For the last two weeks, the sports-media cognoscenti have gotten themselves all worked up about the NBA’s TV ratings, divining disaster from a few desultory sniffs through the early-season results.
For some, the declines were symptomatic of a greater disorder originating from within the league itself, something egregious enough to effectively drive a fifth of the audience away within the span of a single year.
People really don’t like 3-pointers anymore. Also: Everyone’s too nice. And foreign. And “woke.” That kind of thing.
The hot takes begat takes that were hotter still, until Christmas arrived with a sleigh stuffed with holiday cheer and a reminder of better times. The good ol’ days, when nobody paid any attention to the NBA’s ratings until Boxing Day because why would you.
In the wake of a holiday quintuple-header that drew 84% more viewers than a year ago and gave Disney its strongest Dec. 25 ratings since 2019, the NBA’s TV picture is suddenly looking a lot less Grinched up. Season-to-date, the league’s deliveries are now down 4% compared with the analogous period in 2023, which marks a considerable turnaround from the pre-holiday 21% drop. (ESPN, for its part, is now in the black, up 4% year-over-year.)
Leading the turnaround was the Lakers-Warriors primetime tilt, which averaged 7.76 million viewers on ABC/ESPN. LeBron James and Steph Curry have been lights-out on Christmas Day, and when they square off against each other, big earners for Disney. In 2015, Cavs-Warriors averaged 11.2 million viewers, making it the third most-watched Xmas Day game on record, while the following season saw the two teams draw an audience of 10.1 million—a number the Lakers and Warriors duplicated in 2018.
Aha! What’s that you say? Just nine years ago, the in-their-prime pairing drew far bigger numbers than their mellower, wrinklier present-day counterparts? You mean to tell me that the same year in which 98.2 million U.S. households were subscribed to the legacy pay-TV bundle—roughly 48.4 million more subs than is the case today—the Cavs and Warriors drew 3.4 million more viewers? Per Nielsen, overall TV usage has plummeted 44% since James and Curry decked the halls back in 2015, and the drop versus the comparable period a year ago is holding steady at -8%. Is this what the ‘70s meant by the New Math?
All of which is a roundabout way of saying that context matters, and while the people who actually have skin in the ratings game know what the deliveries are worth, much of the commentariat is more or less clueless.
For example, while this may seem counterintuitive to Extremely Online types who don’t understand the law of supply and demand, NBA sales revenues are up 6% since the season began, good for a gain of $12.2 million versus last year. Don’t look now, but there’s Adam Smith’s invisible hand, and it’s giving you the thumbs down for not understanding how the ad market works.
Speaking of context (if not impolite gestures), one reason nobody ever used to get all squirrelly about pre-Christmas NBA ratings was because the season begins when casual fans are busy consuming other top-tier sports content. Although the NFL has become even more rapacious in recent years, the Shield’s dominance over the culture is not a new thing, and as we saw just a few short weeks ago, a World Series with big names and big markets in play tends to overshadow a nice chunk of October. As such, Christmas has long been the unofficial tipoff of the NBA season; it’s the day when the league makes its first big splash with a national TV audience, thereby setting the stage for the comparative riches of spring.
And spring is when the NBA media partners start to really become vested in their ratings deliveries. As one longtime sales boss/programming exec was fond of saying, there’s no point in racing after Q4 impressions when all the ad revenue lands in Q2. Thus, there’s little sense in getting spooked in the pre-Christmas months; when ad rates are negligible, the cost of doling out any necessary audience deficiency units isn’t exactly going to break the bank. If the NBA’s TV numbers are down 21% in the playoffs, sure, that’s cause for concern. But during what amounts to a two-month Advent calendar term? Your tears are watering down the spilt milk.
Temporal considerations aside, the most important to thing remember about sports ratings—or any ratings, for that matter—is that they almost never concern you. Unless you’re a CMO who’s gravely overestimated the impact of a big one-stop buy, you probably don’t need to get too twitchy whenever you happen to notice that ratings for a particular property are down. If you’re a network exec, you know full well that a decline in available ratings points usually leads to an increase in your average unit cost—that’s supply and demand working their dark magic together—and again, the guarantees in Q4 are never all that high to begin with.
