As Usual, The NBA Feeds Its Critics A Load Of Crow.

**hatvol96** · 06-28-2007, 04:17 PM

For all of you who were yammering about how the recent playoffs would hurt the NBA's next TV deal, here are the numbers: 8 years, 930 million per year, a 20+% increase over its previous deal. Yeah, the Association is really hurting. It just proves what I continue to stress. As long as the League is healthy in major cities, they could give a damn less if someone in Knoxville, Nashville, or Little Rock disparages their product. Those people don't watch the games, buy the premium seats, or wear the NBA apparel anyways. Stern would rather focus on Europe and China than the flyover states. The foreign fans have open minds.

allvol123 · 06-28-2007, 04:37 PM

Who said their next TV deal would be hurting? But yes, if you want a sure sign of something being entertaining, look to see what TV execs sign on to. And yes, they purposely skip over viewers in small city America to get to the enlightened Chinese culture.

**kptvol** · 06-28-2007, 04:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by allvol123

Who said their next TV deal would be hurting?

I'm not sure if you did, but quite a few posters around here did say that.

**milohimself** · 06-29-2007, 04:52 AM

IMO, people who say the NBA is going down because their major markets (read: Boston, New York, Philadelphia) are not successful are basically just bitching about the Eastern Conference and all the sub-par basketball that goes on within it.

The NBA will be fine, wether or not ESPN has a local team to pimp.

BigPapaVol · 06-29-2007, 09:43 AM

I've never argued that their TV revenues would take a beating or that the league is declining.

I believe the quality of the product is absolutely atrocious and I'm a huge basketball fan. I know my opinion matters little to Stern & Co, but I would like to see the game changed to resemble basketball to some degree.

JZVOL · 06-29-2007, 11:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigPapaVol

I've never argued that their TV revenues would take a beating or that the league is declining.

I believe the quality of the product is absolutely atrocious and I'm a huge basketball fan. I know my opinion matters little to Stern & Co, but I would like to see the game changed to resemble basketball to some degree.

What would you like to see changed?

**kptvol** · 06-29-2007, 01:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigPapaVol

I've never argued that their TV revenues would take a beating or that the league is declining.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigPapaVol

those will suffer the next time they renew tv contracts if they can't muster better viewership for their flagship. The day the marketers stop paying the big bills, it's over.

whoa

**jakez4ut** · 06-29-2007, 02:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hatvol96

For all of you who were yammering about how the recent playoffs would hurt the NBA's next TV deal, here are the numbers: 8 years, 930 million per year, a 20+% increase over its previous deal. Yeah, the Association is really hurting. It just proves what I continue to stress. As long as the League is healthy in major cities, they could give a damn less if someone in Knoxville, Nashville, or Little Rock disparages their product. Those people don't watch the games, buy the premium seats, or wear the NBA apparel anyways. Stern would rather focus on Europe and China than the flyover states. The foreign fans have open minds.

and that's fine. i don't think anyone has disagreed that internationally, the NBA is prospering very nicely. the influx of foreign born players has helped create that immensely. add to that the international game is probalby as popular as it's ever been, it stands to reason the highest growth market for the best known professional basket ball league would be overseas.

i just can't get past the fact that the NBA has it's world championship series, and the TV ratings in it's home country continue to decline, which does indicate lack of interest, in general, at home.

the major NBA markets will probably always be fine, just as major NHL markets are still fine, and always will be.

so, yes, at the end of the day, the NBA and Stern have little to worry about from a financial and stabiity stand point. growth is growth. revenue is revenue. but it still doesn't remove the fact that the NBA at best is 2-4 spots down the priority list of the average American sports fan.

**milohimself** · 06-29-2007, 04:55 PM

Really? You think the NBA even potentially behind NASCAR or NHL?

