TV note from SI
I have pointed out how inept the NBA is on TV and the lack of folks interested in it, even with LeBron James on center stage.
Well here is more proof from Peter King of SI:
There are approximately 113 million television households in the United States, and the average rating for the NBA Championship Series showed that 6.9 million households watched the series between Cleveland and San Antonio.
Remember the late-night Monday night opener on ESPN last year between Oakland and San Diego? Awful game. San Diego won, 27-0. It was pretty much over at the half, when the Chargers led 13-0 and the Raiders couldn't get out of their own way on offense. The game — after a weekend that started with Thursday night football, went into Sunday afternoon football and Sunday night football, and had a Monday night game before the second game on the West Coast — started at 10:25 p.m. EST and ended at 1:14 a.m. Tuesday. And it was on cable TV, which gets a lower rating anyway because not every TV household in America is wired for cable.
The Raiders-Chargers debacle was seen by 7.9 million American TV households.
We all know football is king in this country, but if the best the NBA has to offer gets trounced by the worst the NFL has to offer … well, the NBA is in more than a little trouble.
June 19th, 2007 at 2:43 pm
If the Cavs had not been playing, I would not have watched ONE SECOND of the NBA playoffs, just as I did not watch ONE SECOND of regular season games not involving the Cavs. And those were FEWWW, seeing how they moved to cable this year—and I refuse to be held hostage for $53 a month for something I'm not glued to daily or even weekly.
The NBA has assembled a league of criminals, miscreants, and quite frankly, CHEATERS. I get so tired of seeing "star" players walk to the hoop, carry the ball, foul on every possession—and nothing is called. This isn't basketball. Those rules wouldn't even fly on a playground.
Owners like Gilbert can shoot off fireworks, crank the music louder than we can stand, and have every conceivable flashy light and moment filled with clutter, but it doesn't distract from the ugly play on the court or the ungodly prices for tickets to support the thugs playing.
I say AMEN to people turning their backs on this garbage league. Maybe they'll get a clue and decide to make it fan-friendly again someday. But sadly, the horse is probably out of the barn and too far gone.
January 30th, 2008 at 10:32 am
I used to watch basketball (NBA/NCAA) all the time about 10 years ago. However, there has been a shift and I hardly watch basketball now and can't get enough NFL. With the rise of digital cable and HDTV, watching football is just more enjoyable. I still love the game of basketball but with the whole hip-hop culture David Stern imposed on the NBA, it's hard watching teams that are bone dry on talent but are overflowing with thugs.