Which leaves the National Basketball Association. I can give you about 75.9 billion reasons why Adam Silver’s crew isn’t indulging in the sort of teeth-gnashing and garment-rending that they get up to in lesser-funded leagues, and all of them are proceeded by a little “S” with a vertical line running down the middle. Such is the assurance that comes with working at the country’s second-biggest pro sports league, where the last five minutes of every game can feel like an eternity, but at least the American Tetherball Association isn’t signing your checks.
Lastly, at least a portion of the NBA’s ratings struggles are probably going to clear up next year when the league’s new rights deal kicks in. With 50 regular-season games set to air on NBC beginning this fall, the NBA will have upwards of 70 over-the-air broadcasts in play next season. While fewer than one-fifth (18.1%) of all U.S. TV homes access OTA programming via an antenna, the big uptick in network coverage is almost certain to help bring the numbers back up, as the direct impact of the shrinking pay-TV universe is reduced.
When compared with this season’s lighter fall deliveries, next year’s broadcast-boosted ratings may usher in a new wave of Nielsen navel gazing, especially in light of the 2024 downturn. Not that such a rebound should necessarily compel anyone who isn’t an advertiser to get all up on their hind legs; after all, if pre-Xmas NBA ratings numbers don’t mean much when they’re down, they shouldn’t take on an overstated significance in the event they go back up again.
In the meantime [glances at imaginary wristwatch], has anyone seen the NHL ratings? Or the college basketball numbers? As in, men’s and women’s? Why is everyone so mad at basketball all of the sudden? Is hockey woke now? Wasn’t gambling supposed to fix everything? Somebody really ought to look into that.
More from Sportico.com
Best of Sportico.com
Sign up for Sportico’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Hello, para pencinta slots pernahkah denger istilah “raja slot? Kalau belum, bersiaplah jatuh cinta sama program ini. slot demo adalah mesin slots yang sering memberi win. Yup, mesin-mesin ini bisa disebut sebagai jagoannya tuk bawa come back hasil. tapi, cemana sih
tekniknya jumpain slot demo yang benar? Tenang Bro and Sis, kita bahas tenang aja di tempat ini
Games tergaco saat sekarang hanya satu berada Indonesia yaitu yang menyediakan return terbesar
Daftar hanya di:
Informasi mengenai KING SLOT, Segera Daftar Bersama king selot terbaik dan terpercaya no satu di Indonesia. Boleh mendaftar melalui sini king slot serta memberikan hasil kembali yang paling tinggi saat sekarang ini hanyalah KING SLOT paling gacor, gilak dan gaco saat sekarang di Indonesia melalui program return tinggi di kingselot serta pg king slot
luna88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://luna88.biz/
magnum88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://magnum88.live/
mainslot888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://mainslot888.biz/
margo88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://margo88.biz/
maung888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://maung888.info/
menang88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://menang88.asia/
mitra777 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://mitra777.biz/
mitra777slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://mitra777slot.biz/
msislot88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://msislot88.com/
nonstop888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://nonstop888.biz/
nonstop888slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://nonstop888slot.com/
oxwin777 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://oxwin777.net/
oxwin88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://oxwin88.com/
pahala88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://pahala88.biz/
pan88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://pan88.info/
paris777 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://paris777.asia/
paris777slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://paris777slot.biz/
perdana88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://perdana88.biz/
pesiar88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://pesiar88.org/
pesiarbet88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://pesiarbet88.biz/
pesiarbet88slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://pesiarbet88slot.net/
planet777slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://planet777slot.biz/
populer88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://populer88.info/
psg777 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://psg777.biz/
puas88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://puas88.com/
pulaujudi88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://pulaujudi88.info/
queen88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://queen88.biz/
quiz88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://quiz88.biz/
quiz88slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://quiz88slot.com/
ras77 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://ras77.biz/
ras77slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://ras77slot.info/
rolex888slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://rolex888slot.org/
rusiaslot888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://rusiaslot888.com/
rute88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://rute88.info/
sabet88slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://sabet88slot.com/
sakti88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://sakti88.info/
sakti888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://sakti888.biz/
sakti888slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://sakti888slot.info/
satria88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://satria88.asia/
sawit77 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://sawit77.net/
sayap88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://sayap88.biz/
sensasi77 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://sensasi77.biz/
sensasi77slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://sensasi77slot.info/
siap4d permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://siap4d.net/
sinar88slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://sinar88slot.info/
sugih88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://sugih88.org/
surga8888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://surga8888.com/
surga888slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://surga888slot.biz/
surya88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://surya88.biz/
surya888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://surya888.biz/
v888toto permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://v888toto.com/
vegas888slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://vegas888slot.asia/
venom88slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://venom88slot.org/
