NBA Viewership Declining
Alexander Fry
Staff Writer
It’s no mystery that NBA viewership is on a downward trend. The season began with an alarming drop in viewership for all national TV games, the worst being the Suns vs. Clippers 49% viewership drop from the previous year’s comparable game. While Adam Silver cites the marquee Yankees-Dodgers World Series matchup, the NFL season, and the recent election cycle as reasons for the early decline in viewership, there are other issues present. SportsMediaWatch found that numbers have still been declining, and Adam Silver himself has been constantly looking for ways to change the league to retain viewers, with a recent proposition to lessen quarters from 12 to 10 minutes. While the eventful month of November seemingly affected NBA viewership, there is a plethora of issues (primarily off the court) that have been bringing down ratings.
The product is difficult to access.
Broadcast TV is dying off, and streaming services have established themselves as the primary way to watch television. While watching live sports on streaming has become more accessible over the past few years, it is still a far cry from perfect. To watch ESPN games for the NBA, you need a TV package. For ABC, you need a TV package (or for free, an antenna!). TNT games are watchable through Max, and any non-national TV games are available on NBA League Pass, which was $109.99 at the beginning of the season.
Additionally, you cannot watch games in your local market, meaning last year as a Portland Trail Blazers fan I could not watch Blazer games with League Pass as they were blacked out for Root Sports (our regional sports channel). Therefore, to watch Blazer games, a TV package would be required. While this issue has been alleviated with many teams rolling out their streaming services, it does not fix the accessibility issue with national TV games, and local games would require yet another streaming service to be purchased.
The only solution to watching national TV games and blacked-out games is to illegally stream, which many fans online have cited as a factor to why NBA viewership is declining.
“Too many threes!”
Another frequently cited reason for the decline in viewership is the way the game is played now, which is to get someone open at the three-point line and chuck up a three. Ever since JR Smith realized someone can shoot at will (with Stephen Curry popularizing this method) the league has shifted from the mid-range to the three-pointer. John Schuhmann of NBA.com cited that the three-pointer was worth 1.1 points per attempt while the mid-range was only worth 0.8 points per attempt. Teams figured out that moving a few feet back would yield a much higher point output than the mid-range, and it’s been working as the Boston Celtics (the reigning champions) score 45.3% of their points from threes.
The issue with this? People don’t like it. Hall of Famer Shaquille O’ Neal believes that the strategy of maximizing a team’s three-point output has become stale with every team doing it, citing this and the league becoming “soft” as the reasons for the decline in viewership.
Many fans agree that the abundance of threes is an issue, but the NBA has been evolving for years, so the three-point establishing itself as the most effective tactic is not the primary detriment to viewership. When the entry price to watch an NBA game is an expensive obstacle course, many fans can’t access games in the first place, let alone complain about the controversial three-point bombardment.
Advertising is lackluster.
The NBA Cup (f.k.a. the In-Season Tournament) has been Adam Silver’s best idea as of late, as it brings playoff basketball to the regular season as it’s warming up. However, there is an issue when the advertisement for an NBA Cup semi-final game stated that Houston vs. Oklahoma City “may not have been the marquee NBA semifinal the league was hoping for”. These two teams remain the #1 and #3 seeds in the Western Conference as of February 5th, yet the NBA disregards them as a non-marquee matchup despite both teams’ success during the regular season.
The NBA has also struggled to find their next superstar, as LeBron James and Stephen Curry are still the two most popular players in the league. That’s fine for now, but when both retire within the next 3-5 years, who will emerge as the face of the league? The NBA hasn’t managed to popularize players from the 2020s, mainly sticking to the legends that arose from the 2010s, and this is a problem as those players won’t play for much longer. The young Victor Wembanyama and 3-time MVP Nikola Jokic are both good options, but they haven’t grabbed the same attention as Curry or LeBron. Some theorize it’s because they’re from overseas, and that people would prefer American-born players, but it’s likely because they haven’t yet had the same success or impact on the game as Curry and LeBron have had.
Finally, the issue regarding smaller markets. The NBA hasn’t ever done an amazing job advertising smaller markets, as legacy teams such as the Celtics and Lakers get mass attention, while teams from smaller cities like the Oklahoma City Thunder struggle to get media attention despite being better teams. The NBA Cup semi-final is an example of this poor advertising as they disregarded the Thunder’s success, but it remained an issue as some of the best teams in the league didn’t play a game this past Christmas, but aging superstars on middling teams like the Lakers and Warriors got to play. Curry vs. LeBron did pull the most viewers out of any Christmas game recently, but with their careers ending, the NBA needs to find new blood to push to the mainstream.
Conclusion
There are plenty more reasons that the NBA could be losing viewers. The presentation has gotten worse as the NBA finals use the same graphics as regular season games. The analytical quality has dwindled as “entertainment” is prioritized over proper analysis. The end of games are characterized by a slow free throw battle. Player injuries are another issue, as load management has become the norm.
Overall, the main issues lie with accessibility and advertising, as the confusing hurdles to watch national TV games and the high entry price to watch other games is leading people to pirate, – or not watch at all – taking away viewership from the NBA. The new Amazon deal going into effect next year should help with streaming issues, but the NBA still needs to make sure people want to watch games to retain viewers.
The future of the NBA is bright. The NBA Cup is exciting, new stars are emerging, and a new TV deal should help with the decline in viewership. Even blockbuster trades such as Luka to the Lakers attract excitement towards the league. The NBA will have to keep evolving their marketing and make sure fan accessibility is paramount to get their viewership back, but the pieces are in place for the NBA to make a comeback over the next few years.
Contact Alexandar at alexander.fry@student.shu.edu