Is NBA viewership down because players don’t hate each other?
Вставка
- Опубліковано 9 лют 2025
- On The Stephen A. Smith Show, Smith gives you his renowned point of view, breaking barriers beyond the world of sports, and tackling pertinent issues across entertainment, pop culture, society, business, and politics. Three times a week, you'll hear his LIVE unfiltered opinions on the day's biggest headlines as well as straight-shooting interviews with top celebrities, game-changers, and thought leaders across the societal arena.
The Stephen A. Smith Show is sure to entertain, inform, and motivate anyone who tunes in.
NBA ratings are down cuz:
1. No defense. Team prioritize 3 points
2. Refs call everything a foul, and players always flopping.
3. Refs are very soft, calling technical fouls like giving out candies in Halloween.
4. Players are soft. Load management/entitled players who sit out multiple games.
5. **Top reason: Can't watch games free anymore! You need to have Hulu, Prime, League pass etc. Can’t even watch your own team in your own city! Ridiculous! **
It's not worth it anymore. Even to go see games are hella expensive.
And Lebron/bronny drama, and every fucking player has a podcast, and no real point guards like John Wall type..
@@David2040-q4ti agree with the podcast thing, every player seems to have one and they all just talk about the same topics its mad corny and boring
wish we could have stephen A read this to Adam Silverman on air and discus what the fans want to come back but he want like it because it starts with allice being fired
There are so many more reasons
All that is true. I stop watching it in 2003.
They want to be influencers and fashion icons instead of professional athletes
Their selfish, all they care about is promoting theirselves and their brands.
Well they certainly aren't as single minded about the game that has made them ultra wealthy like their predecessors.
No, Ben Simmons went to the met gala dressed like the Big Ben to emphasise the need for better clock management in NBA
The viewership is down because NBA players are the highest paid professional athletes and they put in the least amount of effort. They don’t even try to hide it. They just flat out don’t care about competing at the highest level or the fans.
Exactly! I went to a game last year. Paid over $500 and the main stars didn't play! It was freezing outside, we paid for the hotel to stay closer to the arena and the main stars didn't play! They played the day before though but because it was a back to back game, they rested.
Don't listen to reporters that work at these networks. These are all old heads talking. The NBA is the first league to 20 million subscribers on UA-cam. 14 million followers gained on Instagram alone last year. The NBA app tripled its viewership last year as well. So unlike other leagues the NBA enacted an excellent multi platform strategy that has the youth and international fans eating it up.
Long form is dead. That is why ESPN and FS1 are dying. "With game times of around three hours that aren't always action-packed, NFL games just aren't ideally suited for younger consumers who are no longer used to pay attention to anything for that long". So these other leagues are just living off old people still interested in yesteryear formats
MLB is highest paying. But yeah I agree.
Wow, had no idea Stephen A, put this much theatrics into his YT posts. Too too much for me to enjoy. Seems perfect for a look at me gen
Viewership is down because football has bullied the nba out of the room. Xmas day used to be reserved for the nba and the NFL even took that
Reminds me of why I loved Kobe. Because anyday of the week mid season you could just throw on any random Lakers game and he was playing like the season was on the line.
Yes for sure. That is how you win championships.
Not only him but allen iverson too ..in fact allen iverson was so dam amazing for his size they should of given him a ring for retirement because of his fearlessness he was a champion in my opinion..I would given him a ring on game alone ..it's not his fault he had a weak squad and yet he still carried them to the finals to face Kobe n shaq..
I wished Kobe could of asked allen to join the lakers to win two chips after shaq left
Except when he threw that playoff game because he wanted to be petty
@@KingHampton-ul1iw I can hear the hater in your voice
That's only part of the problem
1. Game is a 3 point contest
2. Flopping/weak calls/whining to officials
3. No defense (product of part 2)
4. Lack of competitive spirit/drive
Well said 👏
In season tournament that means nothing,
the fact that football is on,
the fact that there are 80 something games so there are essentially no stakes until later
@MeechDaRapper-sm2vn Those last 2 didn't matter in the 80s, 90s, or 00s.
