BIG3 sees surge in TV ratings, attendance to start sixth season

The BIG3, Ice Cube's professional three-on-threebasketball league, is off to a terrific start in its sixth season,seeing substantial increases in television viewership and liveattendance.

The league's games on CBS have seen viewership growsubstantially compared to last season, and the audience continuesto rapidly increase week to week.

Week 1 (June 25): 483,000viewers

Week 2 (July 1): 501,000viewers

Week 3 (July 9): 525,000viewers

Week 4 (July 15): 600,000viewers

Week 4 in Memphis earned a 0.31 rating and averaged600,000 viewers during the league's 3.5-hour broadcast window from3:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. ET. This represents a 46% increase from412,000 viewers and a 0.26 rating in the same weekend time slotlast year. BIG3 topped tough competition in the time slot,including the NBA Summer League on ESPN (309,000 viewers) and MLBon FS1 (369,000). Also, NASCAR on USA (609,000) and Wimbledon'sWomen's finals on ABC (762,000) had overlapping broadcastwindows.

"We're thrilled to see this continued interest andgrowth as we start season six," said BIG3 co-founder IceCube."It's a testament to the highly competitive andentertaining product we put on the court each week.Thisseason is the best yet."

Attendance rebounded after two seasons impacted byCOVID-19 restrictions. The first three weeks in Chicago, Dallas andNew York drew close to 30,000 fans in total, with energetic crowdsaveraging over 9,000 per event.

"Our fans have been eager to get back toexperiencing the BIG3 in person," said league co-founder JeffKwatinetz. "Their energy and excitement have been palpable in eachcity so far."

This season, the BIG3 is paying tribute to the 50thanniversary of rap and hip hop. The first four weeks have includedmusical performances by artists such as Ja Rule, KRS-One, M.O.P.,NLE Choppa, Big Boogie, Twista, Dorrough, Mike Jones, Scar Lip and,of course, Ice Cube. Monster Energy athletes have also beenfeatured, along with dancers, cheerleaders and dunkers.

The league features many of the most popular andskilled three-on-three players worldwide, including Joe Johnson,Leandro Barbosa and Michael Beasley. Hall-of-Fame legends such asJulius "Dr. J" Erving, Rick Barry, Lisa Leslie, Nancy Lieberman andGary Payton are among the league's coaches.

The BIG3 continues this Sunday at the Kaseya Centerin Miami, followed by stops in Boston, Charlotte, Detroit andWashington D.C. for the playoffs. This year's championship andAll-Star game will be played at the famous O2 Arena in London. BIG3games can be found on CBS, Paramount+ and TV.BIG3.COM.