NBA TV Viewership Down: Warriors Dominance to Blame

[CodeBreaker]

That's what happens when LeBron James is aging and declining

[floppymoose]

You guys should do some research into how they get these cable viewership numbers. Long story short, it's an incredibly inaccurate estimate that's in constant decline.

However, this did not stop people from blaming the earlier declines on KD to the Warriors. So it's fun to see what they blame now.

So far my fav is:

We all knew it was going to be bad for the league long term when Kd joined the Warriors.

[RRFB]

I am surprised that the Denver Nuggets are included in this number seeing as their regional sports ratings are down near at least 66% due to their network (Altitude Sports) being in contract disputes with the 3 major TV providers in the area, only thus far coming to an agreement with DirecTV.

Adam Silver brought this up at the All Star break and mentioned that it is making teams league-wide look into alternative methods of broadcasting. I wouldn't be shocked if it leads to league-wide streaming of some sort.

I'm surprised this situation hasn't gotten any national attention. The fact that 75% of the local market in Denver has been unable to watch the Nuggets play this season is absurd. I really didn't think the league would allow it to go on this long without stepping in.

[slamilcarBarca]

I haven't bought a CD in 20 years and never bought anything off Itunes

well you're just a digital john dillinger, huh?

Since we're going old school was it illegal to record music off the radio with a blank cassette and play
it on a walkman or in your car?

you're missing the two key differences that nullifies your comparison. can you fish them out and tell us? (there are several actually but two of elevated importance)

and here is a little update about your blank cassette. a portion of money spent purchasing blank cassettes, and later mp3s etc, goes into a fund that pays artists agencies. so in short when you buy a blank cassette you are paying artists for their music. recording music from the radio is considered fair use because the artists are in fact being paid.

so, no it is not illegal to record music off the radio. your failed analogy is of course legal.

[bballgod07]

I stop watching the NBA when they rigged the rockets vs GSW games.

[slamilcarBarca]

Wonder if local MLB ratings are higher than their NBA counterparts. That would kind of counter the national media narrative that the pro basketball is substantially more popular in this country than major league baseball.

No it wouldn't. The NBA has a much younger fanbase who are more likely to be streaming, out and about with busier lives etc.

Baseball is an antiquated sport. No one wants to sit there for 4 hours watching guys pitch every 15 seconds.

Edit: Good lord I was being generous, it's actually over 20 seconds between pitches.

tennis has a 30 second serve clock. nfl football takes that long for the next play as well.

how long is the typical break for a 2 shot foul? or even 1 shot? or for replaying an out of bounds call with 7 minutes left in the 2nd quarter?

edit : lets add golf as well, which is an incredible sport for tv. basketball lacks the drama and tension that builds between plays and delivers intermittent crescendos. basketball has a constant flow that becomes like white noise. it never gets too boring. but where is the first quarter equivalent of a bases loaded, full count 19 pitch at bat in the 2nd inning?

basketball on tv is like streaming hip hop. you can listen for 9 hours and never realize a different song came on.

[zimpy27]

I stop watching the NBA when they rigged the rockets vs GSW games.

And yet you joined the forum to talk about basketball a few months ago.

[Benedict_Boozer]

That's what happens when LeBron James is aging and declining

The league better find the next Lebron...cause he ain't getting any younger.

I'm not seeing it with the current crop and looking in college, not seeing it there either. NBA usually has that 1 guy that's a magnet for casuals, Jordan->Kobe/Shaq->Lebron->??

[slamilcarBarca]

That's what happens when LeBron James is aging and declining

The league better find the next Lebron...cause he ain't getting any younger.

I'm not seeing it with the current crop and looking in college, not seeing it there either. NBA usually has that 1 guy that's a magnet for casuals, Jordan->Kobe/Shaq->Lebron->??

you should google search for a young player named zion williamson. he's a pretty promising casuals magnet.

[LakerLegend]

Wonder if local MLB ratings are higher than their NBA counterparts. That would kind of counter the national media narrative that the pro basketball is substantially more popular in this country than major league baseball.

No it wouldn't. The NBA has a much younger fanbase who are more likely to be streaming, out and about with busier lives etc.

Baseball is an antiquated sport. No one wants to sit there for 4 hours watching guys pitch every 15 seconds.