AAU culture
You guys are just watching highlights
Vince McMahon should run the NBA
@@omidfilms there's no females for him to buy off. Try the wnba
Not all of us find wwe entertaining. It always looked stupid to me.
@@xabisombilini5440 It's not about the wwe per-say. It's about his ability to promote, Vince is the goat promoter.
@@AndreRitter-qp3vmHe’s great a great wrestling promoter. Didn’t seem to translate well to the XFL.
He'll create a real rivalry by having snacking with each other like the 80's
I even remember Shaq/Kobe heated rivalries with the Kings! Man good ole days
@@AlphaBuckeye Probably the last real rivalry.
@@smathews731Boston vs Miami big 3
laker fan here, yea those Sac teams really pushed the lakeshow
Shaq and Kobe didn't like each other either at the time, and they were on the same team.
I have a lot of respect for those early 2000 Sacramento Kings teams, the original 3 point shooting team…. They were very scary, every one says the golden state change the game, nope it was Sacramento followed up by Steve Nash Phoenix Suns. Deep 3 or Die.
I’m 58 years old and grew up in the times of the Lakers , Boston, Detroit rivalry’s.. you nailed it!! Took the physically out of the game and it’s morphed into a 3 point shooting game 🤬
it’s down because they’re not allowed to. the techs destroy any competitive spirit
True! Does Adam Silver watch ... anything? In entertainment you need heroes and villains. Everyone can't be a babyface. You need heels too. I like LeBron but he should have embraced the villain role in Miami. Let them hate you like we hate heels in WWE. It's not real hate, we're just playing along. How do you think WWE stays on top of the ratings for 35 years?
Boom!!! THIS!!!!!!
Exactly… like bro the other day Hunter dunk on Wemby and proceeded to stare him down and talked his shit and what happened? both of them received a tech🙂 like wtf
1000% agree 👍
I started to turn the television off when officials were handing out techs for players staring at them too long
The media is also to blame for the nba ratings being down but yall will never talk about it
Exactly they be hyping nonsense takes
Nah we know bro. I can't even take any analyst or nba media serious. They hype up certain players and downplay others. Example: (this my opinion as Boston native) the comparisons with Tatum and Luka are ridiculous, Luka is in another league. Same thing with SGA, heck of a player, but people saying both of them better than Luka, as if Dallas didnt beat OKC in last years playoffs. And of course they always find a way to bring in Lebron into a discussion.
LeESPN
Exactly!
When teams allow 200 points for an all star game then the players have no pride. Everyone is wealthy and don't have to earn anything any more. Players in the 80 and 90s played with pride. Much better basketball back then.
FACTS!!!!
What do you want? Do you want your favorite player getting injured in an all-star and potentially missing the playoffs?
@xabisombilini5440 The players played back in 80s and 90s in all star game and still played in playoffs. Nothing has changed!!!!
@@xabisombilini5440uh, when was the last time that happened and you don't have to play like there's only five seconds left and a title game either. But you can make some effort. The guys 15 years back and before always did.
No defense = No traditional fans from 80s and 90s
Defense doesn’t matter there is a reason people don’t like it
The fans today are all on their phone and they still scrolling when their team is down
The game is boring shooting 3s and only hitting 30% is a boring watch!!
Facts
Definitely
Go watch boxing
Exactly
This is a perfect description of what it feels like to watch
1. No defense
2. Too many 3 pointers
3. Whining/Flopping
4. Refs want to dictate game
5. Load management
6. Everyone wants to be friemds
7. Virtue signaling/Wokeness
8. Have to have subscriptions to apps to watch a game
9. Every player is a diva
Just some reasons why people stopped tuning in
YES 👏
It's actually the lack of LOVE for competition, the game, sacrificing to win. My childhood stars MJ, Duncan, Kobe, Dirk, even AI all loved the game more.
Which is the result of lack of hate that’s why wnba is so much better
Guaranteed contracts
Duncan was boring to watch
Yoo I’m also a football fan, And Football was at his peak when Barcelona/Madrid hated each other Messi vs Ronaldo, Guardiola vê Mourinho. Even in Premier league City vs United… Now everything is love in Football And Basketball wich make it boring to watch.
