The NBA is having a rough path and things might not get better. There is no question that ratings dropped on television and in 2024 the season did no start as everyone expected, even after having players like LeBron James.
There might be some arguments for this to be a surprise as there in full schedule the second edition of the in-season tournament and of course what the debut of Bronny James was taken under great consideration for it to be better.
However, things are not looking good. Front Office Sports recently reported on the ratings of the NBA games on ESPN through November 21 and things did not look good for the network and the league.
The numbers don’t lie
The numbers provided by Front Office Sports on the first 18 games broadcasts of the network were pretty much bad. They are 28 percent down, averaging just 1.772 million viewers per game.
The corporation that made public the numbers offered the readers a chance to answer why the low digits have prevail, but the responses have been pretty obvious considering the situation.
The idea of the in-season tournament has been seen well by fans, the so called “load management” trend has affected the game as well and to many viewers there are not enough stars worthy of watching.