NBA wants more basketball, less noise from its TV coverage

The NBA’s message to its television partners is straightforward: Give fans more reasons to enjoy the basketball.

As the league enters the second season of its agreements with ESPN, NBC and Amazon, executives say the emphasis is on explaining the game, introducing its stars and making broadcasts feel like events.

In an examination of the league’s media strategy for Awful Announcing, Matt Yoder reports that discussions with the networks produced a shared priority after criticism of the NBA’s coverage.

“We need to be celebrating and educating,” NBA media executive Scott Kaufman-Ross told the outlet.

That approach creates room for criticism, but also calls for coverage that helps viewers understand what they’re watching. Constant debates about the league’s shortcomings can leave the actual games feeling secondary.

Yoder points to several changes that have helped move the presentation forward. NBC restored familiar elements such as “Roundball Rock” while introducing features including “On the Bench,” which places analysts behind the teams. Amazon’s LED studio court has provided a setting for detailed demonstrations and analysis.

ESPN, meanwhile, brought Inside the NBA into its coverage through an agreement with TNT Sports, preserving a familiar studio show.

The distribution strategy combines streaming with a larger broadcast television presence. According to Yoder, the NBA is increasing its over-the-air schedule on NBC and ABC from 75 games last season to 90 this season. The final season of the previous agreements featured 19.

The first year brought encouraging results. Yoder reports that regular-season viewership increased 16% across the league’s partners, while the Spurs-Thunder Western Conference finals averaged 10.8 million viewers.

Those numbers also support the league’s effort to build recognition for stars beyond its largest markets. More consistent exposure gives viewers opportunities to become familiar with players such as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Victor Wembanyama and Anthony Edwards.

Finding the games remains a complication. Broadcast, cable and streaming windows give the NBA more outlets, but also require fans to navigate a more fragmented schedule.

Better presentation can help once viewers arrive. Making it easier for them to get there is still part of the job.

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