MJ cried to the commissioner for easier rules. Was best friends with Charles Barkley off the court. And didn’t guard the best player
Viewership is down because nobody watches live tv anymore and we can't watch live games on steaming platforms without paying almost $100 a month. The whole purpose of having those platforms is to avoid the high price of cable. If the apps gave us the ability to pick and choose which sports/channels we want instead of bundling everything together and making us pay for things we won't use, the ratings would go back up...spread the word Stephen A.!
Everyone already knows all of that. The " no one watches TV anymore " argument has already been talked about to death, everyone agrees. But now were trying to figure out other reasons why the league viewership is down.
@thejedioutcast804 What I'm saying is, if the apps were priced better and more personalized, all sports, not just the NBA, would see an increase in viewership. Why pay $100 a month for something I can go to any sportsbar or Dave & Buster's and watch for free? Why pay extra money for all sports, when the only sport I watch is basketball? You say it's been talked about to death...but have they fixed the issue? That's not "equivalent exchange" Ed...it's a rip-off, and I'm not buying it lol.
Yeah im pretty sure if everyone had cable tv again... rating would shoot right back up
@@thejedioutcast804 If no one watches live tv anymore then why hasn't the NFL been affected?
My local football team is the only sports I watch, and I use an antenna to watch the games.
1. No Defense
2. Players Jacking up 3 pointers
3. Load Management
4. Too much politics, social justice, and other BS we don't need
My brother, when was the last time somebody said anything political?
@@mr.denzelsausageton9719 LaMelo Ball just got an insane fine for saying no h*mo. It’s insane
Too much politics and social justice? There's barely any of that hahahaha!
@ there was for years. LaMelo Ball just got $100,000 fine for saying no h*mo. It’s ridiculous. Everybody’s friends nowadays. There’s no rivalry. Nobody really cares. Nobody really wants to be the best or most of them don’t because they all are set for life if they’re smart. They literally only have to play one year of ball to be set for life. The rest is all just for pride.
@@mr.denzelsausageton9719 I can't give you a date but that's like me asking my girl, "When's the last time I cheated?" IT DOESN'T MATTER! Clearly, there was a hole that some feel they dug and you don't get out over night. That stated, for me it's just an overall competitiveness thing. it's just not there for me/
viewership is down because
1) 4 minutes of game -> timeout -> commercial break
2) 2 more minutes of game -> time out -> commercial break
3) foul, free throw
4) foul, free throw
5) foul, out of bounds
6) timeout -> commercial break
7) back from commercial, still shooting free throw from previous foul & time out
60% of the game is commercial and free throws and fouls. like cut that shit out, we wanna see basketball, not commercial.
8) illegal streams... you have no idea how big the audience there.
9) Coach call challenege -> timeout commercials
10) return from commercials coach challenge still being reviewed -> back to commercials
11) return from commercials refs call supported after review, coach loses timeout -> game will resume after commercials
AND MOST IMPORTANTLY... all the commercials are WOKE GARBAGE DEI BS....
the commecials tell us that we have NOTHING in common with the NBA
that's the problem.
@@davidalexander843 The NBA has no control over who the rights holders sell advertising slots to.
I agree with Magic. I have been saying this for a while now. There are no longer any rivalries anymore. The last great rivalry was the Lakers vs Kings. Now everyone wants to hang with each other.
Agreed 👍
What's wrong with mature athletes who choose to rise above hatred? It's just a ball game at the end of the day, compassion and care are signs of real men
Cleavend and GS when LeBron was there
@@juansanchez209 There's nothing wrong with being friends. Magic and Ishah were friends off the court. However, on the court was a completely different story...they wanted to kill each other. Rivalries make things more exciting. Don't get me wrong there are plenty of great talent in the league but one of the things that's hurting the game is a lack of rivalries.
@@soda8736 That one was alright but it was missing the tension of past rivalries
This an extremely great point by Stephen A. Blaming the NBA for taking some of the physicality out of the game is the reason for players being more cordial.
