In the 2011-2012 season, the NBA was theoretically at its peak. Averaging 2.51 million viewers per game, the NBA was very successful. But eleven years later, the NBA is only averaging 1.36 million viewers per game. A 46% decrease has left the NBA in an extremely low patch recently.
A conversation has risen about the abundance of three pointers and it being the possible reason for the drop in views. Recently, the Charlotte Hornets and Chicago Bulls broke the record for most three pointers missed in a single game with 75, and the Mavericks and Warriors broke the record for most made three pointers in a game with 48. NBA fans believe that the reason views are falling is because players only shoot three pointers and games have become increasingly more boring. Adam Silver, commissioner of the NBA, was asked about the possibility of extending the three point line in an attempt to limit the shot, but he disliked this idea and believed that it would defeat the fun and destroy the creativity of the game.
Also, several NBA players have made unique decisions which have caused mixed opinions. For example, Ja morant, one of the most athletic and impressive players in the league, made a statement that he would no longer be dunking. Joel Embiid has received large amounts of hate towards his efforts recently. Embiid rests on many plays and doesn’t show the same effort he used to when he was an MVP contender. Lastly, LeBron James stepped away from basketball for family reasons, missing two games, and taking the league by surprise. Obviously, there are things more important than basketball, but the decrease in effort and abundance of absences has without a doubt decreased views and fans coming to games.
Another very common complaint by NBA fans is the terrible reffing and the limited emotion players are allowed to express without receiving a technical foul. A specific example is when Jayson Tatum clapped during a game, most likely angry with himself after receiving a foul. The referee decided that was unacceptable and gave him a technical foul. The regularity of this makes the games unwatchable and destroys the point of the game.
Silver recently answered several questions about the decline in viewership and the next steps moving forward. Silver mentioned that the NBA just came off of two years with some of the highest attendance rates in the history of the league. He followed this by saying how the NBA is all over social media and is continuing to grow, and that the league plans to make every single game available on a streaming service starting next year. Not only this, but Silver envisages the NBA expanding globally and has considered the possibility of a European-based league in partnership with FIBA. This would not only allow for more commercial opportunity but would grab the attention of a lot more communities.
The NBA introduced the In-Season Tournament in the 2022-2023 season as a way to increase the competitiveness of the extremely long regular season. This was a big change for the NBA, and in the first year brought a 26% increase in viewers compared to the games played at the same time the previous year. With the NBA In-Season Tournament the NBA was able to introduce new vibrant and unique courts to add a nice twist to the tournament.
The league made a controversial decision to host the final four of this tournament in Las Vegas even though fans believed that a way to bring in more fans would’ve been to host the finals at one of the team’s home courts just like the regular postseason. Silver disagreed by bringing up the importance of fan engagement inside of the city.
In 2024, NBA brought back the In-Season tournament and saw a similar increase in viewership initially but has since dipped 10% with 1.33 million viewers instead of last year’s 1.49 million viewers.
The 2024 NBA Emirates Cup Finals averaged 2.99 million views and crowned the Bucks as the second ever In-Season Tournament champions, but the In-Season-Tournament Finals last year averaged 4.58 million viewers which is 1.53 times more than this year.
Sadly, all of the different factors are still strongly impacting the amount of views and amount of hate the NBA is receiving, and the NBA continues to stay in a low patch. There are problems with the NBA, and the league knows it.
