NBA viewership down

[Lalouie]

Watch on YouTube

exactly, and i don't want to see no "old man yelling" sh** neither

same players at all positions asked to do the same things. when you have that then it becomes an arms race to "the mostest being the bestest"

that is EXACTLY what going on. i dont know if it filters down to how the public consumes that....but basketball is different from all other team sports. most people watch teams to watch teams. people watch basketball to watch it's STARS

well the stars of the past 15yrs are old and the league(and it's audience) are transitioning to a new group that most people don't know. so when i go to the espn nba schedule i go "i don't watch them i don't watch them i don't watch them i don't watch them i don't watch them. i have to watch orlando?"

and we're coming off covid during which people got comfy staying home and consuming streaming.

[jbk1234]

Cord cutting is going to cause some bumps in the road when it comes to ratings. Unless I'm mistaken, ESPN doesn't presently have a stand alone streaming service. You can get TNT on Max but it's kind of expensive if all you're watching is basketball. NBA TV has a yearly package for about $6/month but it's subject to blackout rules and you don't have the option of going monthly. That's before you get to local rights which, at least in Cleveland, cost $20/month. So you're paying about $40/month without watching any of the ESPN games unless you have cable.

The a la carte viewing options are presenting challenges to the entire television industry though, not just sports, and certainly not just the NBA.

I haven't watched a Guardians game at home since I cut the cord. The NFL has a leg up on the other leagues as they broadcast so many games over the air.

I honestly don't know how much longer I'm going to pay for Max so I could lose out on TNT's games as well. The studios are bundling as much as they can together to reach the widest audience at the highest price they can get, but at a certain point, you just have a bunch of mini cable bills where you're back to paying for content you don't want.

[FarBeyondDriven]

Is there any other league where the fans care more about the ratings than the NBA?

NBA fans are the only ones that want see their sport fail despite its success.

Was just coming to say this, it seems this whole thread is a contest of who's been watching basketball less and less and folks actually want the league to fail. Idk, just weird energy around this whole thing.

I've loved watching hoops and the NBA since I was a kid. Who gives af about ratings? Just watch your fav team and move on with your life.

I've been watching the NBA since 1979 and I'd love for this abomination to fail. Not completely, but enough where they might actually change things for the better. Officiating is a joke. The way the game is played is a joke. The entitlement of players and the obscene amounts of money they make is a joke. The way "more skilled and better athletes" are allowed to break all the rules is a joke. If it doesn't change, the money will dry up. It didn't this last time because there are still enough big players willing to bid against one another due to their failing streaming service and how desperate they are. That's probably not going to be the case come next negotiations. And then, Steph, Lebron, Harden, and the rest of the old guard will have retired. Once they're gone go many of their fans and then the ratings decline further prompting smaller bids from TV. Only then, will they finally see the light and enact some long-needed changes.

[NZB2323]

[instagram]https://www.instagram.com/reel/DDKH5FhJoxV/?igsh=aDRtMnFqYjRuY21j[/instagram]

Does anyone know why this IG reel isn’t showing?

[JM00n69]

Cable ratings don't mean **** anymore. Us cable viewership is down because less people have cable now I'd bet. No proper online steaming other than NBA TV which is a bad product. No other official online options because of the streaming contracts. I imagine there's at least another 5M+ worldwide on free streams every playoff game. Same adds but not counted on the totals

[Kiss of Death]

Officiating.

Read on Twitter

[sp6r=underrated]

TV ratings with the exception of the NFL are collapsing. I strongly dislike Silver due to his promotion of gambling but I'm not sure how he, the owners or the players are to blame.

The collapse in viewership is overdetermined. All tv programs had inflated ratings due to a limited number of viewing options. That is gone. Lots of basketball fans primarily watch the sport for athletic highlights rather than the games themselves. Due to twitter, youtube, tiktok, those fans can get the highlights they crave without having to watch a 2 hour game.