- no one wants to defend anymore
- everybody wants to be Curry
- players don't have the same hunger or aggression
- nepotism
- they care more about their outfits than play
- everything is a foul/soft refs
etc...
Everyone is shooting 3's. In the 90's you had:
PG - penetrate and drive to the basket
SG - long-range jump shots and 3's
F - Mid-range jumpers
C - post-up moves down low
All positions had a purpose and you would have players who would specialize in them. Now everyone is looking for a Wembanyama.
Well put!!
🎯
Agree with this a lot.
Having all 5 positions trying to find space and shoot 3s gets repetitive, then add on theres 82 of these games before the playoffs even start. The NBA will never change the 82 games but they need to.
Once politics got involved it was over. People don't want to be told by a bunch of millionaires who act like victims how to vote or think.
People literally vote for a celebrity
@@mr.denzelsausageton9719 dude is anti establishment thats why they voted for him. Literally rogue, John Wick of elites.
Trump = GOAT
That has nothing to do with the product. I could care less what their uneducated asses think about politics.
Absolutely correct. Almost the same thing happened to the NFL. they turned it around.
What's so bad about the politics? Is what they are saying not true?
Let's calculate a hypothetical NBA score using this rule:
Average NBA score: About 114 points per team (as of recent seasons).
Average 3-point attempts (3PA) per team: About 35 per game.
Average 3-point percentage (3P%): About 36%.
Average missed 3-pointers: misses per game.
Now, applying the rule:
Each missed 3-pointer deducts 1 point.
Point deduction per team: 22.4 points.
Adjusted average score:
114 - 22.4 = 91.6
So, under this rule, the hypothetical average NBA score would be around 92 points per team.
They're too friendly. Now everyone is hanging out after the game and going to dinner together and taking selfies with each other. It's even gotten to the point that Celtics and Lakers players are HUGGING EACH OTHER! (Tatum x LeBron). Its nauseating. Giannis is the only player that has that Jordan/Kobe cutthroat mentality, where he's NOT interested in hanging out with non-teammates in the offseason and refuses to workout with his competition.
AAU culture
I'll tell you what's nauseating. Watching them exchange uniforms and signing them.
Not to mention what they do to one another at Diddy parties…..😊
In the 80's when Magic and Larry played, we had less options for entertainment. We had cable with only 50 channels. Now we have 1000's of options
They cared more, too. No one ever felt Larry or Magic didn't take the game or the result Very seriously. And they stuck with their teams and weren't looking to hop around. I know, some wise guy is going to say "well they were on great teams." And much of their careers they were.
But they didn't threaten to leave when they started to slip just a little bit like some have today. Oh early in Magic's he got frustrated with Westhead and said some things.
And late in Bird's career he got frustrated with his contract negotiation and supposedly was talking to the knicks. But those situations did not last very long and all was worked out.
They still would have been a huge draw in today’s landscape. Magic and Bird are special attractions. That Lakers/Celtics rivalry was intense and physical and must watch. And it was different and unique. You can have the equivalent to that in today’s day and age (like Warriors/Cavs rivalry) and it will do ratings despite all the other forms of entertainment potentially being a distraction
They don't call travels, they don't call double dribbles, the games are scripted calling fouls at key times, players don't play it's rare both teams have their full rosters, casual games aren't competitive and the 3 point nonsense with 4 steps 1 dribble has ruined the game. Take the stupid circle out from under the key. Players need to compete. Men watch sports because it's the ultimate form of Alpha and finding out who's at the top. Basketball looks like a play now. On top of the college game ruined by nil, the sport needs a big change. It's not because players don't hate each other or they haven't found their next unicorn. The quality of the game has degraded.
Players care more about their pregame outfit more than the game. That’s the problem
And 90% of the time those outfits are atrocious.
Yup the NBA is a fashion show with a 3 point shooting contest. No real basketball being played, and the players don't care. Remember when Ben Simmons said he only wanted to get traded to LA or NY because he's a "young socialite" 😂 worried about dating the kardashians instead of working on his game and now look at him 😂
I can't watch it because the courts literally hurt my eyes. Seriously, they're atrocious to look at. Also, there are way too many commercials. Its practically become unwatchable.
