Lillard's and Aldridge's relationship. (He will come back Portland one day)

Fans are out to prove that no one cares about LA half as much as the media does. Nauseating coverage = less viewership.

At least that's what I'd like to believe.

 

I got my love of basketball from my Dad, and I got him to watch some of the playoffs last year, but he basically hates the NBA at this point. He believes most of the stars are manufactured personalities, you can't play good defense without getting called for fouls esp in the regular season. The game is mostly a 3 point contest. Many NBA teams don't know how to run a fastbreak. His list of things he hates about the modern NBA is pretty long and he's been watching it for 60ish years. Thing is a lot of his points, I kind of agree with, or at least I understand where he's coming from.

 

I have to think that the perpetual migration of top talent to the West is killing the NBA's viewership in the East. Not only are most of the game's top stars playing for WC teams, but games played in the west start at 9:00 pm to 10:30 pm on the east coast and don't finish until midnight or later.

 

Wait, are you my son?

Seriously, though, while I kind of agree with many of your dad's complaints, I'm still enjoying the game in the 3-point era. The game got pretty boring in the defensive era of the Pat Riley Knicks. I wouldn't mind them allowing a bit more hand checking though.

 

Just did a little digging. Blazers Broadcasting’s numbers are actually UP! Even higher than last season. Gotta’ love that.

 

hah!

I don't think he liked the Knicks, Detroit era, but he is pretty adamant in his opinion that they've gone so much the other way, you can't guard 3 point shooters, the calls stars get now make the Jordan rules seem tame. He also hates how much whining there is when those guys don't get calls, since they get so many anyways. I thought the playoff run last year would get him into the Blazers again, but while he watched some of it, I just can't get him roped into it.

 

You can thank the 2004 rule changes or something.

 

Don't let ratings fool you. The NBA is more popular than ever. Most of the declining ratings are due to only counting TV cable box and satellite viewers. People watching through streaming services are much more difficult to track for ratings. Plus just look how many people in here illegally stream the games.

This is a problem with all TV not just the NBA.

 

It's not hard to track "streaming", it's hard to track illegal streaming though.

 

I'm pretty sure those "ratings" are only including TV viewers to the actual channel. Anyone streaming on their computer, phone, or tablet whether legally or illegally aren't being accounted for in the "declining" numbers.

 

I'm not sure, but either way, there seems to be growing sentiment that the caps going down, and not very many numbers suggesting that the NBA is more popular than ever. It may be, but I haven't heard anyone back that assertion up with real numbers.

 

Yikes. No

i'm 100% with your dad. I rarely watch NBA. I watch Portland usually because its so comforting to lay on the couch in the winter and watch the Blazers for nostalgia reasons. But the game itself is awful. I dont like this type of basketball. I find myself counting passes when they cross half court, just to track how many times its 0 or 1, and I'll tell my kids how bad that is. This is all they know of course, so they think I'm probably some old fart who doesnt get it. The amount of bad shots is nauseating. As far as the athleticism, its unreal and impressive, but who cares. I like the actual game of basketball.

 

I totally agree with you in fact I’m very suprised this exact point is not being centered on more. I kid you not I really don’t know anybody that legally streams games all my friends watch illegally. They are so reliable nowadays you really don’t need to pay for nba streaming

 

They are the best! Lamar and Kevin are great! I love them. And of course, Brooke is on too.

 

It's not about popularity. It's about $$$. Declining ratings means fewer people are watching live on TV, which means less ad revenue that can be generated to pay those obscene contracts the TV providers give to the NBA (& other sports).

More people are streaming & watching recorded versions of the game to be able to skip commercials.

There is a moral/ethical issue that is being glossed over here.... However, this type of behavior is rampant & will have large ramifications for all parties involved moving forward.

 

That's one way to look at it....... or maybe they REALLY love the highlight packages and music videos.....replays as well.

 

It is about money but my point is this is a television problem across the board, not just sports. Viewers are down because more and more people are cutting the cord. It's why ESPN and Disney now have their own streaming services that cost money. Heck Comcast now has a DVR feature that allows you to skip commercials on a lot of shows. Why would they do that if getting people to watch ads was the most important thing still?

 

I love the replays, especially when it’s right in the middle of a live play, those are my favorite. Only thing better is the overhead cam.

 

You should come into the studio with us and see what all goes into a broadcast. Maybe give you a different spin on what it takes to put a broadcast on. Or maybe we can come and stand over YOUR shoulder at work and critique. What do you say? I'm sure that would be fun.