I find 3ball spam aesthetically displeasing but I doubt that is causing fans' disinterest. Lots of fans complain about too many games but I doubt the issue can be fixed by moving to 60 or even 40 games. Basketball developed a culture of rings or bust. As long as every decent contender is assured of a playoff spot, regular season apathy will continue. And there is no possibility the NBA will lower the number of playoff spots. NBA defenses are ineffective but that ineffectiveness creates more dunks and 3s which probably inflate television audiences.

In short I don't think this is something that can be readily fixed.

In a lot of ways, every non-NFL sport in America is traveling down the path boxing did for domestic revenue. The objective of the NBA, NHL and MLB is to maximize the amount of dollars they get from existing domestic fans rather than create new domestic fans. The NBA is in a better spot than the other 2 leagues because they have a lot of untapped international markets. The NBA can create new fans overseas. But at home I expect more erosion for TV audiences not less.

[sp6r=underrated]

Officiating.

Read on Twitter

If you think NBA refs are bad point me to the basketball league you think has good refs. And if you think refs are biased against your team you're nuts. As an example, Houston plays in one of the largest US markets. From a purely $$ perspective, The NBA benefits if Houston does well relative to most NBA teams.

[Special_Puppy]

Officiating.

Read on Twitter

If you think NBA refs are bad point me to the basketball league you think has good refs. And if you think refs are biased against your team you're nuts. As an example, Houston plays in one of the largest US markets. From a purely $$ perspective, The NBA benefits if Houston does well relative to most NBA teams.

Is there a sports league where people don't think the refs are biased against their team?

[sp6r=underrated]

Officiating.

Read on Twitter

If you think NBA refs are bad point me to the basketball league you think has good refs. And if you think refs are biased against your team you're nuts. As an example, Houston plays in one of the largest US markets. From a purely $$ perspective, The NBA benefits if Houston does well relative to most NBA teams.

Is there a sports league where people don't think the refs are biased against their team?

Probably not, but the subjective nature of basketball's rulebook and the number of calls per game makes a culture of ref bashing more prominent.

It is easily the least enjoyable part of basketball culture.

[Special_Puppy]

Delete

[jbk1234]

TV ratings with the exception of the NFL are collapsing. I strongly dislike Silver due to his promotion of gambling but I'm not sure how he, the owners or the players are to blame.

The collapse in viewership is overdetermined. All tv programs had inflated ratings due to a limited number of viewing options. That is gone. Lots of basketball fans primarily watch the sport for athletic highlights rather than the games themselves. Due to twitter, youtube, tiktok, those fans can get the highlights they crave without having to watch a 2 hour game.

I find 3ball spam aesthetically displeasing but I doubt that is causing fans' disinterest. Lots of fans complain about too many games but I doubt the issue can be fixed by moving to 60 or even 40 games. Basketball developed a culture of rings or bust. As long as every decent contender is assured of a playoff spot, regular season apathy will continue. And there is no possibility the NBA will lower the number of playoff spots. NBA defenses are ineffective but that ineffectiveness creates more dunks and 3s which probably inflate television audiences.

In short I don't think this is something that can be readily fixed.

In a lot of ways, every non-NFL sport in America is traveling down the path boxing did for domestic revenue. The objective of the NBA, NHL and MLB is to maximize the amount of dollars they get from existing domestic fans rather than create new domestic fans. The NBA is in a better spot than the other 2 leagues because they have a lot of untapped international markets. The NBA can create new fans overseas. But at home I expect more erosion for TV audiences not less.

The NFL broadcasts the vast majority of its games over the air. All you need to watch is a $25 antenna.

[bubbleball]

I know at least where I am, a fan who has YouTube TV can't even watch the local team unless they pay $20 a month to get the streaming service for FanDuel or whatever Bally is now. Things like that I'd imagine would make it tough on fans to get interested in local teams even if they wanted to. Though I would imagine interest in the league remains, just shows in a different way given international interest, online streaming sites, younger fans watching the games via highlights on social platforms, etc

[sp6r=underrated]

TV ratings with the exception of the NFL are collapsing. I strongly dislike Silver due to his promotion of gambling but I'm not sure how he, the owners or the players are to blame.