I actually got a headache watching one of the cup games. The court design was a disaster
AND MOST IMPORTANTLY... all the commercials are WOKE GARBAGE DEI BS....
the commecials tell us that we have NOTHING in common with the NBA
that's the problem.
The players don't need to hate each other. The biggest rivalry of the 2000s was the Lakers and Spurs. They actually respected each other and acknowledged their greatness. Sometimes you would see Kobe and Duncan joking off the court. During the game, the mindset would switch, and they would play as if they hated each other
Magic is 100 percent correct with the addition of the Meta right now being the a heavy amount of the developmenr of the open look 3 for a majority of the plays in-game. Every team wants to be the 2016 Golden State Warriors, and when the shots don't fall, it's a long night for viewership.
As a GS fan we’re not even trying to live in the past.
To make the game better, for every missed three point shot, that team loses 1 point!
No one wants to talk about it, but the reason they keep comparing the ratings to pre-2018 is because the NBA started getting into politics. You alienate half the fans and expect them to come back? They never did. When Trump got into office the first time the players, especially Steph and LeBron...the two biggest starts, trashed him and the media picked up on it. Why would you ever expect those fans to come back?
So because NBA stars don't like Trump, his followers don't watch basketball anymore 🤔
Exactly.
You are correct that is why I do not watch any more either they hate America they don't care I don't care
Lol I feel like this is actually the main reason for the ratings drop but somehow no one is talking about it 😂
Wrong most people don’t care only crybaby conservatives care about it. They were never a big. Fan base of the NBA in the first place
Magic and Isaiah used to kiss before the game started. Then they'd destroy each other during the game. You can literally confine the "hate" to just the game.
Yeah nobody believed these players hated each other. It was all hard competition. Everyone knew Jordan was friends with Barkley and Ewing back in the day and they all hung out. This revisionist history is insane.
@@emmanuelaltenor9396 Like the commenter said, the hate was confined to the game, not off the court. They went at each other and "hated" each other on the court in regards to competing and trying to win and hating to lose.
They all played in each other's Mid-Night Summer Classic and UNICEF summer games
@@truthiscensored I know. That’s not the argument people use when discussing this topic though. They try to make it seem like players did mingle on or off the court. They have an issue with players being friends. It’s been proven long before that you can be friendly off the court and still be highly competitive on the court.
Ayo?
Even these top HS recruits now all bestfriends ...i think social media made people more accessible and easier to be friends
Isn’t that supposing to be opposite trash each other
I used to think the no hate narrative was ignorant now I see what they were talking about in the 2010s players didn’t punch each other but there was still beef. Every single warriors Cavs game had aura. Westbrook vs KD was must see tv.
Again look at how the game was played in the 90s vs now. Then everyone was on the edge of their seats waiting to see what players were gonna do next.
Now.........🤷♂️💤
Kobe said it best ... " soft like charmin"
When KD went to the warriors that was it for me personally
Mannn…
Bro..dat was the nail in the coffin
I think we were robbed of an epic rivalry between GS and Cleveland
That definitely did it for me. Everyone knew the league was cooked
I don’t think there’s anyone who truly loves the game of basketball is satisfied with where the league is today
It also doesn't help that you can voice left wing talking points or talk about how much you hate Trump openly on the post game interview mic (and be watched by millions) and still not have to worry about any consequences. Meanwhile if you made any kind of right wing talking point or talked about Trump in a positive light it would most likely cut to commercial or the interview would end then and there. Or you would have people lecturing you and texting you about what you just did 10 minutes later when the cameras are off. Im thinking of Greg papabitch, Lebron, and a few others. I don't get how Adam Silver even allows this considering half his audience voted Trump. It's moronic from a business stand point, but I guess you gotta virtue signal and be apart of the " good guys. "
Dude, why every video no matter what the subject you Trump voters come out of nowhere whining he won the election and you’re still bitching
Agree 100
There are no rivalries. Too many threes. No great footwork. Wing players won't challenge & can't beat a double-team. The problem is the coaches all coach exactly the same because all of the teams hired analytics guys who all say shoot more threes, don't shoot mid-range shots, & stop being creative because creativity happens in the mid-range & in the paint.
