Rockets suffer 40% drop in local television ratings...

I'm not sure if I recall this correctly, but way back then when I was still a kid, the Rockets showed every game on that one "TV 51" station. I think this was in 2003-2004.

At that time, I didn't have cable and loved how it was on local TV. That would probably help. Believe it or not, that's still one of my favorite seasons til this date despite the horrible JVG offense.

Kelvin Cato getting his points via alley oops from Francis, Jimmy Jackson out on the perimeter, Cuttino Mobley doing his thing and being a decent shooting guard, and Yao Ming had the ultimate potential. Hell, I even remember Jim Jackson hitting a turnaround buzzer beater 82-80 against the Bulls and how we almost played the Kings instead of the Lakers.

Anyways, IMO I really think it has something to do with lack of star players or just "known" players. Personally, I could care less as long as we are winning and a lot of you might disagree, but you're thinking of it from your perspective. You know what my Mom asked me last year after I went to a Rockets game? "Did you get to see Tracy McGrady play? " (bless her soul)

Average Houstonians (your aunt, your nerdy boss, your waitress) don't know who the hell Kevin Martin and Kyle Lowry are lol.

Also, where are the "Houston Rockets" billboards on IH45 with the team slogan of the year? I haven't seen that in a while either.

I'm not even sure how Comcast Sportsnet Houston is going to handle letting other cable and satellite providers pick up their network so I guess we shall see.

Oh, and one more thing. I really don't like that 7:00 P.M. start time. I think it not only affects those who are going to the game and have to deal with rush hour traffic as they're coming home from work but I imagine it can even affect TV ratings. A lot of people come home from work, they eat dinner, etc, and by that time they've already missed part of the game, etc (Not sure how the ratings work in terms of how long you watch or when you started watching)

As stated previously though, just my opinion. We're all Rockets fan. While we may not be able to do anything about TV ratings, you can definitely do something about that league attendance

 

When I moved back to the usa in 98 they were on WB which was fantastic.

 

Matt Thomas gave a shout out, and reference to Clutch Fans just awhile ago.

 

Overly simplistic.....but 100% true.

Like someone else said, if you're posting in this thread, or are even on Clutchfans at all, chances are you're more than just a casual fan. That's why I'll never understand the "you're a bad fan if you complain about the team on Clutchfans" argument.

Most cf posters watch all the games, so really, this stat doesn't have much to do with us. It has more to do with the casual fan than us. Not sure why we're arguing about it so much.

FWIW, I've been watching the games more this year than last.

 

It used to be that all the away games were on local TV and all the home games were on cable. At any rate ratings are something Les can worry about. The % of drop isn't that important anyway, considering San Antonio still gets the best local ratings of any team in the league despite having one of the worst drop offs from last year.

Overall Ratings
Top 5
Team RSN Avg. 2011-12 rating
San Antonio Spurs FS Southwest 7.94
Miami Heat Sun Sports 6.49
Chicago Bulls CSN Chicago 6.10
Oklahoma City Thunder FS Oklahoma 5.97
Cleveland Cavaliers FS Ohio 4.91
Bottom 5
Milwaukee Bucks FS Wisconsin 1.62
Houston Rockets FS Houston 1.56
Charlotte Bobcats SportSouth 1.15
Washington Wizards CSN Mid-Atlantic 1.13
New Jersey Nets YES 0.38


For now the Rockets have the same record as the the defending champs. We have more wins than the "contending" Lakers as of today, and only OKC and Miami have significantly more wins, with 6 more than us. We are argueably a top 10 team, and we will have max cap space this offseason. I understand that until we get a star we won't be considered true contenders, but it isn't all doom and gloom either. They may end up with a mediocre record by the end, but as of today the record is pretty good and there is certainly room for both Martin and Scola to play better than they did the first half.

 

To me, the bottom line is this:

What should the Rockets do in terms of roster changes in response to the data regarding a drop in TV viewership?


Not a single thing. Not in terms of basketball operations. You might change your marketing strategy-- and that's the business side of things, Tad Brown's territory-- but you don't make basketball decisions on trades, drafts, etc. based on TV numbers.

In fact, I don't think Morey gives two ****s about this set of numbers as a matter of building the roster. His goal is to turn the team into a contender by all available means. Whether this means that casual fans, or even die hard fans, lose interest in this year's games or not is irrelevant to his job.

 

People laugh, but we can't underestimate that's it's bad TV when Clyde is there.

 

It's because of fking Clyde "****ty caster" Drexler.

 

This. To be consistent contenders you have to at least win a playoff series to be threat to win a title. We have only done it once since 1997.

 

GOOD POST.

 

Direct causation of why I don't watch every Rockets game this year; I physically can't. My janky cable network has dropped Fox Sports. Wavevision, (used to be TVMax), is the only provider is many apartment complexes in the Washington and WestChase areas, and beginning this year no longer carry the network. They are ghetto and incompetent, and for some reason have a monopoly on my apartment cable options.

Now, of course, being a clutchfan I watch online now. But I can't do this in others' apartments when I don't have my computer readily available, and I have no doubt the inane idiocy of this company has affected others' viewing of the Rockets as well.

 

Of course gives a poop. It's why he carefully stays un der the luxury tax. Les doesn't mind spending to win but unlike Cuban he prefers to run a profitable organization. He happens to believe winning makes money and their is truth to that.

 

The Battier effect?

 

I just got fed up with Stern and his inferior product. I did not watch any games this season until Linsanity happened. I don't know how long I will be watching Lin but if he has to defer to Camelo and other stars and I have to watch that same inferior product again, I will stop.

BTW- I saved so much time from not watching the NBA this season. Got a ton of stuff done so far.

 

It's sounds like you are a lof not a basketball fan. The skill level of guys like bron and Durant is way higher than lin.

 

Couple of hilarious bits I've noticed from this thread:

-I thought this would be about why the casual fan doesn't care about the Rockets and it turns out that a vast majority of CF falls into that category (need a "star" lol, etc).

-It's funny how the guys paid to think long-term have apparently not done so, and the fans who shouldn't think long-term are still trying to do so.

 

I'll be honest, this team is boring as hell to watch.

I barely watch the team this season and when I try, I find myself changing the channel during the first commercial break or timeout and only returning during the commercials of whatever program I changed the channel to.

 

Les held on to Yao forever (way too long) ........and we lost seasons(plural)as a result. Those took a toll on existing fans, a lame duck situation if ever there was one. Then when Yao finally quit while he could still walk (and Les was firmly entrenched businesswise in China), there was the mass exodus of Chinese fans. Beyond this though, it pushed back the rebuilding that should have started a few years ago. Les's philosophy has made him a load of $$, but left our fanbase in purgatory ......Throw in the lockout and other things already discussed here and it's a perfect storm reflected in those numbers. It worries me that Les could be more worried about putting fans in the seats NOW vs. rebuilding in a way that ensures our future window/success. So, don't worry, people will come to the Mausoleum..and they'll turn on the boob tube, but at what cost?

 

hell yeah