Re: NBA On ABC Ratings Down 45 Percent Compared To 11-12 Season

Moderators: Domejandro, bwgood77

RealGM Wiretap
RealGM
Posts: 101,870
And1: 291
Joined: Mar 19, 2013

NBA On ABC Ratings Down 45 Percent Compared To 11-12 Season 

Post#1 » by RealGM Wiretap » Mon Aug 17, 2020 7:04 pm

ABC averaged 2.95 million viewers for the 19-20 season compared to 5.42 million for the 11-12 lockout-shortened season, representing a decline of 45 percent.


TNT’s average NBA viewership is down over 40 percent since 2011-2012 and ESPN is down roughly 20 percent over that span.


The 2019 playoffs saw a double digit decrease in viewership.


For the NBA's restart so far, ratings have been lower than the pre-pandemic averages.


Other sports have held steady since 2012. The NFL went from a 16.6 million-person average on nationally televised games to 16.5 million. The MLB averaged 2.5 million viewers on network TV in 2012 compared to 2.4 million in 2019.


The American national TV contract, worth $2.66 billion per year, is the NBA’s largest revenue stream. It also will soon be up for an extension and it is not yet known how its current ratings declines will impact those negotiations. 

Via Ethan Sherwood Strauss/The Athletic

PaulGaston
Junior
Posts: 363
And1: 155
Joined: Mar 14, 2012

Re: NBA On ABC Ratings Down 45 Percent Compared To 11-12 Season 

Post#2 » by PaulGaston » Mon Aug 17, 2020 7:12 pm

I've seen people claim these "poor ratings" are a result of Trump supporters and Anti-BLM boycotting, but aren't these dropped "average ratings" pretty much entirely the result of games being played at unusual hours? To facilitate playing all the games in a single location they have games televised during the work week in the morning and afternoon. That never happens under normal circumstances. Few people are able to watch NBA during work hours, so the ratings suck and the "average ratings" as a whole look terrible. I'd be curious to see how the ratings of the typical timeslots (example: Thursday 7pm/9:30pm) compare. I've heard the ratings for those normal time slots are actually significantly higher than normal. Anyone have a direct comparison?
hippesthippo
Assistant Coach
Posts: 4,135
And1: 3,281
Joined: Sep 20, 2013
     

Re: NBA On ABC Ratings Down 45 Percent Compared To 11-12 Season 

Post#3 » by hippesthippo » Mon Aug 17, 2020 8:23 pm

PaulGaston wrote:I've seen people claim these "poor ratings" are a result of Trump supporters and Anti-BLM boycotting, but aren't these dropped "average ratings" pretty much entirely the result of games being played at unusual hours? To facilitate playing all the games in a single location they have games televised during the work week in the morning and afternoon. That never happens under normal circumstances. Few people are able to watch NBA during work hours, so the ratings suck and the "average ratings" as a whole look terrible. I'd be curious to see how the ratings of the typical timeslots (example: Thursday 7pm/9:30pm) compare. I've heard the ratings for those normal time slots are actually significantly higher than normal. Anyone have a direct comparison?


TV ratings were low before the pandemic..
User avatar
Trailbreaker
Junior
Posts: 360
And1: 115
Joined: Jul 29, 2014
         

Re: NBA On ABC Ratings Down 45 Percent Compared To 11-12 Season 

Post#4 » by Trailbreaker » Mon Aug 17, 2020 8:34 pm

I’m able to watch the TNT and ABC games, but I just cannot afford to purchase ESPN and Fox Sports Ohio, too.
Image
TooBigYo
Freshman
Posts: 77
And1: 11
Joined: Mar 10, 2012
 

Re: NBA On ABC Ratings Down 45 Percent Compared To 11-12 Season 

Post#5 » by TooBigYo » Mon Aug 17, 2020 11:01 pm

Ratings up 20,000% on illegal streaming websites. Executives wonder where their market share is going while our league pass games buffer and play pop-up advertisements that we cannot skip or even tab out of. smh... I bought league pass and it was nearly unwatchable. Not a lot of people have cable anymore.
niha17
Rookie
Posts: 1,125
And1: 68
Joined: Jul 14, 2014
     

Re: NBA On ABC Ratings Down 45 Percent Compared To 11-12 Season 

Post#6 » by niha17 » Tue Aug 18, 2020 12:37 am

Its because basketball was better years ago compared to now

Return to Wiretap Discussion