That is not True. Baseball ratings were flat and are generally no. 1 in their markets despite having even more games than the NBA. For example the Astros ratings is 5 whereas rockets ratings were 2 something. https://www.forbes.com/sites/mauryb...ings-in-prime-time-remain-solid/#6a1c2dae3f89 Baseball is more boring to watch than basketball.
My original statement was basketball comparing to itself in relative years. By national games I'm referring to the games on ESPN, TNT and ABC, so regional local ratings growth can be different. So I don't think what we're both saying conflict. Astros was literally in the world series, high regional ratings is good news for them. As far as context, relative to MLB, on average NBA has younger fans. Older viewers skew more towards traditional TV habits. Certain cities may prefer certain sports more, like Dallas will always prefer the Cowboys over the Mavs. For the NBA, my point about the younger fans is NBA is trying not figure out how to better reach them, because their viewing habits and attention span are different. Highlights culture, video games, lot of things compete for their eyeballs.
Load management. If the players and teams don’t care about the regular season, then why should I care? The players don’t really start trying until the playoffs. The regular season feels like a really long exhibition season.