Ratings are down for one reason and one reason only: THE GAME IS BORING AF. No one wants to watch dudes jack up 3s for 48 minutes. Plain and simple.
The fact that an NBA in season tournament was created to incentivize players to play in games more early in the season…..to give them MORE money than what they’re already making…..shows how bad the product is. They’re all lazy. All of them. Let me repeat: ALL OF THEM.
Lebron brought that AAU buddy buddy chit to the nba. Would be nice if guys really went at one another like they did back in the day
Man look at all the top HS recruits now ...they all friends be making videos w each other like where the Dawgs at
I don't know how to fix the AAU culture mindset
@@soda8736 easy, take flagrant fouls out of the game.
@AlphaBuckeye
Yeah, I like your style. To many rules to help the offense. Instead of exchanging blows they're exchanging uniforms. I'm not advocating thuggery but the game is way to soft.
LeBron is still competitive BUT I'll say I saw a change in him when KD went to the warriors.
Lebron killed the league. He ushered in traveling, flopping and bitchassness in joing friend's instead of competing. He was the founding father of being soft, now they all do it.
Nah Kg Paul Pierce an Ray Allen started it all that's what made LeBron switch teams
@daboiii7822 lmao no it'd a well known fact lebron joined miami to stop kobe, wade said that himself......and garnet allen and pierce are not the same as lebron wade and bosh, Celtics had a great but beatable roster...lebron started the superteam bullshit, no one including the players looked at the Celtics as cheating but I promise u they did when bron went to miami
@@MakaveliCVW They had Rondo too lol he came in the league going crazy wit Celtics it was really a big 4 "U KNO IT AN I KNO ITTTTT" #SKIP VOICE 👁️👽
@daboiii7822 what I know is it wasn't a superteam it's clear to anyone that played basketball or have watched religiously
Rating been down since KD did that weak move joining GSW since then it hasn't recovered
They thought “more points = more excitement”. So they changed the rules to make the game softer.
It worked for a little while until it got boring bc once scoring became easy, it was no longer appreciated.
It's a different time now social media changed this generation they don't have the same fire they just wanna play and get paid and chill after the game 👎
NBA is trying to inflate scoring and promote great numbers that the superstars get, but people don't get excited for the numbers. People love rivalries, when the games feel like more than just a result in the win/loss column, when the games mean a lot more for the players and the refs allow trash talk and physicality on such games, even if they are low scoring people will watch it.
ratings are down all over because of politics and race
It’s a combination of everything.
1. We had the best players like Lebron blatantly telling us the regular season isn’t important. And the media echoed that for years, and they even did it this year for Embid. “As long as he’s healthy for the playoffs..”
2. Players are overly friendly, there are few real rivalries between players.
3. The 3 point rate is atrocious. It was cool when Steph was doing it, but I’m not here for role players whose forte is now shooting but they do it anyway. It looks good when it’s going in, but they don’t go in nearly enough. Teams will be shooting 11/36 from 3, who wanna see that? And the fact that’s it been boiled down to “math” all the teams are copying. Lack of diversity in style of play.
4. Streaming illegally, there tons of people stealing the games.
5. Players sitting out. Self explanatory.
6. THE REFS ARE AWFUL. It’s like they get worse every year. Nobody wants to watch imbalanced games based on league favoritism, incompetence, or flopping.
7. There isn’t enough emphasis on defense.
8. Some fans teams suck, so they bow out til they turn it around.
I love Magic but he can’t say that after kissing Isiah in the finals…twice
Let’s go back to those great Detroit teams of the late 80’s and
early 90’s and see some mean and tough defence.
- No defence
- everyone thinks their steph curry
- teams jacking up 40-50 threes a game
- players are 2 entitled
- load management
- lack of rivalries
- LeGm
- Adam Silver
- players getting the bag, then no effort
- NBA being too political
- toughness taken out of the game
- Refs to trigger happy
- flopping
- game starting to become postionless
- All Star game has become a joke, which reflects on the rest of the league
80% of all these issues is because of Adam Silver.
