In case you were wondering, the TV numbers on the Timberwolves this year reflected the viewing habits of pretty much everyone we know.
Local TV ratings on games shown by FS North were up 132 percent over last year, tying with the Oklahoma City Thunder for the largest year-to-year percentage gain in the NBA according to SportsBusiness Journal Daily.
The Wolves were at a 2.95 rating, meaning close to three percent of all households equipped with TVs in the Minneapolis-Twin Cities market were tuned to Wolves games.
The leap, however, likely would have been even higher if not for the injury to Ricky Rubio and the team's subsequent second-half slide. At the All-Star break, nearly the exact midpoint of the shortened season, Wolves games had a 3.63 rating. They were 21-19 heading into the game against the Lakers in which Rubio was hurt; they lost that one, and in the 25 games he was out at the end of the season, Minnesota won just five times and viewer interest waned.
Still, it's an overall win for the franchise -- and FS North.
"It was great to see Minnesota fans embrace a competitive, reenergized Timberwolves team this season," said FS North Senior Vice President and General Manager Mike Dimond. "We look forward building on the excitement next season."
