NBA Off Topic Thread

[georgiafan]

Re: NBA Off Topic Thread

ratings are down 28% from last year and 48% since 2012 is the numbers I saw from a few weeks ago. The NBA cup thing was also down double digit %. This is while every other major sports league's ratings are up.

I have two questions because I don't know where to find this info...

1) How do this years ratings compare to previous years?


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[Majingir]

Re: NBA Off Topic Thread

Something else I've been thinking about not just for NBA but sports/live events in general that are moving more to streaming services...how are they going to build a new fan base if it becomes more of a chore/commitment to follow them?

You'll make money with current fans paying to watch, and I know more and more people are switching to streaming services and all, but the thing I always loved about TV games are that you can literally just watch it anytime. If you're watching some other show, or watching multiple teams/sports on the same night, you could channel flip to see the other one in between. Or you're more likely to have stumbled upon something you otherwise wouldn't have watched. The way streaming is set up, it's basically designed for current fans who are also likely planning to watch the full game from start to finish without really changing the stream to check out other games or shows in between.

Things like sports being on the easiest to access channels where almost anyone who owned a TV gets the channels the games are on no matter their tv plan are sadly becoming a thing of the past, but that's also what made sports so popular too.

[Master Live 013]

Re: NBA Off Topic Thread

I still have cable, if there is something streaming that I'm interested I will *ahem*, look for it.

But still, the most important stuff is still on the big channels. SB is on the Big Four, NBA Finals is on ABC, WS on FOX, College Football on ESPN/ABC/CBS/FOX, golf majors CBS/NBC etc. Playoffs, for the most part, remain on the Big Four or easy to access channels like TBS/TNT etc.

Streaming just seems like a pain in the ***.

[ggsimmonds]

Re: NBA Off Topic Thread

ratings are down 28% from last year and 48% since 2012 is the numbers I saw from a few weeks ago. The NBA cup thing was also down double digit %. This is while every other major sports league's ratings are up.

One thing to keep in mind, the reporting using 2012 isn't a coincidence. That was a shortened season and began on Christmas. Ratings wise the worst part of a NBA season is the period before Christmas when everyone is focused on NFL. So its basically "Ratings for NBA games played before Christmas this season are down 48% from games played after Christmas in 2012."

Definitely some narrative crafting by the media in using those figures.

[dubcity]

Re: NBA Off Topic Thread

One thing to keep in mind, the reporting using 2012 isn't a coincidence. That was a shortened season and began on Christmas. Ratings wise the worst part of a NBA season is the period before Christmas when everyone is focused on NFL. So its basically "Ratings for NBA games played before Christmas this season are down 48% from games played after Christmas in 2012."



Definitely some narrative crafting by the media in using those figures.

Both can be true. Interest in the league is off, and people are making as much out if as possible for their own benefit. Personally I shed zero tears for the in-season tournament viewership dropping off from last season. The initial reaction to the idea was that it was a questionable gimmick, then when the media hyped it up it became "man, y'all were wrong, imagine thinking this was a dumb idea," and now it's back to be a weird thing that we instantly forget about.

The fact is last years playoffs/Finals weren't hot, and this season is containing that trend thus far.

[georgiafan]

Re: NBA Off Topic Thread

The in season tournament has potential to, but it needs some major changes. The only reward is more $ for the players and unless you are a rookie 15th man that isn't much. The day the games are being played is confusing it would be better if it was consecutive games in January or something. Also going to the finals isn't fan friendly since you find out like a week before the games are being played. Unless you love in California or retired you can't plan a trip to vegas that last minute. Give the winning team a draft pick or something.

[Master Live 013]

Re: NBA Off Topic Thread

At the end of the day a lot of it comes down to players motivation and I don't see a draft pick as motivation for a player.

[ArkGrady]

Re: NBA Off Topic Thread

Not NBA related but, For those who watched AND1 Mixtape/Tape Tour, who's your favorite streetballer?

[VDusen04]

Re: NBA Off Topic Thread

Something else I've been thinking about not just for NBA but sports/live events in general that are moving more to streaming services...how are they going to build a new fan base if it becomes more of a chore/commitment to follow them?

