WITH $76 BILLION ARRIVING, NBA SEES TV RATINGS PLUNGE IN A THREE-POINT BORE
Christmas Day is a warning for a league that once rode Steph Curry and bombs, with ESPN’s numbers down a whopping 28 percent while Netflix streams two major NFL games to dominate the festive holiday
Were they stoned, drunk or askew? When television executives handed $76 billion to the NBA, were they too busy watching flurries of three-pointers to realize the rest of us were bored? Something is wrong when audiences have slumped with loud sirens — ESPN is crashing with 28 percent fewer viewers — while the Golden State Warriors are anointed as the second-richest franchise in global sports.
Just because those business people each have five houses and 12 cars doesn’t mean they grasp the American landscape. Sometimes logic is best covered by Charles Barkley, who said, “We need to seriously consider starting at Christmas.”
Or Valentine’s Day.
Stephen Curry has been a joy of basketball life, but he’s about to turn 37. “There are a lot of f—ing 3s being shot,” said LeBron James, who is turning 40. Could it be basketball, which always amazes us with balletic movements and new twists, needs a reinvigorated scheme to make people watch again? The NFL will take over Wednesday with two Netflix streams, pushing the NBA’s five-game mix from classic roast turkey to fruitcake. We’re too burned out by bombs beyond the arc, even as the Boston Celtics are primed to win another championship with 51 long tries per game. The country is run by Donald Trump, who isn’t into woke activism, and this buries Curry and James, who pushed for Kamala Harris. And are you at all xenophobic?
The biggest superstars are Europeans, from Nikola Jokic to Luka Doncic to Giannis Antetokounmpo to Victor Wembanyama. Too many perform in smaller markets, such as Oklahoma City, where the best player is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is Canadian. The Warriors and Lakers are headed nowhere, with some of us wondering if James should be traded to the Bay Area, yet commissioner Adam Silver is still giggling after cashing in with ESPN/ABC, NBC/Peacock and streamer Amazon Prime. Never mind the times when a two-hour game was outstanding. He’s thrilled about quickie highlights on devices, the biggest numbers in sports.
Seventy-six billion dollars for a brief 28-footer or a dunk? Wouldn’t we rather have faith that Joel Embiid and Kawhi Leonard will play instead of taking most seasons off, another wicked flaw that abuses fans and their wallets?
“We’re at a point where our social media audience is at the highest of any league and continuing to grow exponentially. So, it’s not a lack of interest in this game,” Silver told media outlets. “We’re almost at the inflection point where people are watching more programming on streaming than they are in traditional television. The vast majority of people consume us through media, not in person. So we have to pay a lot of attention.”
As in: Why are massive networks paying enormous sums for a game on the wane? Why have three-pointers risen from 31.6 attempts from the Warriors, in 2015-16, to outlandish numbers from good shooters in Boston to losers such as the Chicago Bulls? At least Silver acknowledged internal talks. “The answer is yes, (we are having) many discussions about the style of basketball. I would not reduce it to a so-called three-point shooting issue,” he said. “I think we look more holistically at the skill level on the floor, the diversity of the offense, the fan reception to the game.
“I think the game is in a great place. I love watching the games, and I think we have some of the most skilled athletes in the world competing.”
Not if people are blowing off the telecasts, which include a 19 percent falloff for all national networks. The players grew up with hotshot ball and wild shooting and believe they’re advancing the game. Joe Mazzulla coaches the Celtics and might not be confused with Red Auerbach and Bill Russell. “I would say, ‘What are you watching then? Soccer, where there’s no goals? Are you watching football, where there’s too many points?’ ’’ he said last week.
So, basketball is the first sport to cross over into geekville? No one has any interest in who’s winning or losing the 48-minute game? When the Chiefs play the Steelers and the Ravens play the Texans, fans care not only about the winner but the gambling spreads. Beyonce and Mariah Carey will play at halftime, so who’s watching basketball?
Leave it to Lakers coach JJ Redick, the ex-ESPN analyst, to blame his former peers. “I don’t think we have done a good job of storytelling, of celebrating the game,” he said. “If I’m a casual fan and you tell me every time I turn on the television that the product sucks, well, I’m not going to watch the product. And that’s really what has happened over the last 10 to 15 years. I don’t know why. It’s not funny to me.”
Barkley will move to ESPN with Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal. Fans love the harsh shots from the studio. “This game should be celebrated,” Redick said. “The league is more talented and skilled than it was 18 years ago when I was drafted. That’s a fact. There are more players that are excellent. There are more teams that are excellent. We have parity now, and we’re not celebrating parity. And frankly, I would argue as well, that everyone in our ecosystem pays too much attention to what is said on Twitter. And part of this whole ratings discussion is because people on Twitter are talking about it.”
That means Silver is winning via social media. Why would he care much about ratings when the league is depositing $76 billion, with expansion arriving soon in Seattle and Las Vegas? The All-Star Game will feature 24 players split into three teams and a fourth team from a Rising Stars game. Why even play? Festivities should have ended last February, when 397 points were scored. The administrative change?
“I hate it. I absolutely hate it,” Kevin Durant said.
The best idea involves examining the arc. How about moving it back? Never.
The NBA has been through down periods, once when players were more interested in cocaine. Magic Johnson and Larry Bird brought it back. Michael Jordan lended all-time grandeur. LeBron won four times. Curry brought explosions.
Now, we have stars from other continents. America prefers watching football players on Netflix, which booms to 270 million subscribers and is worth $395 billion. This is what is known as a massive corporate collision. At some point, in May, we’ll pay some attention to the long balls of hoops. But we kill to watch football.
The network boys paid $76 billion anyway.
Stoned, drunk AND askew.
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Jay Mariotti, called “without question the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes general sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts and shows in production today. He is an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and talk/podcast host. Living in Los Angeles, he gravitated by osmosis to film projects.