OT: NBA regional ratings down 10%, TNT prime time games down 18%

[Rosewood]

NBA fans don't even watch the games anymore. They just follow on twitter. I mean, ESPN had a article about which storylines to follow this season .

This.

It's like political entertainment now.

[Spurtacular]

Putting in geriatrics into the all star game might help.

[Thanos]

The biggest issue is the fact that EVERY big star is now a drama queen who pouts and whines and refuses to put in the effort to build team chemistry, instead demanding teams cater to them under threat of leaving. I’d bet most fans have grown weary of the never ending drama.

And while there’s been isolated examples in the past, in today’s current culture, LeBron is 100% responsible for influencing all other stars to behave like this.

[R. DeMurre]

Not sure what most of you people are talking about. I think this is a great NBA season. Milwaukee, not Golden State, has the best record in the league, Indiana was out-performing Boston and Philly before Oladipo got hurt, Sacramento might make the playoffs, the Lakers might miss the playoffs, Jokic is leading Denver to a top seed, Orlando finished 5-0 before the ASG and could make the playoffs, Brooklyn is surprising everyone, Jarrett Allen is blocking shots on stars, Lavar Ball's press coverage is drying up, De'Aaron Fox and Derrick White are playing better than Lonzo Ball and Markelle Fultz, the Clippers and the Knicks have cleared enough space to sign to two major free agents each, the list goes on and on... I think this season is amazing.

[NASpurs]

I enjoy the off season and following the transactions more than the actual ing games. Didn't think I would ever become one of those people.

[AlexJones]

I'm sure all those gots who think today's NBA will pass the NFL and MLB any day now will just pretend that the decline is all because of streaming, not because of the Warriors, the Rockets, and the boring-ass styles of play they introduced.

Bro.. never forget when people thought the NBA surpassed the MLB after the 2016 Finals... the World Series game 7 that year did a monster 40m viewership, dwarfed the out of the NBA game 7

[Ginobilly]

It really isn’t a surprise it’s down, I’m just surprised it hasn’t been down earlier and by a wider margin.

There are simply too many competing platforms for that entertainment dollar, and casuals will initially flock to high scoring games, but like any type of entertainment, once the initial wave of novelty wears off the interest wanes. The league decided to go after the casual dollars and alienate the hardcore fans and they are seeing th results now.

How many times can a non-basketball fan see Curry nail a shot from half court with 15 seconds left on the shot clock without being bored of it? S/he will decide that instead of seeing the same predictable move for the 500th time, his/her time is better spent watching Netflix or playing video games or hangout with friends or argue on the Internet.

Besides, the teams are so horribly unbalanced now there are no incentives for the small market teams to build a winning team. First they can’t because free agents would rather go to a horribly run lakers team or Knicks team than to join a well run spurs or grizzlies, second because the profit sharing is already pulling in enormous dollars without them having to do anything, and finally the crazy prices of the new teams essentially makes it no point for a team to even make any type of enormous operating profits when the owner can just sell the team and make billions.

So it’s a downward spiral, where the good teams will get better and the bad teams worse, and the fans of the bad teams will just stop being fans because it’s so horribly run they don’t deserve their hard earned dollars.

Finally, basketball fans are aging in general. A 45 year old with two kids and a mortgage has a lot less disposable income than a 27 year old with no financial responsibilities, despite the prior earning much more. Young kids don’t watch the nba has much as the older folks did back in the day, and the old folks don’t have time to watch anymore because s/he has to work and take care of things at home.

This!

Im 31 years old and I don't watch the nba anymore like I used to when I was a kid back in middle and highschool/college. I remember I couldn't wait to catch wed/thur marquee matchups on espn/tnt to watch lebron vs kobe back in the 2000s. Now the game has gotten to bland and predictable with all the flopping and 3pt chuckfests that I rather just go play bball with friends or do some weighlifting instead. I also cut off cable too and just have the internet to stream some spurs games and watch some of the marvel series on netflix.

They need to bring back 90s/00s nba ball. Along with extending the 3 point line and bring back hand checking.

[Laker_1995]

Just download the bleacher report app and cut your cable. Them s literally post every small dunk, 3 pointer, block, steal, assist, . Just watch clips it’s the same lol.

[Kobe'sAchilles]

Several factors here. There's no real rivalries anymore. I can't name a single rivalry. Maybe Houston and Golden St but not really. I remember watching the Knicks vs Pacers or Heat vs Knicks. These teams hated each other. Rockets vs Spurs was a huge rivalry in the day with thousands of Rocket fans screaming "YEAH GO ROCKETS!" During the anthem here at the dome. Spurs Vs Jazz was another one. Then in the 2000s you had Lakers vs Spurs. Boston vs Miami. Dallas and Phoenix vs Spurs and Lakers. These teams really competed against each other and showed no love between them.


Also as smart as the media claims Lebron, Curry, and Durant are, they are really dumb when it comes to marketing the NBA. For such woke athletes, I don't know how any of them realize it's horrible for your ownership and the entire NBA brand to say over and over and over again how meaningless the NBA regular season is. Just the other day ago, Lebron threw a hissy fit over the fact that he has to play hard on the regular season. If they don't care then why should the fans? Why should anyone pay or take the time to watch meaningless games?

Also the stars are alienating the fans by not fulfilling their contracts. If players really don't want to play for an origination then don't sign the 5 year max money deal. We hear them ing and whining about how hard it is to play for a franchise while making 30 million a year. For that kinda money dude suck it up and play. Everyone has bad stuff they deal with at work. That's why it's called work. Instead of whining about wanting out 2 years early: Kyrie, Kawhi, and AD- play the best that you can for your team and leave when your contract is actually up. Like Durant.