The collapse in viewership is overdetermined. All tv programs had inflated ratings due to a limited number of viewing options. That is gone. Lots of basketball fans primarily watch the sport for athletic highlights rather than the games themselves. Due to twitter, youtube, tiktok, those fans can get the highlights they crave without having to watch a 2 hour game.

I find 3ball spam aesthetically displeasing but I doubt that is causing fans' disinterest. Lots of fans complain about too many games but I doubt the issue can be fixed by moving to 60 or even 40 games. Basketball developed a culture of rings or bust. As long as every decent contender is assured of a playoff spot, regular season apathy will continue. And there is no possibility the NBA will lower the number of playoff spots. NBA defenses are ineffective but that ineffectiveness creates more dunks and 3s which probably inflate television audiences.

In short I don't think this is something that can be readily fixed.

In a lot of ways, every non-NFL sport in America is traveling down the path boxing did for domestic revenue. The objective of the NBA, NHL and MLB is to maximize the amount of dollars they get from existing domestic fans rather than create new domestic fans. The NBA is in a better spot than the other 2 leagues because they have a lot of untapped international markets. The NBA can create new fans overseas. But at home I expect more erosion for TV audiences not less.

The NFL broadcasts the vast majority of its games over the air. All you need to watch is a $25 antenna.

I know "exception of the NFL . . . every non-NFL sport in America."

[Billy Goat]

I never understood why fans care so much about this. Even if the ratings are reduced by half overnight and then by half again in 3 years time, the NBA would still be by far the richest basketball league in the world and able to attract the top talent of the world. Even if the next TV contract is only 25% of the one it just signed, the NBA would be in a league of its own financially among basketball leagues. The owners and the players will make a lot less money, but I couldn't care less about this, they will be millionaires and billionaires.

Fans care because the terrible ratings clearly correlate with load management, fake injuries, and unlikeable players who don’t want to play on a nightly basis.

[Special_Puppy]

I never understood why fans care so much about this. Even if the ratings are reduced by half overnight and then by half again in 3 years time, the NBA would still be by far the richest basketball league in the world and able to attract the top talent of the world. Even if the next TV contract is only 25% of the one it just signed, the NBA would be in a league of its own financially among basketball leagues. The owners and the players will make a lot less money, but I couldn't care less about this, they will be millionaires and billionaires.

Fans care because the terrible ratings clearly correlate with load management, fake injuries, and unlikeable players who don’t want to play on a nightly basis.

Which unlikable players do you have in mind?

[Hello Brooklyn]

The idea that shooting too many 3s as the reason for declining viewership is idiotic. When the Warriors were popular the NBA was doing great in ratings.

I think young people don't have cable and watch highlights. And basically there are just no compelling stars anymore.

Steph, LeBron, Durant are aging out. Who is the next big thing? Celtics are just boring.

Anthony Edwards is the only player that I think even has a chance to be a global star. Until we figure that out people are going to start tuning out.

Especially during NFL and election season.

[Himothy Duncan]

I don’t know about others but I care less and less each year. The new generation just seems to care about money more than the game and a lot of them are just sus period. With their dumb TikTok dances and crap… I just can’t watch these people.

It’s hard enough that when you’re in your 30s you’re older than most players in the league. There’s less appeal there for me to watch “kids” play compared to when you’re young and watching grown men that you look up to as hero’s/superheroes.

[xchange55]

The idea that shooting too many 3s as the reason for declining viewership is idiotic. When the Warriors were popular the NBA was doing great in ratings.

I think young people don't have cable and watch highlights. And basically there are just no compelling stars anymore.

Steph, LeBron, Durant are aging out. Who is the next big thing? Celtics are just boring.

Anthony Edwards is the only player that I think even has a chance to be a global star. Until we figure that out people are going to start tuning out.

Especially during NFL and election season.

I agree with most of what you said - except for the Celtics being boring

The league still wants to promote a broken down Lebron when there are players like Ant, SGA and Spider who are entertaining to watch.

[Mephariel]

Ant yes. But is SGA and Spider really that promotable?