RealGM

The NBA has experienced a significant drop in audience to start the season, reports Puck News. ESPN viewership is down more than 27 percent and TNT is down 16 percent.

Puck News spoke with several media executives and none were concerned about those numbers after only two weeks. However, if both ESPN and TNT are still down double digits at Christmas, there will be a a different conversations.

Executives believe the NBA has faced tougher competition this year, particularly with a compelling World Series that averaged six million more viewers than 2023.

Media executives have privately complained about the NBA's biggest stars being unavailable for games as injuries are up 35 percent year-over-year.

Via John Ourand/Puck News

The games are a hard watch start to finish. Too many stops and commercials. I've dvr'd a few and usually just wait for highlights. Maybe it's just not compelling this early

The media rights deal is locked up...the NBA executives are surely not concerned

you think the ratings are terrible now, just watch what happens when these david stern draftees retire from the league and the best american players are tatum, ja or jalen green hah

How about if they stop this 3 point ridiculousness that they've been doing for the last 10 or 15 years and get back to proper fundamentals basketball? I remember when hero ball used to be a 4 letter word. But now it's cool. Everbody thinks they're Steph Curry. I hope Mike D'antoni and the bean counter who made the metric that said what Mike D'antoni started with his Steve Nash era Suns is a good idea, are proud of themselves for ruining basketball.