Adam Silver Believes NBA Ratings Are Down Because Young People Don’t Watch Traditional Cable

A few weeks ago, one of the big hot-button topics was the year-on-year decline of the NBA's ratings. Speaking on Shaquille O'Neal's podcast, NBA commissioner Adam Silver spoke about why he thinks the ratings are down. He attributed the decline to the young 18-34 demographic not watching traditional cable, and opting for streaming services instead.

"We're about even with last year in terms of our ratings. We were down initially in the season, we were up against the World Series. Obviously, there was a national election going on which was driving a lot of viewership towards politics."

But now, we had a huge Christmas day. We're up on ESPN and ABC, down a little bit on our other networks, but roughly even for the season, and last season was our highest regular season viewership in four years. So we're doing fine from a viewership standpoint."

"I hear the narrative... It's nothing new... We gotta respond to the critics as well. I think the fact is, part of the reason for the change in the new television deals is that one of the advantages of the NBA is that we have a very young audience. An audience that advertisers like, that influencers like. But they're not watching as much traditional television. They historically did..."

"Young people, they're watching an enormous amount of screen time but not traditional television. It is videos on social media, certainly streaming... By almost any measure, there has never been more engagement in the NBA than there is at this moment. And I'm not just talking about globally... But even domestically, people are consuming our games in different forms."

Silver added that he and the NBA still have a larger responsibility to attract new eyeballs to the game from any medium possible. He also added that the league should be doing a better job at conveying the rich narrative potential that every single NBA game has to the fans to get them invested.

"It doesn't mean that it isn't part of my job to find ways to get our fans or potential fans to watch more games live. That's very important for the health of the league. Part of what we can do better is not just tell the larger stories about players and their lives off the floor."

"But the nitty-gritty - YouTube, streaming, and all these different channels allow fans to better understand the game... Instead of the type of commentary where 'That side didn't want it tonight'...  Really trying to understand... What is really happening? We have to do a better job and not just leave it to commentators, critics, and fans to tell those great stories about the game itself, and why this game is so special."

The ratings discourse surrounding the NBA has been ongoing for quite some time. While legends like Shaquille O'Neal have suggested that the decline in ratings is due to the three-point-obsessed way the game is played, others like current Lakers head coach JJ Redick have suggested that media analysts' consistent criticism of the current players and their style of play has put audiences off to the sport.

Regardless, it is not fair to compare television ratings of the past to the current day. Firstly, as Silver mentioned, there are multiple ways across multiple mediums for fans to watch games. In the US alone, fans can watch games on traditional cable and YouTube TV, or stream them via the NBA League Pass, or streaming services such as Max and ESPN+.

Adam Silver: Young Players Should Listen To Older Generation

In the same interview, Shaquille O'Neal asked Adam Silver about the criticism that he and many other legends of the past have levied against the current generation of players for not working as hard and not being willing to put on a show for the paying customer. Silver thanked Shaq for the criticism, as it comes from a sincere place, and noted that the current generation of players should take those critiques to heart.

"I've heard someone say that the greatest form of caring is honesty. I think that extends from you and your crew on Inside The NBA... You're in the family. The things you're saying are coming from the heart. I love the show, and I appreciate the fact that you guys are willing to be direct. And that doesn't mean everybody has to agree all the time either."

"It's an honest point of view. To your point about this generation of players, I think it is important that they hear from those who came before them, the greats of the game, and not just about the sacrifices they made but also how they approach the game. There is an entertainment side to this that ultimately is here because of the fans."

"I'm fortunate to be in this position because of the fans. All the current NBA players in this whole ecosystem built around the NBA... It all comes down to those 450 players. But them understanding that this is about something bigger than themselves. Yes, at the end of the day, this is about the competition, it's about all they can do to win, but there is an entertainment side to this."

Silver clearly is appreciative of analysts like O'Neal, who have been quite exacting in their criticism of the current NBA players for not playing a regular amount of games and just coasting while using the excuse of load management.

These decisions ultimately harm the NBA product and the fanbase, who invest a lot of time, money, and energy in supporting the league.

To Silver's credit, he and the NBA have taken steps to make sure that players play as much as possible, by putting the 65-game threshold for any end-of-season award consideration. This has led to the individual award races being far more competitive come the end of the season.

Trying to address the NBA's rating stagnancy will take a long time, and until the league is able to get the current crop of NBA players to commit to furthering the league's viewership consistently, things will not improve.