Earlier in the season, there was significant discussion surrounding ratings for NBA games on ESPN, ABC and TNT. As the league prepares to begin 11-year media rights deals with The Walt Disney Company, Comcast and Amazon reportedly worth a collective $77 billion, concern existed among basketball fans about perceived drops in viewership. This was exacerbated by the Emirates NBA Cup Final averaging 2.99 million viewers on ABC, down 35% from the previous year. At a press conference before the game, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver addressed what was taking place and described the league having reached an inflection point where people watch more programming on streaming platforms than traditional television.
The league rebounded with a strong slate of Christmas Day games airing on ESPN platforms that averaged 5.33 million viewers spanning 13 consecutive hours, indicative of an 87% year-over-year increase. Heading into the new year, the NBA on ESPN broadcast property was up 5% from last year with an average of 1.96 million viewers. Silver divulged during a recent appearance on The Big Podcast with Shaquille O’Neal and Adam Lefkoe that the NBA is slightly down this year on other networks, but he also elucidated that the league attained its highest regular-season viewership in four years last season.
“I think the fact is part of the reason for the change in the new television deals is that one of the advantages of the NBA is that we have a very young audience – an audience that advertisers like, an audience that influencers like – but they’re not watching as much traditional television as they historically did,” Silver said. “It’s interesting – you’re younger than I am, Shaq. I’m now in that official older demographic in that something like 70% of prime time viewership is comprised of people 55 and older.”
Lefkoe conveyed his observation that views of 10-minute game recaps from the NBA on YouTube often have 10 million views by the next morning. Additionally, he explained that the younger generation is consuming these cut-ups and acknowledged the staggering nature of the numbers.
“It’s a great point because by almost any measure, there’s never been more engagement in the NBA than there is at this moment,” Silver said. “No time in our history, and I’m not just talking about globally. When you look at it as a global league, absolutely, it’s not even close, but even domestically, but people are consuming our games in other forms.”
The NBA provides game stories on its mobile application, granting viewers another way to quickly view key moments in the action. In a renewal of a multiyear partnership with X last month, both entities promised “to introduce new, innovative experiences in 2025 and beyond.” While Silver is aware of the success on digital platforms, he also considers it an important part of his job to ensure fans are watching games live, emphasizing its importance to the health of the league.
“Part of what I think we can do better is not just tell the larger stories about players and their lives and off the floor and all that, but the nitty gritty,” Silver said. “What YouTube, streaming, all these different channels allow us to do – your podcast frankly allows fans to better understand the game.”
An example Silver mentioned in this regard pertains to Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo enacting changes to his game, reducing his three-point shooting and playing more in the paint. Silver finds this content to be more engaging than hackneyed takes or analysis about the effort of teams competing on the floor. Moreover, he stated that he would look for different things when watching the Bucks based on learning this information in a story.
“I’ll be self-critical here about the job the league is doing,” Silver said. “I think we have to do a better job and not just leave it to commentators, critics [and] fans to tell those great stories about the game itself, why this game is so special.”
Silver concluded his remarks by articulating that no one does it better than Inside the NBA, which gave him a chance to implore O’Neal to “keep the band together.” O’Neal, who replied that he understood, has been a member of the show since 2011, working alongside Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley and Kenny “The Jet” Smith. As the show is prepared to air surrounding marquee games throughout the year under a sublicensing agreement with ESPN, O’Neal reportedly does not have a contract with TNT Sports for next season.
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