As has been mentioned many times this season, viewership for NBA games on television are down from last season, pretty significantly. A telling sign came earlier this week, when the Saturday primetime game on ABC between the Lakers and Houston was down 10 percent in the ratings and 14 percent in viewership from the same matchup last season, even though LeBron didn't play in that game and the Lakers were horrible. Some more info here: https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2020/01/nba-ratings-decline-lakers-rockets-celtics-abc-tnt/
As a whole, viewership is down somewhere between 15 and 20 percent for nationally televised games from the previous season. This is at a rate higher than the year-over-year loss in cable subscribers, so it isn't all cord-cutters. So why is viewership down? Bill Simmons and Ryen Russillo talked about this on their podcast earlier this week, and brought up some interesting possible factors. What do you think the problem is, and do you think this is a significant problem for the league moving forward?
Here are some potential factors:
1. LeBron Moves West. Lebron going to the Lakers, a team that historically always proved popular on national television even when they suck and leaving Cleveland, who are certainly not ratings draws without LeBron, hurts the depth of marketable teams in the league. However, this wouldn't explain the difference in the ratings drop since last year, since LeBron played for the Lakers last season as well.
2. Big Market Teams Suck. Some of the biggest market teams have been underwhelming this season. Out of the top ten TV markets in the US, five of them (New York, Chicago, Bay Area, Washington DC and Atlanta) are home to the worst teams in the league. Under-performing teams in Phoenix (11th biggest market), Detroit (14th) and the twin cities (15th) and there is a problem with the larger market teams sucking.
3. Injuries. The NBA loaded up the schedule with two teams, the ratings stalwart Warriors and the Zion-led Pelicans. However, injuries have basically zapped all the star power from those teams, leading to a bunch of bad matchups for nationally televised games. To a lesser extent, injuries have also likely hurt some other potential draws in Brooklyn, Portland and Detroit.
4.Rest/Regular Season Fatigue. Players don't take the regular season that seriously, it is too long and often times key players will sit out games, which hurts the overall star power of the league on a night-to-night basis. Fans also have been somewhat conditioned to disregard a lot of what happens in the regular season, so they are tuning out more and more.
5. Player movement. Historically, teams that have been relevant for a long period of time tend to draw viewership. The Warriors were not a ratings bonanza until they started collected rings. With players moving more frequently, particularly all-stars and MVP candidates, it is harder to keep marketable teams together for years at time, which hurts their long-term ability to become major ratings draws for networks.
6. Social Media League. The NBA has gotten a lot of deserved credit for embracing social media and skyrocketing its pop culture relevancy through Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. However, the flip side of all that may be that some fans no longer feel obligated to watch the games, and that the real entertainment value of the NBA comes from what you can see on your phone. Particularly during the regular season, people are more likely to be interested in a crazy dunk, potential trades, off-court drama, etc. None of which requires fans to actually watch the games on television.
7. Lack of stylistic diversity. This is something that Simmons and Russillo both mentioned and is perhaps the most interesting factor. With so many teams trying to shoot as many threes as possible, and playing very similarly, it may be turning some fans off of the game. I know a lot of older fans who really don't like how everyone shoots so many threes, regardless of it being the analytically correct thing to do. With so many teams now adopting this approach, it may have bored some fans, and the league needs a greater diversity of playing styles and strategies to keep fans entertained throughout the regular season.
One thing to note is that attendance has been very strong, as has merchandise sales. Fans are still interested in the NBA, but they are not watching it on television as frequently. Given that a bulk of league revenue comes from television, it remains a vital aspect of the league and the decline in viewership will have to be addressed.
As a whole, viewership is down somewhere between 15 and 20 percent for nationally televised games from the previous season. This is at a rate higher than the year-over-year loss in cable subscribers, so it isn't all cord-cutters. So why is viewership down? Bill Simmons and Ryen Russillo talked about this on their podcast earlier this week, and brought up some interesting possible factors. What do you think the problem is, and do you think this is a significant problem for the league moving forward?
Here are some potential factors:
1. LeBron Moves West. Lebron going to the Lakers, a team that historically always proved popular on national television even when they suck and leaving Cleveland, who are certainly not ratings draws without LeBron, hurts the depth of marketable teams in the league. However, this wouldn't explain the difference in the ratings drop since last year, since LeBron played for the Lakers last season as well.
2. Big Market Teams Suck. Some of the biggest market teams have been underwhelming this season. Out of the top ten TV markets in the US, five of them (New York, Chicago, Bay Area, Washington DC and Atlanta) are home to the worst teams in the league. Under-performing teams in Phoenix (11th biggest market), Detroit (14th) and the twin cities (15th) and there is a problem with the larger market teams sucking.
3. Injuries. The NBA loaded up the schedule with two teams, the ratings stalwart Warriors and the Zion-led Pelicans. However, injuries have basically zapped all the star power from those teams, leading to a bunch of bad matchups for nationally televised games. To a lesser extent, injuries have also likely hurt some other potential draws in Brooklyn, Portland and Detroit.
4.Rest/Regular Season Fatigue. Players don't take the regular season that seriously, it is too long and often times key players will sit out games, which hurts the overall star power of the league on a night-to-night basis. Fans also have been somewhat conditioned to disregard a lot of what happens in the regular season, so they are tuning out more and more.
5. Player movement. Historically, teams that have been relevant for a long period of time tend to draw viewership. The Warriors were not a ratings bonanza until they started collected rings. With players moving more frequently, particularly all-stars and MVP candidates, it is harder to keep marketable teams together for years at time, which hurts their long-term ability to become major ratings draws for networks.
6. Social Media League. The NBA has gotten a lot of deserved credit for embracing social media and skyrocketing its pop culture relevancy through Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. However, the flip side of all that may be that some fans no longer feel obligated to watch the games, and that the real entertainment value of the NBA comes from what you can see on your phone. Particularly during the regular season, people are more likely to be interested in a crazy dunk, potential trades, off-court drama, etc. None of which requires fans to actually watch the games on television.
7. Lack of stylistic diversity. This is something that Simmons and Russillo both mentioned and is perhaps the most interesting factor. With so many teams trying to shoot as many threes as possible, and playing very similarly, it may be turning some fans off of the game. I know a lot of older fans who really don't like how everyone shoots so many threes, regardless of it being the analytically correct thing to do. With so many teams now adopting this approach, it may have bored some fans, and the league needs a greater diversity of playing styles and strategies to keep fans entertained throughout the regular season.
One thing to note is that attendance has been very strong, as has merchandise sales. Fans are still interested in the NBA, but they are not watching it on television as frequently. Given that a bulk of league revenue comes from television, it remains a vital aspect of the league and the decline in viewership will have to be addressed.