NBA Ratings Down: Whats Behind the Drop in Viewership?

Alright, so, y’all wanna know why them NBA ratings ain’t lookin’ so hot these days? Well, lemme tell ya, it ain’t just one thing, it’s a whole mess of stuff.

First off, folks ain’t watchin’ TV like they used to. Everyone’s got their phones and their internets now, watchin’ stuff on them little screens. They call it “cord-cuttin’,” sounds fancy but it just means folks ain’t payin’ for that cable TV no more. Heard tell it’s down by like seven percent, that’s a lot of folks not watchin’ them games on the TV.

Then there’s all them games. Seems like they playin’ every night! It’s too much, I say. Back in my day, you waited for the game, it was special. Now, it’s just on and on, gets kinda borin’ if you ask me. And these players, they jumpin’ from team to team like fleas on a dog. Can’t even keep track of who’s playin’ where no more. And them uniforms? Always changin’, lookin’ like a rainbow threw up on ’em. Confusin’, I tell ya, just plain confusin’.

• Too many games
• Players changing teams all the time
• Uniforms always changing

Now, they say after that COVID thing, things got real bad for the NBA ratings. Folks was stuck at home, then they got out and didn’t wanna sit around watchin’ TV no more. Makes sense, I guess. And this year, they talkin’ ’bout the election and the World Series takin’ folks’ attention away. Plus, some of them good players, the ones everybody likes to watch, they been gettin’ hurt. Can’t watch a game if your favorite player ain’t even playin’.

Heard tell that on ESPN, them ratings is down somethin’ awful, like 28 percent! That’s near a third, ain’t it? TNT, they sayin’ their numbers ain’t changed much, still gettin’ ’bout 1.8 million folks watchin’ each game. But that ain’t nothin’ to brag about, is it?

And that championship thing, the Finals they call it, didn’t do so good neither. Lowest number of watchers since way back in 2007, they say. Five years in a row now, not many folks watchin’. Used to be a big deal, now, I dunno, seems like folks got better things to do.

But here’s somethin’ funny, even though folks ain’t watchin’ on TV, they still goin’ to the games. Packed stadiums, they say. More folks goin’ to the games than ever before. Twenty-two point five million, that’s a big number. Guess folks wanna see it live, feel the excitement, not just sit on their couch.

So, what’s the NBA gonna do ’bout it? Well, that’s their problem, ain’t it? Maybe they need to make the games special again, less of ’em, maybe. And get them players to stick around, so you know who you’re rootin’ for. And them uniforms, pick one and stick with it, for goodness sake!

I remember when basketball was simple. Two teams, a ball, and some good players. Now, it’s all fancy this and fancy that. Maybe they need to get back to the basics, you know? Make it about the game again, not all the other stuff. That’s just my two cents, though. What do I know? I’m just an old woman watchin’ the world go by.

Anyways, that’s what I heard ’bout them NBA ratings. Down, down, down. They gotta figure somethin’ out, or pretty soon, nobody gonna be watchin’ at all.

NBA viewership decline is a real problem they need to look at. It ain’t just about money neither, it’s about the love of the game. And right now, it seems like folks ain’t lovin’ it so much.