Edit: Good lord I was being generous, it's actually over 20 seconds between pitches.

tennis has a 30 second serve clock. nfl football takes that long for the next play as well.

how long is the typical break for a 2 shot foul? or even 1 shot? or for replaying an out of bounds call with 7 minutes left in the 2nd quarter?

edit : lets add golf as well, which is an incredible sport for tv. basketball lacks the drama and tension that builds between plays and delivers intermittent crescendos. basketball has a constant flow that becomes like white noise. it never gets too boring. but where is the first quarter equivalent of a bases loaded, full count 19 pitch at bat in the 2nd inning?

basketball on tv is like streaming hip hop. you can listen for 9 hours and never realize a different song came on.

Not sure what your point is, all of the numbers and data, whether you want to talk about future revenue, fanbase demographics, youth participation, point to baseball being exactly what I said it is in relation to basketball. The rest is apples to oranges.

[Vlade Divac]

I havent had cable for almost a decade. Im sure theyre not including me and I watch almost every Jazz game.
Its just how it is. Cable is pretty much finished.

The NBA NEEDS to develop a better way to stream their product. League Pass is awful. Blackouts, freezes, and outdated technology in their streaming app. Plus its expensive. The music industry was seemingly done in the early 2000s and they rebooted themselves through affordable and effective streaming tech through things like Spotify. If you make it easy and convenient to stream any game you want whenever you want, a lot more people will tune in. The NBA is handcuffed with the cable deals right now but they need to start looking for a better option soon or they're going to lose out on a ton of revenue as cable dies if they don't replace it with something else.

I disagree that NBA LP is awful. Actually it is the best product available to NBA fans. What is awful is their policy with pricing and blackouts. But if you go (like I do) “shady” route and pay for VPN and India subscription you would have flawless experience with HD streams without any buffering and chromechast from your phone on any modern TV. Nothing else comes even close to this what they provide.

[SK21209]

I was listening to Russillo and Cowherd talk about the ratings decline and Cowherd actually made a pretty decent point imo. In addition to all of the other things mentioned in this thread (Warriors implosion, stars/Zion being injured, etc.), the season has been concurrent with the NFL season until very recently and this year was a pretty damn compelling year in the NFL in terms of storylines. Demise of the Pats dynasty, Lamar Jackson winning MVP, Cowboys as an alleged superbowl contender, and lot of parity in the league in general.

I like basketball more than football but I'm much more likely to watch any given NFL game than any given NBA game; the NFL product is just superior from a viewing standpoint. The NFL is Italian food (pretty much everyone at least kind of likes it) whereas the NBA is like sushi or something (a lot of people like it, some people love it, but a lot of people also just refuse to eat it). I have the NFL on every Monday and Thursday night and all day Sunday and my girlfriend is cool with it because football is at least somewhat entertaining to her too. But when I spend that much time watching the NFL, she is not okay with me also devoting a couple other nights that week to watching the NBA.

[LouisLitt]

You guys should do some research into how they get these cable viewership numbers. Long story short, it's an incredibly inaccurate estimate that's in constant decline.

However, this did not stop people from blaming the earlier declines on KD to the Warriors. So it's fun to see what they blame now.

So far my fav is:

We all knew it was going to be bad for the league long term when Kd joined the Warriors.

How would KD going to the Warriors not make ratings worse?

Is it solely to blame? No.

But if you're going to tell me that 29 fan bases already knowing GS would win literally a year in advance didn't have an effect on ratings, then I don't know what to tell you.

It's like the people who will swear that Kawhi and other players doing load management (ie. missing games) has zero effect on ratings, but within the same post they'll say that it's because of injuries (ie. missing games).

[MrPerfect1]

I stop watching the NBA when they rigged the rockets vs GSW games.

They must have paid Harden and his teammates a ton to miss 27 3's in a row

[Raps in 4]

I havent had cable for almost a decade. Im sure theyre not including me and I watch almost every Jazz game.
Its just how it is. Cable is pretty much finished.

