META
The NBA has experienced a major decline in viewership and ratings since 2021
The NBA is one of the best sports leagues of all time. Some would even say it’s the pinnacle of entertainment, having produced countless legendary moments that will go down in sports history forever. From the iconic 1993 NBA Finals to that Lebron James block in 2016, the list is endless. And with the NBA currently boasting over 210 million followers across social media platforms along with some of the best athletes that money can buy, you would think that everything is going great for the league. However, it isn’t.
Ever since 2021, NBA viewership has been declining. At first, fans and media analysts assumed that it was just a minor pandemic-related blip and that viewing figures would eventually go back up again. Interestingly, though, this hasn’t happened. Instead, it’s turned into a scary trend, with overall viewers declining season-by-season for the past few years. This has officially led to an NBA in crisis.
Is it time to scream and panic? No. Whether you’re a fan of the Bulls or the Lakers, the NBA will never disappear. But what’s clear to see is that the league needs to take action so that it can get fans interested and streaming in bigger numbers again.
🏀 Why is NBA Viewership Down?
- The 2024 NBA Finals pulled the lowest number of viewers since 2007 and was the fifth straight NBA Finals to average less than 13 million viewers (Sports Media Watch)
- Between 2015 and 2024, average viewership for the NBA Finals in the US has almost halved (Statista)
- Average viewership for NBA regular season games across ABC, ESPN, and TNT has declined by 3% from the 21/22 season to 23/24 season (Statista)
- This season’s ESPN opening doubleheader averaged 1.6 million viewers, a 42% decrease from the 2023 opening game (Awful Announcing)
- TNT’s Thursday Game (Spurs vs. Mavericks) averaged 1.45 million viewers, a 29% decrease from the previous season’s same game (MSN)
What stands out the most here is the huge drop-off in NBA Finals viewers. For the longest time, the NBA Finals have been up there with the Super Bowl when it comes to must-watch American sporting events. Traditionally, even the most casual of sports fans will tune in to watch the NBA Finals — that’s how iconic they are. However, even though gamble-usa.com reports that the NBA Finals still make the top 10 most-watched sporting events in the world, a near 50% decline in viewers since 2015 is enough to sound the alarm bells.
So, all of the latest data tells us one thing: the NBA is going through a rough patch. It’s happened before and will almost certainly happen again, but this time feels a little different. Fan frustration is reaching new highs and the pressure is hotting up on the NBA to act fast and make some changes. First, though, it’s important to identify the specific factors that have led to such a significant decline in NBA ratings since the start of the new decade.
- Overwhelming Choice of Streaming Services
One of the biggest problems in the NBA today is that there are too many streaming services. This is a self-inflicted problem, as the league has ultimately given streaming rights to ESPN, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max, TNT, and more. On the surface, it seemed like a good strategy, especially from a profit perspective. However, it’s causing confusion amongst fans, who now have to subscribe to multiple streaming services if they want to catch all of the action (after all, no single platform has rights to broadcast every game). As a result, this is costing fans hundreds of dollars a season, which simply isn’t sustainable. This is especially true in a time of economic struggle for most US citizens. Simply put, a lot of them just don’t have the money to spend on streaming NBA games.
- A Lack of Big-Name Stars
Another serious issue for the NBA is a lack of big-name stars. Previous decades have seen the likes of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, and countless other legends dominate the game, drawing huge viewership numbers with them. These players were larger-than-life and ultimately put the NBA on the map, and it’s undeniable that nobody in today’s game — excluding Lebron James and Steph Curry — even comes close to touching them. What the NBA desperately needs is the return of big-name stars who are also popular off-court, as this would almost guarantee a rejuvenated cultural interest.
- Increase in Illegal Streaming
We mentioned just then that NBA fans have too many streaming options to choose from. This is a fact and it has ultimately led to a ratings decline. Thrown on top of the fire is also the increase in illegal streaming, something that’s been negatively impacting the NBA (and other major sports leagues) for a while. Although it’s impossible for any official data to be collected on this, it’s believed that millions of fans regularly stream NBA games using illegal websites. This has a hugely negative impact on the league’s revenue and ability to sell TV rights, so the best way for the NBA to fix it is to lower streaming service subscription prices or offer exclusive NBA packages that are more affordable. Until then, fans will continue to illegally stream games so that they can save money.
- A Dominant NFL and US Election Distraction
It’s no secret that the NFL and US election have contributed to the 2024-25 NBA season getting off to an extremely rocky start. Over the past several months, more eyes than ever have been on the NFL, which is still America’s most-watched sports league and benefits massively from having less games and greater overall marketing. Also, we’ve had the recently concluded US election, a global event that has been distracting most people from their daily lives since the start of the new year. Now that the election is over and tensions are settling down, it could lead to a boost in NBA viewership over the Christmas period and the last half of the season.
- Too Many 3-Pointers
During the current NBA season, the decline in viewership has become one of the big topics of discussion across podcasts, social media, and analyst panels. Unsurprisingly, some of the biggest names in the media world have provided their thoughts on the current crisis, including NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal:
“I have a theory that it’s down because we’re looking at the same thing. Everybody’s running the same plays. They want to shoot 50 threes. Steph Curry and those guys messed it up.”
Not many fans will disagree with Shaq on this. After all, most of today’s NBA games are now saturated with 3-pointers. Seemingly, almost every team is following the same strategy of trying to hit as many threes as possible, leading to fan boredom and a lack of interest from the people watching at home. It’s a complete contrast to how the fast-paced and unpredictable way in which NBA games used to be played in the past — and fans don’t like it.
- Constant Injuries
Not only does the NBA have a viewership problem: it also has an injury problem. Naturally, the latter is having an impact on the former, which has been more apparent than ever this season. We’ve already seen the likes of Kevin Durant, Zion Williamson and Ja Morant all get injured before Week 3, so it was inevitably going to lead to some fans tuning out for a while. This is exactly what’s happened, so the NBA needs to fix its injury epidemic to prevent future viewer drop-odds.
Summary: Will NBA Viewership Go Back Up Again?
Despite a significant decline for the NBA brand over the past few seasons, it’s not all bad news. All of the issues the league is currently facing — including the overwhelming choice of streaming services — can be tweaked and fixed. Plus, earlier this year, the NBA penned a new media rights deal with Amazon, ESPN, and NBC, which (according to reports) is intended to increase game accessibility from the 2025-26 season onwards. The 11-year, $75 billion deal will almost certainly benefit the players and fans, especially if new changes are implemented to shorten the number of games, too. This is why a much-needed NBA comeback could be on the horizon if the new media deal can follow through with its intentions and get fans back in numbers. Until then, we’ll have to wait and see what happens.
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