GustavBahler wrote:

Uptown wrote:²

martin wrote:

Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL:

https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1311792631450611713

That was quick. So MDA to Indy?

Did you see this downthread?

Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL:

https://www.twitter.com/espn/status/1311706101495345155/photo/1

The more the flat-earther speaks, the more I realize we dodged a serious bullet Dude is the definition of delusional! It it wasn't obvious before, its pretty clear he and KD are running things in BK. He also implied that Nash is nothing more than a seat-warming yes-man

Uptown wrote:

GustavBahler wrote:

Uptown wrote:²

martin wrote:

Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL:

https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1311792631450611713

That was quick. So MDA to Indy?

Did you see this downthread?

Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL:

https://www.twitter.com/espn/status/1311706101495345155/photo/1

The more the flat-earther speaks, the more I realize we dodged a serious bullet Dude is the definition of delusional! It it wasn't obvious before, its pretty clear he and KD are running things in BK. He also implied that Nash is nothing more than a seat-warming yes-man

Yup, saw that. As long as Durant and Nash are good, they have an outside chance to make it work. Durant has dealt with Kyrie as a teammate in small doses, so to speak. I could see Kyrie messing with Durant's "Zen thing".

As long as Durant wants to play in BK, the Nets are good. If Kyrie left for whatever reason, Nets could still find a star(s) to replace him. Nobody will want to play with Kyrie if Durant bails.

TripleThreat wrote:

https://sports.yahoo.com/game-1-nba-finals-lakers-heat-ratings-low-abc-225636681.html

https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2020/10/nba-finals-ratings-record-low-audience-game-1/

Game 1 of NBA Finals sees lowest viewership in recorded ratings history
Jack Baer
Thu, October 1, 2020, 3:56 PM PDT

Game 1 of the Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat brought in only 7.41 million viewers to ABC, according to The Hollywood Reporter. That is reportedly the lowest viewership seen for the Finals since at least 1994, when total viewers began to be regularly recorded.

The number is down 45 percent from last year’s Game 1 between the Golden State Warriors and Toronto Raptors, which had 13.51 million viewers. This is the fourth straight year Game 1 viewership has gone down compared to the previous season....

Anyone surprised by the NBA Finals seeing record low ratings probably hasn’t been paying attention to how the league has trended since returning to play in Disney World. Or even before.

The playoffs opened with a thud that was partially attributed to weekday afternoon games, and things didn’t get better as the postseason progressed. Per The Hollywood Reporter, the two conference finals series this year were down 35 percent year over year.

***

The steep decline and record-low is in keeping with the trend for sporting events rescheduled from their traditional times of year. Stanley Cup Final viewership sank 61% to a 13-year low; the Kentucky Derby 43% to a record-low; the final round of golf’s U.S. Open 56% to a record-low; the Indy 500 a comparably modest 32% to a record-low. All of those events, like the NBA Finals, are staples of May and June that were relocated to August and September....

Game 1 was still the night’s most-watched show overall and in the key young adult demographics, though that should go without saying for an NBA Finals game. Compared to last year’s opener, ratings fell 40% in adults 18-49 (from 4.8 to 2.9), 38% in 18-34 (from 4.2 to 2.6) and 42% in 25-54 (from 5.2 to 3.0).

Outside of the NFL, no television program has done better in 18-34 or 18-49 since the Academy Awards in February.

Shame, but understandable- I've enjoyed the playoffs, but I get why it wouldn't appeal to more casual viewers- without the crowds and all the hoopla, it's just less of a spectacle. People are developing new habits and breaking old ones over this covid-19 era, and I don't think things are going to snap back once it's passed

if finals are a dud, one part of that is i think a lot of fans are turned off by Lebron just surrounding himself w D.Wade, AD, etc. It's not very sporting and people are tired of it.

NBA has lots of problems that aren't going away soon. Nike Hedgemon[e]y with bad employment practices; China etc.

smackeddog wrote:

Chandler wrote:i actually liked the bubble. no home games. seemed like refs were fairer

if finals are a dud, one part of that is i think a lot of fans are turned off by Lebron just surrounding himself w D.Wade, AD, etc. It's not very sporting and people are tired of it.

NBA has lots of problems that aren't going away soon. Nike Hedgemon[e]y with bad employment practices; China etc.

I wish some of these researchers would just actually ask people why they aren't watching, instead of just publishing the stats and leaving everyone to guess whatever they want

ALL sports viewership are down. Fact is, there are much more important things going on across the country. To make the reason for lowered viewership about the particular ,team, or player is ignoring that reality. Fanatic NBA fans are still watching. Casual fans(Most) are dealing with real life issues. Think the numbers for the NBA finals will only get worse with LA becoming more of a overwhelming favorite.

TripleThreat wrote:

HofstraBBall wrote:Fanatic NBA fans are still watching.

Many fanatic fans are still watching. Some have detached because of the social justice/politics. Ratings will slide because of cord cutting, blackouts and the way the schedule has changed. Also you have 8 teams out of the bubble. Also as you get younger fans, their tendencies won't typically align to sitting in front of a TV for three hours.

But the NBA has lost fans in China/Asia. Fans who are Jewish. Fans who are women. Fans long term in Seattle/Cleveland/Toronto/Sacramento/Charlotte. Because they don't always represent the loudest voices doesn't mean it's not happening.