The NBA NEEDS to develop a better way to stream their product. League Pass is awful. Blackouts, freezes, and outdated technology in their streaming app. Plus its expensive. The music industry was seemingly done in the early 2000s and they rebooted themselves through affordable and effective streaming tech through things like Spotify. If you make it easy and convenient to stream any game you want whenever you want, a lot more people will tune in. The NBA is handcuffed with the cable deals right now but they need to start looking for a better option soon or they're going to lose out on a ton of revenue as cable dies if they don't replace it with something else.

Illegal streaming services are way more reliable than NBA LP. I wouldn't even use it if it was free, let alone pay for it (I signed up for the free trial once and it was a disaster). I've used MLB TV before and it was a million times better (no blackouts, at least for the Jays, and its streams were reliable, with good device integration).

[CelticSooner]

I just want to see what the playoff ratings are this season. If those are down then people have something to talk about. I'm a NBA die hard and even I don't watch that many regular season games that don't involve the Celtics.

[BballIntellect]

You guys should do some research into how they get these cable viewership numbers. Long story short, it's an incredibly inaccurate estimate that's in constant decline.

However, this did not stop people from blaming the earlier declines on KD to the Warriors. So it's fun to see what they blame now.

So far my fav is:

We all knew it was going to be bad for the league long term when Kd joined the Warriors.

How would KD going to the Warriors not make ratings worse?

Is it solely to blame? No.

But if you're going to tell me that 29 fan bases already knowing GS would win literally a year in advance didn't have an effect on ratings, then I don't know what to tell you.

It's like the people who will swear that Kawhi and other players doing load management (ie. missing games) has zero effect on ratings, but within the same post they'll say that it's because of injuries (ie. missing games).

Ratings were way up with KD on the Warriors my guy. The ratings on Warriors games were way better than when the Heat and the Spurs had their runs and played in the Finals for example. Since 2015, Steph Curry and the Warriors have been the biggest ratings magnet since the early 2000's Lakers.

The Warriors sudden downfall is far from the only problem with the NBA and their lack of ratings but them coming back to prominence would certainly help the NBA a great deal and bring back a ton of casual fans.

[Scott Hall]

well you're just a digital john dillinger, huh?

Since we're going old school was it illegal to record music off the radio with a blank cassette and play
it on a walkman or in your car?

you're missing the two key differences that nullifies your comparison. can you fish them out and tell us? (there are several actually but two of elevated importance)

and here is a little update about your blank cassette. a portion of money spent purchasing blank cassettes, and later mp3s etc, goes into a fund that pays artists agencies. so in short when you buy a blank cassette you are paying artists for their music. recording music from the radio is considered fair use because the artists are in fact being paid.

so, no it is not illegal to record music off the radio. your failed analogy is of course legal.

Correction my parents money that paid for those blank cassettes get it right slappy

[Curmudgeon]

There is plenty of interesting stuff about the NBA, but virtually none of it appears on NBA TV, with the possible exception of the Starters, and even thy have gone downhill since NBA TV picked them up.

[LouisLitt]

However, this did not stop people from blaming the earlier declines on KD to the Warriors. So it's fun to see what they blame now.

So far my fav is:

How would KD going to the Warriors not make ratings worse?

Is it solely to blame? No.

But if you're going to tell me that 29 fan bases already knowing GS would win literally a year in advance didn't have an effect on ratings, then I don't know what to tell you.

It's like the people who will swear that Kawhi and other players doing load management (ie. missing games) has zero effect on ratings, but within the same post they'll say that it's because of injuries (ie. missing games).

Ratings were way up with KD on the Warriors my guy. The ratings on Warriors games were way better than when the Heat and the Spurs had their runs and played in the Finals for example. Since 2015, Steph Curry and the Warriors have been the biggest ratings magnet since the early 2000's Lakers.

The Warriors sudden downfall is far from the only problem with the NBA and their lack of ratings but them coming back to prominence would certainly help the NBA a great deal and bring back a ton of casual fans.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBA_Finals_television_ratings

Ratings were down after KD joined, my guy. The only slightly interesting year with KD was 2017 because we didn't know what was going to happen in a 7 game series. After that, the ratings clearly fell.

You think the NBA is happy just because one team had an increase in ratings?

Like I said before, the fans of 29 teams knew from the beginning of the season that their team wouldn't win. Outside of the uptick in GS fans (as per you) watching the game, you had a decline overall for the NBA.

Now tell me why the NBA should be happy with this?