The Cavs and Warriors were the last rivalry until KD ruined it
if the players don't care, why should we care
The NBA became too woke and too soft
It's just that simple
We all loved MJ, Kobe, KG, Magic, and Bird because they are competitive. These new players want to be SJW’s and besties therefore there is no real competition or rivalries between teams. It’s entertainment after all. Basketball is the sport, entertainment is what reels the audience in from drama. Look at that Westbrook vs KD rivalry.
Viewership is down because they alienated half their fans due to politics
Back in Jordan, Kobe & Magic Johnson days players didn't want to link up & form Super Teams like they doing in today's era, back then players wanted to prove they can beat other players
Yeah it was really shocking when Rodman joined the Bulls or Malone went to the LA
*lebron's the fakest goat ever*
Tell the truth now. Tv viewership is down across the board since the election. People are tired of hearing about Trump everyday. I don't blame them.
@@Badguy10472 you’ve won dumbest comment of the day
Maybe of the year
@@nickypeeps93
For Real 😂😂
@@nickypeeps93 NFL is slightly down, NBA is down, News Networks with the exception of fox is down. However movie going is up. If you're an Anti Trumper who's tired of seeing and hearing about trump you will avoid the tv and find something else to do. It's only gonna get worse next year.
yup.
Another reason viewership is down is because the stars don’t match up and go at each other’s necks like they used to. Prime example Kobe and T-Mac was good friends but when they stepped on the court they was going AT IT!!! to prove who was better. It wasn’t about the $$$ it was about who was the best, And not to mention a lot of stars are constantly out due to “load management” so half the time we can’t even see these matchups.
I agree, its the same reason why the all star game sucks its no longer the greatest pick up game ever.
Ratings are down because the product being put out is garbage. Players don’t play any defence, everyone just wanna shoot 3s, games take way too long with constant interruptions. Like, who’s really gonna sit and watch all that 😂😂
Viewership is down because they make it hard to watch. You have to pay for streaming services that also require NBA league pass, it's really hard to casually watch games like it used to be.
Nice Suit But Yes Amen 💯
They don't need to hate each other, it's enough hate on the internet to go around
Magic Johnson made a good point I think. About competition really not like really hating each other but the competition. That doesn’t exist in the NBA anymore. It’s too boring. It’s too nice and it’s not entertainment. I think that’s why the membership is going down. It’s the quality of the product and the product right now sucks
One big factor of viewership is down because your schedule of time of games is against our timeline in the middle east or Europe. Please fix it!
Viewership is down because it's hard to watch the games you want. Especially in your city. You'd have to have 2-3 different subscriptions to actually watch every game. That's insane!! People don't have money for all that. Not to mention the ridiculous ticket prices 🙄
Lebron getting fans ejects for heckling him is another reason ratings are down.
NBA viewership is “down” because the NBA has made it so difficult to watch games. Way too many blackout zones
It was never hate, it was rivalry, some people don’t understand there is a difference. Now it’s all look at me and not team.
It’s down because over the years players have been told that everything that they’ve done in a regular season doesn’t mean anything, so there’s more of a desire to just play how they play, and focus all their efforts for the playoffs.
Honestly I think it’s a bigger part of than is talked about. Y’all see the tech Wendy caught after getting dunked on today. Ridiculous tech fouls.
Nothing like watching the Pistons, Knicks, Celtics, Lakers, and Bulls in the 80s and 90s.
When Kobe was still playing it was different in NBA I don’t know why but that’s how i feel. NBA was so competitive that time. Spurs lakers Boston Detroit. Pao Gasol. Shaq. Oh man. Miami Heat with Dwyane Wade. Dallas with Dirk Nowitzky, even you watch in the TV. It feels like playoffs all the time
Hard to have rivals when they don't play star players against star players as many minutes as they should,hell I could play 48 minutes
As an athlete I played to play never hated anyone, but to know fans watched it for hate or the visual of hate and competition. The NBA and NFL will never be rated high as before, most professional players now have played together in some form since adolescence. Hate is going to be difficult to manufacture especially because of social media connectedness.😊
That’s why I like watching Dillion Brooks not the best player in the league but he plays with passion.