wis777 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://wis777.biz/
wis777slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://wis777slot.biz/
xuxu88.org permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://xuxu88.org/
zara88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://zara88.info/
zara88slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://zara88slot.net/
foya888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://foya888.com/
dangdut88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://dangdut88.org/
polaris888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://polaris888.info/
cuan88slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://cuan88slot.net/
cuan88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://cuan88.asia/
calon88slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://calon88slot.com/
calon88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://calon88.biz/
axiata88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://axiata88.org/
artis77 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://artis77.info/
artis77 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://artis77.biz/
gwin88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://gwin88.org/
santai88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://santai88.org/
dewanaga777 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://dewanaga777.biz/
dewi18 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://dewi18.com/
dewigg88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://dewigg88.com/
dewijoker88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://dewijoker88.asia/
dombatoto88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://dombatoto88.net/
dunia30 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://dunia30.com/
dunia88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://dunia88.biz/
erajp88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://erajp88.com/
fyrewin88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://fyrewin88.com/
gaca88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://gaca88.com/
gacha88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://gacha88.biz/
gacorbet999 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://gacorbet999.net/
gajah88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://gajah88.biz/
gemoyslot88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://gemoyslot88.net/
gencar88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://gencar88.net/
gocap88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://gocap88.biz/
gol888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://gol888.org/
grandbet888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://grandbet888.biz/
gudangslot777 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://gudangslot777.net/
gwd88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://gwd88.net/
harapjp88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://harapjp88.com/
himalaya88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://himalaya88.biz/
hondatoto88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://hondatoto88.biz/
ikan88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://ikan88.biz/
imperial888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://imperial888.biz/
indahjp88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://indahjp88.com/
indobola33 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://indobola33.com/
indomax888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://indomax888.biz/
indosloter88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://indosloter88.org/
interwin888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://interwin888.biz/
istana88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://istana88.biz/
slot demo gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://kdwapp.com/
akun demo slot gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://kdwapp.com/
akun slot demo gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://kdwapp.com/
akun demo slot pragmatic permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://kdwapp.com/
akun slot demo pragmatic permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://kdwapp.com/
akun slot demo permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://kdwapp.com/
akun demo slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://kdwapp.com/
slot demo gacor
akun demo slot gacor
akun slot demo gacor
akun demo slot pragmatic
akun slot demo pragmatic
akun slot demo
akun demo slot
slot demo gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://jebswagstore.com
akun demo slot gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://jebswagstore.com
akun slot demo gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://jebswagstore.com
akun demo slot pragmatic permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://jebswagstore.com
akun slot demo pragmatic permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://jebswagstore.com
akun slot demo permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://jebswagstore.com
akun demo slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://jebswagstore.com
slot demo gacor
akun demo slot gacor
akun slot demo gacor
akun demo slot pragmatic
akun slot demo pragmatic
akun slot demo
akun demo slot
slot demo gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://demoslotgacor.pro
akun demo slot gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://demoslotgacor.pro
akun slot demo gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://demoslotgacor.pro
akun demo slot pragmatic permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://demoslotgacor.pro
akun slot demo pragmatic permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://demoslotgacor.pro
akun slot demo permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://demoslotgacor.pro
akun demo slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://demoslotgacor.pro
slot demo gacor
akun demo slot gacor
akun slot demo gacor
akun demo slot pragmatic
akun slot demo pragmatic
akun slot demo
akun demo slot
slot demo gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://situsslotterbaru.net
akun demo slot gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://situsslotterbaru.net
akun slot demo gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://situsslotterbaru.net
akun demo slot pragmatic permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://situsslotterbaru.net
akun slot demo pragmatic permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://situsslotterbaru.net
akun slot demo permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://situsslotterbaru.net
akun demo slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama https://situsslotterbaru.net
slot demo gacor
akun demo slot gacor
akun slot demo gacor
akun demo slot pragmatic
akun slot demo pragmatic
akun slot demo
akun demo slot
situs slot terbaru
slot terbaru
