Fine, I'll bite: why is this an issue and why does it need to be addressed?
That's surprising to see as the WNBA is steadily growing and had a large jump this year--supposedly due to Caitlin Clark Effect[0] (a generational player). But they had been growing viewership steadily before that. I don't really care for basketball in any form, too many points, but I would catch headlines on espn & other sports channels and the WNBA was taking up a lot of real estate in the top headlines this year and before that it was usually about another attendance or viewing record. Curious what they are doing different than the Men's game?
- not my opinion, the ratings are down through and through
- Christmas used to be owned by NBA, this time only 12% of sports fans watched the game. NFL has two games on Netflix that killed all hopes of decent viewership
- that analytics have caught up that 3-pt is not a little more than 2-pt, it is 50 (FIFTY) percent more
- the entire game has now become chuck 3’s for 48 minutes (I am more than casual NBA fan and I tried watching a local game few days ago, LaMelo Ball shot 10 3’s… IN THE FIRST QUARTER)
NBA needs to figure this shit out and faaaaaast as even someone like me who generally watches 50+ games per year before playoffs on TV and dozen or so in person is losing interest in the product
First of all, this is clearly an opinion. It isn't debatable that the ratings are down, but since the ratings are down for all broadcast and cable TV broadly it isn't that damning of NBA specifically, and certainly isn't a strong supporting fact that NBA games themselves are "unwatchable".
> Christmas used to be owned by NBA, this time only 12% of sports fans watched the game
The NBA can't compete with the NFL on ratings, and it's a fool's errand to make that the standard. The NFL is the ratings juggernaut in America, nothing compares to it. The NBA's viewership numbers for Christmas saw a substantial increase this year with the highest viewership since 2019.
A big issue has been how hard it can be for many fans to watch their own team's home games due to regional sports networks and blackout rules for cable, or high expense for a standalone streaming network. Whether the new broadcast deal helps or hurts this remains to be seen - I think splitting the games up across so many services is going to have a continued negative effect even if it's very lucrative for the league.
That said, I can't argue with your lived experience. I do think the idea that every time plays the same way is out-and-out preposterous, but I think the bigger issue is a) an overall soft whistle has made it hard to play defense esp on three-point shooting and b) refs are inconsistent at best, arbitrary at median, and petty at worst.
And that becomes a problem for the business, despite your own stat about the Christmas numbers.
- season is so long, who gives a shit about game on Dec 25th cause it is 100% meaningless
- why even play the game, make them just shoot 3’s like at NBA allstar game
- 7-footers making 3’s should be a rarity (Dirk), not every-fucking-player-shoots-more-than-Steph
- there is no flow to the game, they may as well eliminate coaching if 60% of your offense is “someone chuck it”
you are right, the ratings are down but not for all the sports, I think NBA specifically has an issue they need to resolve. and my words were harsh but I spoke my mind so-to-speak - I am losing interest watching games where it is not uncommon to see more than half the shots taken be 3’s…
I agree with both your points A and B. the article does mention hand-checking outside the box etc which totally makes sense. If I was Silver I would
- SHORTEN the season. I would make Christmas opening night of the league. If NFL wants to take over everything NBA needs to either admit defeat or fight a bit, opening on Christmas would help both with making season shorter and making it more attractive.
- Both your A and B points
- Move 3-pt line back to 27+ feet
what is fascinating to me as a european living in the US is that NFL is absolute garbage of a sport and it is insane that other sports are not more popular. NFL games are 3 hours of which 2 hours and 50 minutes not a damn fucking thing is happening. the TV broadcast people make more money than all but handful of players on each team (understandably so, they have to entertain you for 2 hours and 50 minutes of nothingness), there is just commercial after commercial… like absolute madness the sport is actually popular to watch. I thought maybe fantasy and gambling are main reasons but you can do both without watching the games