Funny enough ratings were significantly better during the peak Lebron years. The ratings have basically declined as he's declined. I've said some version of this in the other thread. The NBA is not the NFL, it never will be. It's more comparable to the NHL or MLB. All 3 have lower ratings than in the 90s when people were more tied to cable tv. The NFL has the benefit of less games. It's easy for even casual fans to catch most of their home team's games. The casual nba fan will watch maybe 20% or less of their home team's games. That number bumps up significantly when there are marketable generational talents in games. People watched those lebron vs warriors games. Nobody gives a crap about Tatum and Shai. They're not in the conversation for the best ever at their positions. The ratings were down when nice guy Duncan was dominating but jumped when Lebron started his tear. There may be some anecdotes here or there but on a grandscale the ratings decline has nothing to do with woke this or that. The next time there is an american Lebron or Steph level marketable star, ratings will come back up. But, you're never going back to 90s level ratings in NBA, MLB, or NHL.
All the highest rated games in the last 15 ish years have been all lebron or steph games. If this was stern he would probably rig it so lebron or steph would get to the finals every year. We have had 5 different champions over the last 5 years which we haven't had since the 70s and its been bad for the ratings.
I never said LeBron featured in zero high rating games. The thread is about viewership being down, and from my small sample size of people I know, I commented on a fact I know why they no longer watch frequently.
the nba lost viewers as the refs have been screwing the rox over since the mergady/sura era. they should start helping the rox if they want national viewership. it's science.
The Warrior dynasty wasn't good for the league. The NBA really wanted to push them and used the refs to help which everyone say. This lowered interest in the NBA from fans of other teams, and casuals loved GSW but they're casuals so can't count on them. Perhaps the NBA should have had fair reffing during the Warrior years. This isn't the only reason, but I think it is a big reason. A good indicator of this would be game attendance. Has that gone up or down? Going to an NBA game is still relatively affordable and makes for an easy night out/date night.
That certainly hasn't helped, but I think it's a combination of factors. Absolute morons like Steve Kerr, Pop, and Lebron's divisive political rhetoric is a factor. The league pushing largely incompetent female refs, prioritizing ideology over quality, is a factor. The league's long history of rigging games is a factor....especially following a Warriors dynasty that was manufactured nearly entirely due to ref interference. The fact that the hands down best player in the league the past 4 or 5 years is no longer black or even American hurts with a large fan demographic. The fact that the league is still pushing the last generation's stars because a new generation has not really emerged properly is a factor. The move away from traditional cable and TV viewership to other methods that are more difficult to track is a factor The fact that the NBA is almost never on national TV anymore is a factor. None of those things by themselves would lead to such a drop off in viewership, but taken together, that's what caused the free fall IMO
this clip in my opinion dialogues why so many people have abandoned the NBA. I really enjoy the NBA, but I almost watch it like if I was watching professional wrestling. I don’t get upset at missed calls because the NBA will push the production they determined gets them ratings.
I think it's a multi-faceted problem. Style of Play The "threes and layups" style of the game that we introduced is now the league-wide default. The only problem is that teams aren't good enough to replicate that style without prime James Harden or Stephen Curry. @tallanvor posted this clip in the NBA dish and it encompasses what's wrong with the style of play: How is that fun or creative for anybody? Basketball is supposed to celebrate individual style within a team structure. The **** above just sucks to watch. The Jazz and Suns made a record 44 3-pointers the other day; the Celtics just won a title by firebombing their opponents from deep. This isn't fun to watch and it isn't the style that drew many of us into the sport in the first place. Pace of Play It's excruciating to watch now between all of the timeouts, challenges, and TV commercials. Every close game ends in a free throw competition and is a grind to get through. There are too many interruptions in play for a sport that is supposed to be fluid. Remember how great it felt to watch the Olympics this past summer? That was because FIBA (and the IOC) is committed to maintaining the flow of the game by letting guys play physically, not rewarding foul-baiting, and having fewer TV timeouts. If I wanted to watch set pieces I'd watch football. Aesthetics The on-court product looks cheap now. There are usually 6-8 on-court ads now (arena name, corporate ad underneath that, Michelob courtside ad, and the Emirates ad during the Cup) in addition to the scorer's table and jersey ads that contrast with official team colors (see: OKC's Love's ad). Nike has completely killed jersey aesthetics with their annual refresh of tired, uninspired designs that stray further and further from team's histories. I saw a clip of Memphis playing the Wizards in DC the other night; the Wizards were wearing gray, Memphis was wearing red, and the court was red because that's one of Washington's "official" colors. Why did the road team look like the home team? Why was the road team wearing a color that is completely divorced from almost 30 years of their history? Everything looks tacky now. Players The current generation of players have sucked the fun out of the game. They demand trades every offseason; they join forces to chase rings instead of compete against each other; they have turned the All Star Game into the lamest event possible by refusing to try; they forced the league to create a mid-season tournament because they couldn't be bothered to reliably compete during the regular season; they sit out games without any prior notice and deprive fans with tickets the value of their money. LeBron should've retired years ago and this farce with his son is the corniest thing he's ever done. Adam Silver Silver has diluted the equity of this league for short-term profits. The Nike deal, the Cup, putting games on multiple streaming services, the ads, and the enmeshment with gambling companies has made it very clear that the only thing that matters to him is short-term profits. He allowed the players to run roughshod over the league with their load management, player empowerment, and moving teams every offseason, all while demanding more money. He's basically the anti-Stern.
NBA TV last night after Dallas and Warriors combined for like 140 pts at half time said how it was the polar opposite of Thunder/Rockets and how boring that was. That this is what people want to see. I was checked out by the 2nd quarter. Rockets/Thunder felt like a Premier League Derby or an October MLB game. Tight. Gripping. Low scoring where everything was earned. YOLO 3 point ball is so boring to watch but people think that more points = better.
Sports personalities are enthralled by point. But let’s not forget that fans cannot stand the matador defense in the NBA allstar game. I cannot remember watching an all start game since perhaps the early 2000’s. The no defense league is the no fun league!
To me it has to do more with the level of superstar talent. The anticipated weekly superstar matchups (Tatum, Jokic, SGA, Doncic, etc.) aren't as appealing to the casual fan compared to the aging superstars of the 00s-10's (LeBron, Durant, Harden, Curry, etc). I personally don't find myself watching as many games outside of the Rockets (I watch all 82 Rox games).
My cousin used to be a season ticket holder, but when they saturated with BLM, he don't watch, or go games anymore. Another lesser reason is the cost of cable TV. As for myself, too much refs conning the game that I don't watch other NBA games. If gambling wasn't involved as much, NBA would be dead.