You'll make money with current fans paying to watch, and I know more and more people are switching to streaming services and all, but the thing I always loved about TV games are that you can literally just watch it anytime. If you're watching some other show, or watching multiple teams/sports on the same night, you could channel flip to see the other one in between. Or you're more likely to have stumbled upon something you otherwise wouldn't have watched. The way streaming is set up, it's basically designed for current fans who are also likely planning to watch the full game from start to finish without really changing the stream to check out other games or shows in between.

Things like sports being on the easiest to access channels where almost anyone who owned a TV gets the channels the games are on no matter their tv plan are sadly becoming a thing of the past, but that's also what made sports so popular too.

I think this is a fair consideration.

I dropped cable as a cost-cutting measure recently and while I use a couple of streaming services occasionally (HBO, Amazon Plus, and Hulu), I've pretty much lost total contact with the broader NBA television ecosystem. The only basketball I've really watched this year are the games I go out of my way to see (i.e. Pistons games) and I have to get creative in order to watch them.

Just from personal experience, I've wondered if the definition of what makes a basketball fan has changed over the years, shifting gently away from watching actual, full-length games on a regular basis.

In 2000, for instance, most Americans had cable. In an era when streaming video didn't exist, that meant that basketball fans likely got their content from SportsCenter if they wanted a quick fix, and ESPN, TNT, TBS, FoxSportsNet, WGN, and/or any other affiliate playing full length games, with cable subscribers receiving almost the same universal experience and access. It was relatively easy to fall into games you didn't even plan on watching, even if it meant just throwing it on in the background because nothing else was on.

Contrast that with my experience today and honestly I'm just kind of confused about it all. Without cable, I've caught whiffs of the fact that some basketball might be on HBO, some on Amazon, then there's League Pass, then there's possibly a separate subscription through FanDuel to watch Pistons games, so on and so forth. As you mentioned, I don't really turn on any of those services without a purpose prior, and since access has become more confusing for me, I've found I've just gone ahead and watched less live basketball than ever before.

Now, since I've ever lost the reliability of SportsCenter (though I lost that years ago), my best means of keeping up with the league is through places like Reddit, where I watch very short highlight clips as I see fit. It gives me a very incomplete view of the league as a whole, but that's my reality. And I wonder how many people are experiencing the league the same way now.

[Majingir]

Re: NBA Off Topic Thread

I think this is a fair consideration.

I dropped cable as a cost-cutting measure recently and while I use a couple of streaming services occasionally (HBO, Amazon Plus, and Hulu), I've pretty much lost total contact with the broader NBA television ecosystem. The only basketball I've really watched this year are the games I go out of my way to see (i.e. Pistons games) and I have to get creative in order to watch them.

Just from personal experience, I've wondered if the definition of what makes a basketball fan has changed over the years, shifting gently away from watching actual, full-length games on a regular basis.

In 2000, for instance, most Americans had cable. In an era when streaming video didn't exist, that meant that basketball fans likely got their content from SportsCenter if they wanted a quick fix, and ESPN, TNT, TBS, FoxSportsNet, WGN, and/or any other affiliate playing full length games, with cable subscribers receiving almost the same universal experience and access. It was relatively easy to fall into games you didn't even plan on watching, even if it meant just throwing it on in the background because nothing else was on.

Contrast that with my experience today and honestly I'm just kind of confused about it all. Without cable, I've caught whiffs of the fact that some basketball might be on HBO, some on Amazon, then there's League Pass, then there's possibly a separate subscription through FanDuel to watch Pistons games, so on and so forth. As you mentioned, I don't really turn on any of those services without a purpose prior, and since access has become more confusing for me, I've found I've just gone ahead and watched less live basketball than ever before.

Now, since I've ever lost the reliability of SportsCenter (though I lost that years ago), my best means of keeping up with the league is through places like Reddit, where I watch very short highlight clips as I see fit. It gives me a very incomplete view of the league as a whole, but that's my reality. And I wonder how many people are experiencing the league the same way now.

