When it comes to professional sports in America, it’s clear that football is king. College and pro football broadcasts are often among the top telecasts of the year in terms of ratings and fan attention.
For about 20 weeks in the fall and winter, the country stops each Saturday and Sunday to watch their favorite college and professional teams. Sports like the NBA must sustain interest over a longer season, and commissioner Adam Silver is always looking for ways to bring in fans.
The NBA is entering a new media era this season, as its decades-long partnership with Turner Sports comes to an end. TNT and TBS were longtime broadcast homes for the NBA, but the league’s new deals show an eye toward the future, focusing on streaming services like Peacock and Prime Video.
Many fans have complained about the need to subscribe to several services to watch their teams this season, and the commissioner offered an interesting response.
Adam Silver’s Response to Streaming Costs
On Wednesday, Adam Silver was asked about the cost of following a team or the league in general this season, and he offered alternatives for fans who aren’t looking to spend.
“There’s a huge amount of our content that people can essentially consume for free,” Silver said to reporters.
“And this is very much a highlights-based sport. So, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, you name it, any service … there’s an enormous amount of content out there, YouTube is another example that is advertising-based that consumers can consume.”
Games will be on traditional cable and exclusively on streaming for the first time, and some fans could need four or five subscriptions to see all 82 of their favorite team’s games.
The NBA typically does well on social media with engagement and views, but it can often be difficult to translate that interest into a traditional television audience. The league’s new media deals are attempting to meet fans where they are, but it seems that the league is aware of how it is consumed.
Ratings for the NBA Finals – comparable to the NFL’s Super Bowl or college football’s national championship game – have been down since 2020. Last year’s Game 7 of the NBA Finals was the lowest-watched Game 7 in Finals history, a far cry from the 31.02 million who watched Game 7 in 2016.
Where Does the NBA Go From Here?
Silver’s admission that the NBA is a “highlights-based sport” seems to indicate that the league is okay with losing traditional television viewership if interest and fan engagement is measured in other areas.
Another school of thought suggests that the commissioner is speaking negatively about the league’s product. The NBA will generate billions of dollars in revenue from full games, while highlights are only a portion of an entire 48-minute matchup. Some believe that devaluing the full NBA product does a disservice to the game itself.
The NFL found a way to keep fans invested from kickoff to the final whistle. The NBA seems to be fine with fans tuning in for only the best parts – as long as they continue to engage with the league itself.
