NBA Brushes Off TV Ratings Slump

NBA ratings have flopped this season. Through Saturday, viewership was down 19% from this time last year across ABC, ESPN, and TNT, and down 25% with NBA TV included, per Sports Media Watch. Many critics blame the league’s infatuation with 3-pointers. Teams are hoisting up a record 37.5 attempts per game this season, about 15 more than the average a decade ago.

That’s the result of teams embracing analytics, which has shown how chucking up threes is a more efficient strategy than attempting shots inside the arc. Some NBA legends think that’s created a homogenized product: “We’re looking at the same thing,” Hall-of-Famer Shaquille O’Neal said about the decline in viewership.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver brushed off the downturn, pointing to the league having its highest attendance during the past two years and strong performance on social media. And the NBA isn’t alone: Men’s and women’s college basketball ratings are down 21% and 38% this year, respectively, the NHL is down 28%, and even college football lost viewers.

It’s not that deep: The NBA probably isn’t sweating this early season rating downturn, because it’s already locked in a long-term TV megacontract, reports The Morning Brew.