The “Lin Effect” continues for both the New York Knicks and MSG Network. The team’s five-game winning streak, thanks to the astounding play of breakout star Jeremy Lin, has caused a jump in the team’s television ratings on MSG Network. Saturday’s win over the Timberwolves scored a season high 4.17 Nielsen household rating, the highest-rated Knicks game on MSG Network since Carmelo Anthony’s debut on February 23 last season (6.75 HH). Knicks fans also consumed information on the team’s newest star in record numbers on the team’s and network’s websites and social media platforms. Through four games — and four wins — in which Lin has been the starting point guard, the Knicks’ average household rating on MSG Network has increased 70% (3.08 HH) compared to the previous 20 games (1.81 HH). With Lin in the starting lineup, the team has scored household ratings of 4.17 (February 11 at Minnesota), 3.05 (February 10 vs. Los Angeles), 2.68 (February 6 vs. Utah) and 2.41 (February 8 at Washington). The winning streak has also spurred a 71% increase in the average season-to-date household rating compared to the first 24 games on MSG Network last season (2.02 HH vs. 1.18 HH). The four games in which Lin has started also represents a 52% increase over the average season-to-date household rating (3.08 HH vs. 2.02 HH).
The Knicks have also experienced unprecedented web traffic and social media growth in the past week. From February 5 — 12 web traffic on NYKnicks.com and KnicksNow.com increased more than 550% compared to the week prior, reaching 4.7 million page views, the highest week-to-week increase in history for the sites. Unique visitors to the sites also skyrocketed 364% and video views of highlights and interviews featuring the team’s four wins during the timeframe increased 1205% versus the previous week to 672,000 total. Similarly, fans have been clamoring for more information on Lin and the team on social media platforms. The Knicks added 125,000 Facebook likes, the most of any team in the NBA during the seven day period, taking the team’s total to nearly 1.5 million. On Twitter the team added 12,000 followers, putting the Knicks at almost 200,000 followers total.