SAS blaming Bron for this is a major reach. Even rn he’s still the most watched player
I'm glad hate is down, because kids are watching, and they don't need that crap .
The problem for me is availability… games are to hard to find and watch
I remember whem Joel and Kevin had words against each other. Tears in my face.
There’s hardly any gladiators left in the NBA, just buddy-buddy team hopping players now 🤷🏾♂️
The owners, GMs, players don't have a loyalty base. The best players search for easy championships, leaving "fandoms" with no more favorites.
Players should be paid based on performance and by games played. Period!
Topic: Nba viewership is down
Stephen A: Why did Lebron go to Miami?
Seems like Stephen A. has a vendetta against LeBron.
The fans have to hate each other. Kobe and Lebron didn't hate each other. The fans did. Kobe went at his friend's like they were enemies. Olympics he ran through Paus chest
Fix the NBA Blueprint:
1. Make it easier/affordable to watch the NBA and stop blocking home games on league pass
2. Bring back hand checking
3. Allow defense to stand in paint for as long as they want
4. No freedom of movement rule
5. Take away the gather step
6. Start calling all travels/carries/moving picks again
7. Give extremely harsh punishments for load managing
8. Harsh punishments for flopping
9. Stop allowing refs to give techs for the silliest things, we’re there to see the players not the refs
10. Allow players to talk trash all they want aka let them be competitive that’s what we want
11. Take politics out of sports, if players/coaches want to be vocal let them do it on their own platform but any political jargon in the NBA press conferences or games shall be severely punished. We’re watching sports to take our mind off politics
12. Don’t allow players to change teams so frequently. We can’t root for a team anymore because the roster changes drastically every year and have no identity.
13. Take out the in season tournament, it’s so complicated and pointless. Make the regular season regular again.
14. Add a 1 on 1 tournament to the all star game
15. Make the all star game regular east vs west again, make the all star game affect the record of all the players teams
16. Stop advertising so much sports betting
17. Enforce a dress code again. I don’t think families want their kids to see their favorite super star dressed like Zoolander, we want them to set an example for the working man. Suits only and coaches need to wear suits again
18. Make jersey’s look cool again, fire the current jersey designers
19. Go back to the classic court designs from the 2000’s and for the love of god never bring those ugly colorful courts from the in season tournament again!
20. Don’t ever allow players to have so much power that they can force their team to draft their son who obviously isn’t good enough to play in the league. The Bronny situation was insulting to our intelligence as basketball fans
If Adam Silver can execute these rules the NBA has a chance to boost ratings. If not then Adam Silver has to go.
I was just thinking about this , perhaps rivals need to come back , players are to friendly , fans love the competitiveness , but there's more to be done , bring back the physicality.
unlikable lazy players will kill this sport
“ viewership ratings of the National Basketball Association……VIEWERSHIP is down “💀 SAS need to chill
Players went from hating each other to hating fans. I grew up a huge NBA fan. I have not bought NBA gear and don't attend games under any circumstances.
NO! It's because you have to pay different TV stations / cable stations just to watch. People doesn't want to watch that way!
How about keep atleast 2 or 3 stations that will televise games for free! You'll see changes in ratings.
This should be easy. No need to hate each other
The Cavs and Warriors would’ve been that great rivalry. Had KD not gone to the Warriors, that rivalry would’ve been just as heated. They had a lot of tension, were a good match, had the two most popular players on each team, and were in separate conferences.
Every team plays the same style. No differentiating identity. Load management. Once upon a time, we tune in and marvel at player’s immortal abilities to play physical back to back games, play while suffering from flu, injuries, and rivalries between teams/players were real etc. No more of that, makes them so mortal.
Everybody jacking up 3s, no defense, soft fouls, no real rivalries, the game is not the same.
I used to love watching the NBA. Now, it can't go 10 seconds without a 3-pointer or a foul. It's boring.
Viewership is down because everyone is trying to shoot like Curry and they play defense like kitty cats😂