That's what I hate about it too.

When watching games, I might not watch start to finish every single game, but I'll still check in randomly if it's a game I'm not watching.

Having to decide to commit to paying for a streaming service when you're not guaranteed to be getting your moneys worth by watching most or all games from start to finish doesn't seem worth it.

I know tv ratings are slowly becoming a thing of the past, but there's a reason for games you'd often see things like "3m viewers watched the game but it peaked at 5m in the 4th quarter". You're not gonna see that anymore since people won't be able to as easily tune in to catch the main part/talked about part of the game if they're not already subscribed to that service.

[Junior Moe]

Re: NBA Off Topic Thread

Something else I've been thinking about not just for NBA but sports/live events in general that are moving more to streaming services...how are they going to build a new fan base if it becomes more of a chore/commitment to follow them?

You'll make money with current fans paying to watch, and I know more and more people are switching to streaming services and all, but the thing I always loved about TV games are that you can literally just watch it anytime. If you're watching some other show, or watching multiple teams/sports on the same night, you could channel flip to see the other one in between. Or you're more likely to have stumbled upon something you otherwise wouldn't have watched. The way streaming is set up, it's basically designed for current fans who are also likely planning to watch the full game from start to finish without really changing the stream to check out other games or shows in between.

Things like sports being on the easiest to access channels where almost anyone who owned a TV gets the channels the games are on no matter their tv plan are sadly becoming a thing of the past, but that's also what made sports so popular too.

This is spot on, IMO. That’s why I think the NBA being back on NBC is going to be good for the game. The streaming and cable stuff is one ball of wax. Having games on regular network TV again and having it come after the NFL games is going to be a boon for league fans. Then once the NFL season is over the NBA is getting into full swing.


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[phenom1990]

Re: NBA Off Topic Thread

Jamal Crawford is a good hire for NBC NBA coverage starting next season.

I saw a rumor about Prime trying to get Dirk and Blake Griffin for their Studio show. I wonder how that will work. I haven’t paid attention to Prime NFL studio coverage to have an opinion on what Prime has done so far.

[Master Live 013]

Re: NBA Off Topic Thread

Dammit, I thought NBA on NBC started this season.

[TMagic]

Re: NBA Off Topic Thread

Was just talking about the ratings discussion some and something I haven't seen mentioned...

My boy was bringing up the three point shooting (which he constantly hates on) to which I responded that threes have continuously gone up year after year...just like the ratings. Then he brings up lack of rivalries...but this has been brought up for a while as ratings have gone up as well. So much of what people attribute to this year's ratings dip have been "problems" for a while now in my mind. And that's when I thought about what makes this year uniquely different...

Could ratings being down just simply be reflective of basketball fatigue?

It's really the only thing I can think of that stands out as unique to the league this year. This speaks more to a casual fan

When you think about how after the NBA playoffs/finals, we went straight to WNBA and the blow up in interest they received this year with Clark/Reece and the rest, this went concurrently with the summer Olympics before getting back to the most watched WNBA playoffs, then we got into the summer league and preseason...all before the regular season started

I know for me it was the first time I watched basketball for an entire year straight...An ad for the regular season opening night popped up on my screen and I was like "Damn. Already?!"

Didn't even get a chance to "miss it" [emoji23]

So I'm sure it's not the only thing, but I think fatigue definitely could have played a pretty big role, especially among casuals during football season.

I just hope they don't go making sweeping changes after this one season blip. Especially when you consider what I've read with people having a hard time finding games and what I mentioned above, I think the on court product is the least of the leagues concerns

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[ProfessaPackMan]

Re: NBA Off Topic Thread

Doesn’t help their ratings much nowadays when folks are also using alternative methods to watch their games.

They did get a new TV Deal so for as bad as it’s looking, somebody still paying em for their product. I do find it hilarious, especially on Twitter, how Inside The NBA is to blame for everything that’s wrong about the league. Apparently, Chuck and Shaq and Kenny not providing insightful analysis is the reason why people aren’t enjoying the NBA.