[lefty]

Good point on rivalries

Back when true rivalries existed, regular season games between 2 teams thst hated each other had a real playoff atmosphere

[DAF86]

Meh, the NBA still kicks every other US league ass on Worldwide views.

[Play Boban]

https://awfulannouncing.com/nba/nba-...medium=twitter

But great league tho, twitter told me the nba DOMINATED the nfl during super bowl weekend with the trade rumors

I think it's because of the kneeling and poops rambling

[midnightpulp]

Meh, the NBA still kicks every other US league ass on Worldwide views.

because foreigners have terrible taste in sports. "Hey, Klaus, the footie is over, let's now go watch the handball that is the same in' thing as soccer except you use your hands. After the handball match, we'll watch some basketball, which is the exact same thing as footie and handball except with more scoring. Then tomorrow the field hockey match is on, which is the exact same thing as footie, handball, and basketball except they use sticks."

[midnightpulp]

Australia has great taste in sports, though. So not all foreigners.

[DAF86]

because foreigners have terrible taste in sports. "Hey, Klaus, the footie is over, let's now go watch the handball that is the same in' thing as soccer except you use your hands. After the handball match, we'll watch some basketball, which is the exact same thing as footie and handball except with more scoring. Then tomorrow the field hockey match is on, which is the exact same thing as footie, handball, and basketball except they use sticks."

Terrible taste in sports only because they aren't down with watching out of shape people standing around for 5 and a half hours.

[midnightpulp]

Just download the bleacher report app and cut your cable. Them s literally post every small dunk, 3 pointer, block, steal, assist, . Just watch clips it’s the same lol.

Yeah, this is the primary culprit for the ratings decline. It's not NBA "fans" streaming full games, but following the highlights on twitter and through apps in lieu of watching the games that is killing tv ratings. This is one way the NBA's star centric marketing approach can backfire. The majority of "fans" don't care about the game or teams, they care about stars. As proof, regional NBA ratings are terrible for all but the marquee teams like the Warriors and whenever Lebron plays.

https://www.tigerdroppings.com/rant/...ings/78056337/

Concerning is how poor small market teams do, many below a 1.00 rating.

Basically, NBA fans go where the stars go. This is problematic because you're not guaranteed to get a Lebron or Curry level marketing phenomenon every generation.

[DAF86]

Also, after soccer, the most popular sports in the World are Rugby, car racing, boxing and tennis. None of them have anything to do with each other.

[midnightpulp]

Terrible taste in sports only because they aren't down with watching out of shape people standing around for 5 and a half hours.

Golfers have gotten in much better shape over the years.

[midnightpulp]

Also, after soccer, the most popular sports in the World are Rugby, car racing, boxing and tennis. None of them have anything to do with each other.

You're wrong on this point. Rugby is pretty localized to the "6 home nations," South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, and your country. You'll probably bring up the silly stat that the Rugby world cup had a 4 billion reach, but reach doesn't mean viewership.

The 2007 final attracted a total of 33 million viewers worldwide, who watched the game live and in its entirety.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/new...ectid=10761073

The fact Rugby doesn't have a flourishing pro league anywhere in the world (on the level of a soccer league, baseball league, basketball league) tells me it's totally irrelevant outside of international compe ion. Basketball and Cricket are the number 2 and 3. Boxing is hard to gauge, since popularity can wax and wane depending on whether or not a country has a great fighter.

[FrostKing]

because foreigners have terrible taste in sports. "Hey, Klaus, the footie is over, let's now go watch the handball that is the same in' thing as soccer except you use your hands. After the handball match, we'll watch some basketball, which is the exact same thing as footie and handball except with more scoring. Then tomorrow the field hockey match is on, which is the exact same thing as footie, handball, and basketball except they use sticks."

From my experience, Central Europeans really like tennis and formula 1. And they most certaintly don't spend their
days watching sports talk. More time spent out doors.

[midnightpulp]

From my experience, Central Europeans really like tennis and formula 1. And they most certaintly don't spend their
days watching sports talk. More time spent out doors.

indeed, but I was considering more team sports. Seems Europeans, UK aside, prefer team sports designed like soccer (i.e. ice hockey, handball, basketball, etc) where you got players running around a rectangular surface trying to put an object into a goal. Even Rugby follows this template. And , even the UK, cricket and rugby aren't really relevant outside of international comp.

[baseline bum]

Durant ruined the league. It was like seeing Magic join the 86 Celtics or if Shaq got drafted by the 92 Bulls. No point in watching when you know Golden State is already the champion.

[midnightpulp]

Durant ruined the league. It was like seeing Magic join the 86 Celtics or if Shaq got drafted by the 92 Bulls. No point in watching when you know Golden State is already the champion.

Yeah, and it could get progressively worse when the Lakers get their eventual superteam through FA. On the Warriors side, who are probably the hottest brand in the NBA, there's rumors they might pursue Giannis. I'm cool with FAs choosing where they want to play, but it highlights basketball's problem just how star centric the sport is. The Bucks franchise is basically Giannis, and if they lose him, they're done for the foreseeable future. In the NFL and MLB, you can easily withstand marquee players leaving the franchise if you know how to develop and draft.

[midnightpulp]

All told, MLB saw ratings increase by 2%, and average households increase by 1% compared to 2017.

[spurraider21]

nyquil prices have gone up