The NBA is going through a ratings crisis this season and is ready to make some changes to regain popularity and be able to compete with other sports leagues in the United States.
According to information from Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic, one of the moves the league plans to make in conjunction with Amazon to address the decline in viewership is to adjust the schedule of the In-Season Tournament and synchronize it with the end of the NFL season to give it more prominence.
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“Amazon and the NBA are in ‘active discussions’ to move the in-season tournament to a later date in the calendar to sync it with the end of the NFL season,” Vorkunov revealed, who also last Friday reported on the idea of modifying the 2025 All-Star Game to a format with three groups of eight teams, from which three winners would be drawn for a Final Four, and the fourth would come from the Rising Stars game.
Disney characters will join the NBA Christmas game
Mickey Mouse and many of Disney’s iconic characters will be part of the NBA’s first alternate animated cast on Christmas Day.
Disney and ESPN announced Wednesday that the Dec. 25 game between the San Antonio Spurs and the New York Knicks will be broadcast on ESPN2, Disney+ and ESPN+ as “Dunk the Halls”.
Although this is the first time with the NBA, ESPN has done alternative animated broadcasts for NFL and NHL games.
The broadcast will be fully animated, with players’ movements synchronized with what happens in real time on the field. This is done through player tracking data enabled by Sony’s Hawk-Eye Innovations optical tracking system and Beyond Sports.
The animated version of the game will take place on the iconic Main Street, USA at Magic Kingdom park at Walt Disney World Resort. Regular shots of Main Street, USA and other famous locations within the park, including Cinderella Castle, will be shown.
The traditional broadcast will air on ABC and ESPN.