**jakez4ut** · 06-29-2007, 05:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by milohimself

Really? You think the NBA even potentially behind NASCAR or NHL?

not the NHL, NASCAR maybe. and not because of it's national appeal, though it does have more national appeal now than it ever has, but i do think that the NBA, and the NHL for that matter, could take a page out of NASCAR's book on growing their sport to the domestic population.

in many ways, the NBA and Nascar have/had the same problem. it's main market is regional in nature.

for years and years and years, NASCAR was the southern sport only for anyone south of the state of KY. 20 years ago, how many Americans outside the Southeast honestly cared about who won the race at Wilkesboro? no one.

the NBA's problem isn't confined to one area of the country so to speak, but it is confined to the major NBA markets everyone has already discussed. to truly grow that sport domestically, you do need the average sports fan tuning in, even in the flyover states.

right now there's nothing making those fans turn on an NBA game. and i just can't believe that Stern doesn't want that fan tuning in or buying the occaisional ticket.....

the NHL has the same problem.....you have the 6 primary markets that are NHL diehard. but to the NHL's credit, they have expanded the market in to areas not known to be hockey hotbeds, just as NASCAR has done by going to Chicago, NOCAL, NY, DE, the midwest, CA etc....

the problem the NHL has is it's TV deal.....it gets no exposure, and no one can find the games on VS.

the NBA i think faces a little tougher road because of some of the negative pub that has circulated over hte past 10 years.....when you have so called superstars getting in to some real trouble, players punching coaches, players being insubordinate to coaches (AI's famous "we're talking about practice?"), the Kobe rape case, the fan/player brawl at Detroit etc, etc, etc.......combined with the fact that the quality of the basketball isn't what it was in the Jordan, Bird, Magic era, the NBA just has a bit of a hill to climb in my opinion, in it's domestic market. and honestly, one of the things that really turned me off was the whole soap opera that was created around the Kobe/Shaq quarrel in LA. Play basketball for goodness sakes.

anyway, i do think the NBA may be back on the way up though....you have some bonafied stars in KG, DW, LJ, TD, SN etc....there's some compelling matchups starting to form again like we had with Magic and Bird etc...

**hatvol96** · 06-29-2007, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jakez4ut

i just can't believe that Stern doesn't want that fan tuning in or buying the occaisional ticket.

He would love for those folks to spend their money on his product. However, he's intelligent enough to realize that 'necks driving pickup trucks with gun racks, NRA stickers, and rebel flags in the window aren't generally going to embrace his product. They never really have, they never really will.

**jakez4ut** · 06-29-2007, 05:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hatvol96

He would love for those folks to spend their money on his product. However, he's intelligent enough to realize that 'necks driving pickup trucks with gun racks, NRA stickers, and rebel flags in the window aren't generally going to embrace his product. They never really have, they never really will.

well i won't disagree with you there.....he does have to know his product and the market.

however, i'm speaking more of the general sportsfan, such as myself, who watches ESPN on a daily basis, keeps up with most all of what is going on in the general sports world, but just didn't care if i missed any of the games in the NBA finals, of which I watched none, and don't feel like i missed anything.

and the rebel flag and gun racks have been out of my vehicle for a long time now.......

**jakez4ut** · 06-29-2007, 05:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hatvol96

He would love for those folks to spend their money on his product. However, he's intelligent enough to realize that 'necks driving pickup trucks with gun racks, NRA stickers, and rebel flags in the window aren't generally going to embrace his product. They never really have, they never really will.

and you know what's interesting about your post.....it's that exact consumer that NASCAR, which is what used to be it's bread and butter, is driving away from it's sport, to bring in the "white collar" consumer......and the NBA has not been successful at doing either, outside it's major markets.

**hatvol96** · 06-29-2007, 06:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jakez4ut

and you know what's interesting about your post.....it's that exact consumer that NASCAR, which is what used to be it's bread and butter, is driving away from it's sport, to bring in the "white collar" consumer......and the NBA has not been successful at doing either, outside it's major markets.

The NBA sells copious numbers of "white collar" tickets in every market, except New Orleans, where there is no real corporate presence. The Association has no problem with their corporate sales.

BigPapaVol · 06-30-2007, 02:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kptvol

whoa

i'd say this year's finals were neutral to negative in that contract negotiation. the demographic is still great for marketers and they will always pay a premium fo face time with that set, but amounts domestically will slide over time with continued poor finals viewer showings. however, i think it's a bit early to determine the trend.

i was definitely talking long term, but point taken. for the record, i don't believe the nba has near term issues like it had in the 70s.