Quote:
Originally Posted by troutman
National Basketball Association Nielsen ratings
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nationa...ielsen_ratings
Despite the problems in the early-to-mid-2000s, the NBA's regular season ratings average was (and is) on par with Major League Baseball's, and ratings for the finals continue to outdraw competing events that occur during the same month, golf's U.S. Open and the Stanley Cup Finals.
Since 2007, NBA ratings have steadily risen, thanks to the resurgence of nationally recognized NBA teams, their star power, and their annual presence in the NBA Finals. The 2010 Finals, Game 7, had the best rating for a basketball game in the modern NBA on ABC era, and the 2011 Finals held steady in the ratings department as well. Both series drew over a 10 rating, beating the World Series in consecutive years for the first time ever.
However despite the declining TV ratings in the early 2000's and moderate ratings after, NBA's television audience is often younger, and thus very attractive to advertisers
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I think the NBA has made some serious errors in how they've positioned themselves over the last decade; in a superstar-centric marketing model, they can create a lot of buzz about certain players, teams, and games - the games that are on national TV. But at the same time, attendance has declined in many traditionally strong markets. Places like Indiana and Detroit, places with lots of basketball history and average teams. They're basically told by the NBA that their market doesn't matter because it doesn't have stars.
If you can't get people out to those arenas except when Miami or LA are in town, something's really wrong with your fan relationship. People are always going to watch the NBA on TV. Getting people to come out to games again is going to be a lot tougher, especially if a season is wiped out. I agree that it's going to be more like the backlash to MLB in the mid 1990s.