 percent on FS-Oklahoma

The 1998-99 NBA lockout cut into TV ratings that season and for seasons to follow. But the work stoppage was much longer than this season and the 50-game season didn't begin until Feb. 5, apparently souring some fans on the sport. NBC's regular-season ratings were down 7 percent and ratings for the Spurs-Knicks finals series slumped 40 percent from the previous season.

This season is a different story. The shortened 66-game season, which debuted on Christmas Day, has been a hit with the viewers.

— ESPN's ratings (a percentage of TV homes) are up 31 percent (1.7), households are up 27 percent (1,648,000) and viewers are up 20 percent (2,116,000) when compared Christmas-to-date with last season, according to Nielsen.

— ABC's ratings are up 18 percent (4.7), households are up 16 percent (5,347,000) and viewers are up 18 percent (8,515,000).

— TNT's ratings are up 29 percent (1.8), households are up 34 percent (2,116,000) and viewers are up 36 percent (2,839,000).

— NBA TV does not release ratings information, but viewership is up 57 percent (371,000) and households are up 60 percent (290,000) for 42 games.

In gaining 3.3 million households, NBA TV showed the largest growth of any cable network since the start of the year and now reaches 59 million homes. The Thunder-Warriors telecast Tuesday night delivered 434,000 viewers, 20 percent above average.

However, those ratings increases pale to the growth in the Thunder's local telecasts on Fox Sports Oklahoma. The team's 6.0 average rating is up 82 percent from the same period last season (3.3).