Not all fans are leaving out of those groups. But it would be irresponsible to say there isn't an impact. I mean if you could pick a group of three that would be the worst for any professional sport to alienate, it would be women, blacks and China/Asia. And not all the damage is going to be equal. Memphis is going to feel the sting a lot differently than the Warriors. That the NBA players have self inflicted against two of the major groups is beyond tragic.

Something no longer discussed because it would trigger the current cancel culture is advertisers/brands do not see all demographics as equal nor always desirable. Many of the fans that the NBA's "Go Woke" movement has lost are going to be some of the fans they can least afford to lose. It impacts who wants to pay for commercial time during NBA games which impacts the TV contracts the NBA gets.

There are some things that NBA can't control. For example the FI/RE movement and the minimalism movement was going to eat into the NBA's merchandising and gate receipts no matter what they did against some core demographics. But losing China and women, if you look at it strictly from a marketing perspective, for basically no reason at all is mind boggling. Elite business schools around the world OUTSIDE of the western influence are going to be talking about this for years. How the NBA should be the 2nd most popular sport in the entire world after soccer and somehow it keeps managing to shoot itself in the foot. In terms of America, I don't think there has been this large scale of a disaster in terms of modern fan/consumer retention since Proctor and Gamble/Gilette decided to associate razors with social justice/misandry.

The mistake people commonly make is the NBA is directing their marketing a certain way on purpose. They are not. They are forced to market against what's left after their players have basically self destructed against most other desirable demographics. I feel bad for Adam Silver. His job is basically to herd cats.

Fans who are Jewish, fans who are women- I’m not even going to ask, but I find your conspiracy theory as fact delivery dodgy.

It’s not all about money, if I was a player, why would I want to entertain a bunch of racists who think I’m some sort of subspecies and who think I shouldn’t be getting so uppity? I’d rather take the financial hit- good riddance.

We have no idea why ratings are down because no one has researched it yet

PG- Nunn
SG- Herro
SF- Butler
PF- Crowder
C- Olynyk

Plus Duncan, Leonard, etc and maybe they bury the Lakers with 3’s if they get hot.

smackeddog wrote:The heat injuries have taken a lot of the anticipation out of the finals, but I think the Heat can still win some games. With a lineup like:

PG- Nunn
SG- Herro
SF- Butler
PF- Crowder
C- Olynyk

Plus Duncan, Leonard, etc and maybe they bury the Lakers with 3’s if they get hot.

Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL:

https://www.twitter.com/alanhahn/status/1312130608886210560

martin wrote:

TripleThreat wrote:

HofstraBBall wrote:Fanatic NBA fans are still watching.

Many fanatic fans are still watching. Some have detached because of the social justice/politics. Ratings will slide because of cord cutting, blackouts and the way the schedule has changed. Also you have 8 teams out of the bubble. Also as you get younger fans, their tendencies won't typically align to sitting in front of a TV for three hours.

But the NBA has lost fans in China/Asia. Fans who are Jewish. Fans who are women. Fans long term in Seattle/Cleveland/Toronto/Sacramento/Charlotte. Because they don't always represent the loudest voices doesn't mean it's not happening.

Not all fans are leaving out of those groups. But it would be irresponsible to say there isn't an impact. I mean if you could pick a group of three that would be the worst for any professional sport to alienate, it would be women, blacks and China/Asia. And not all the damage is going to be equal. Memphis is going to feel the sting a lot differently than the Warriors. That the NBA players have self inflicted against two of the major groups is beyond tragic.

Something no longer discussed because it would trigger the current cancel culture is advertisers/brands do not see all demographics as equal nor always desirable. Many of the fans that the NBA's "Go Woke" movement has lost are going to be some of the fans they can least afford to lose. It impacts who wants to pay for commercial time during NBA games which impacts the TV contracts the NBA gets.

There are some things that NBA can't control. For example the FI/RE movement and the minimalism movement was going to eat into the NBA's merchandising and gate receipts no matter what they did against some core demographics. But losing China and women, if you look at it strictly from a marketing perspective, for basically no reason at all is mind boggling. Elite business schools around the world OUTSIDE of the western influence are going to be talking about this for years. How the NBA should be the 2nd most popular sport in the entire world after soccer and somehow it keeps managing to shoot itself in the foot. In terms of America, I don't think there has been this large scale of a disaster in terms of modern fan/consumer retention since Proctor and Gamble/Gilette decided to associate razors with social justice/misandry.

The mistake people commonly make is the NBA is directing their marketing a certain way on purpose. They are not. They are forced to market against what's left after their players have basically self destructed against most other desirable demographics. I feel bad for Adam Silver. His job is basically to herd cats.

Could also be that NFL games are going on, that baseball playoffs are happening, NHL season ended about 5 days ago. I have no idea whats going on in Europe and Asia and if their sports leagues are in full swing but I gotta guess so. Simultaneous sports happening the the US has probably had more of an eyeball effect than anything.

KnickDanger wrote:Well I'm watching. Heat are working. Butler is having some kind of game.

Yeah, I was pretty sure this was going to be a sweep. Oh well... Lakers in 5 I guess.