Adam Silver Addresses NBA Viewership Dip To Start Season

November 22, 2024

Television viewership across the NBA has gotten off to a slow start this season, and the league is looking for answers. Commissioner Adam Silver, however, doesn’t seem overly concerned.

Despite speculation that the increase in 3-point shooting or injuries to star players may be impacting interest, Silver pointed to external factors like the World Series and presidential election coverage as the primary culprits.

“I don’t think it has anything to do with the three-point shot,” Silver said in an interview with Cheddar. “We were up against the World Series, and you had a presidential election that was commanding an enormous amount of attention.”

Silver also noted that the league’s global appeal and social media engagement remain strong.

“We have more social media traffic than any time in our history,” he added. “It’s a huge global marketplace of interest in the NBA.”

While that’s encouraging, it doesn’t erase the fact that ratings have been underwhelming. Plus, social media doesn’t mean money. It means brand awareness. Those two things don’t always go hand in hand.

Historically, the NBA sees a boost in viewership during the Christmas slate, so there’s hope the trend will reverse in the coming weeks. But even with marquee matchups on the horizon, the league has work to do when it comes to keeping fans locked in early in the season.

The Emirates NBA Cup has provided a slight boost to regular-season games on Tuesdays and Fridays, creating a new level of intrigue for fans. Still, early-season viewership remains a challenge, with fans seemingly more invested in storylines and social media highlights than sitting down for full games.

For now, the league will keep tweaking its formula, knowing that Christmas often marks the unofficial start of many fans’ NBA calendars. But if ratings don’t pick up by then, the league may have to rethink its approach to engaging viewers during this critical stretch of the season.