TNT’s The Dunk King Reaches Nearly 11 Million Total Viewers for Inaugural Four-Part Series
TNT’s premiere of The Dunk King, a four-part series set to crown the best amateur dunker from around the globe, reached 10.9 million total viewers. The show, in association with A. Smith & Co. Productions, delivered an average of 2.1 million total viewers for Tuesday night’s finale. Viewership grew 19% from the debut episode through the final round.
Additionally, The Dunk King delivered the most-viewed program of the night – based on total viewership and all key demos – across cable television in its telecast window each of the four nights. The Dunk King also generated a 36% increase among total viewers, a 68% in Men 18-34 and a 59% in People 18-34 when compared with the network’s average viewership in each of the respective telecast windows.
Porter Maberry, standing 5’5” and hailing from Grand Rapids, Mich., soared past the other 32 competitors to earn the title of “Dunk King” and a $100,000 prize. His final round dunk had him leap over 7’2” Shaquille O’Neal – TNT NBA analyst and one of the show’s judges – to seal the victory.
The program’s finalists also featured top dunkers including Kenny Dobbs, Jordan Kilganon, Guy Dupuy and Haneef Munir to collectively showcase some of their best aerial displays. Throughout the show’s four episodes, contestants jumped over motorcycles, leapt over cars, and even dunked over a man on fire in pursuit of the title of “Dunk King.”
Hosted by Terrence J and Kenny Smith, with judges including NBA on TNT analysts Charles Barkley, O’Neal and Brent Barry, each of the four premiere episodes aired immediately following TNT’s Inside the NBA post-game show during the 2016 NBA Western Conference Finals.