How come in the Jordan era they had better TV ratings then now?

[Derivative]

Why is it that right now the NBA finals TV rating is not even close to the Jordan era? Isn't the NBA getting more popular and well know, so should there be more viewers?

[BlueCrayon]

There are two reasons that I could think of:

1. Jordan was immensely popular
2. More people are watching the games online?

[Derivative]

There are two reasons that I could think of:

1. Jordan was immensely popular
2. More people are watching the games online?


yea i think that's probably the reason

[Kews1]

There are two reasons that I could think of:

1. Jordan was immensely popular
2. More people are watching the games online?

thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis

[bwink23]

yea i think that's probably the reason


Why would you watch it online when it's on national TV??

:confusedshrug:

[Ancient Legend]

It's just not the online watching. With Jordan you got highlights every single night and he always brought his A Game. The NBA lost a LOT of popularity the year after Jordan retired, and it was a strike season as well. It hasn't recovered to those levels yet.

[konex]

Because there are so many more entertainment options on tv these days.

[SpecialQue]

Because there are so many more entertainment options on tv these days.

This. More channels = fewer viewers for even major sports events.

[RRR3]

Music was a LOT better back then, though. There were still real rock bands
http://soundcheck.ocregister.com/files/2011/09/guns-n-roses-la-banda.jpg

:bowdown: :bowdown: :pimp:

[bwink23]

Michael Jordan brought in so many fans who wouldn't have been fans of the sport. I can't tell you how many guys lost interest in basketball after Jordan retired. The NBA was entering the "hip-hop" era at the time, and many old school fans didn't care for the attitude and dress that was perpetuating through-out the league...add in the high schoolers coming in, and the NBA lost that "professional" appeal.

[Nevaeh]

How come in the Jordan era they had better TV ratings then now?

Because no Player has come into the League who's as good as Jordan yet. Even casual fans notice the difference between MJ and every other Player.

[inclinerator]

less channels

[Indian guy]

Mainly technology(internet/iphone) - there are a thousand more ways to watch/follow sports now. A million more other things to do as well.

The best example is the superior TV ratings from 99-04, yet I don't think anyone's going to argue the NBA is less popular today then it was then.

[I<3NBA]

too many things to do today. remember back in Jordan's days that

1. there was no REALITY TV. no Jersey Shore or the Kardashians to watch
2. INTERNET was almost non-existent (universities were the early adopters. but homes were still internet-free)
3. less channels
4. casual fans tuned in to watch Jordan. even those who've never been a basketball fan.

[TheBluest]

Jordan never flopped and Jordan never disappointed NEVER!

[L.Kizzle]

No House Wives of Atlanta or X-Factor to compete with.

[RonArtestsBalls]

Simple.

You had the best player anyone had ever (whether or not people can admit it) seen putting on a nightly show.

You also had a much more physical game and a whole heap of dominant players at every position and on top of that players with real personality.

It was a much more entertaining game and the stars were a lot more likable.

Plus the game wasn't for a bunch of ******* as it seems to be now.

No touch fouls in that decade.

[Rowe]

You had less channels and basically only a handful of people had internet.

Wasn't much else to look at except tuning in to NBC or TNT to watch a basketball game, espescially with an exciting player like Jordan.

[DonDadda59]

Because there hasn't been a player since Jordan who captured people's interest as much as he did. It's pretty simple actually. All those people going on about more channels, internet, etc... How do you explain the ratings drop after Jordan retired following the first and then second threepeats? Were more channels created and the internet invented in '94... then again in '99? :oldlol:

http://www.rosswinnekins.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/nbapostseasonthrough2007.thumbnail.gif

[Myth]

I think that not only are some watching it online, but there is simply easier access to get information about what happened without watching it in its entirety at all. Casual fans may just shrug and say "I can look up the highlights or even catch the final minutes on youtube if I hear the ending was good." The big fans will always be consistent and watch the games live though.

[StarJordan]

Because there are so many more entertainment options on tv these days.

cable tv was already a big deal in 98 as was satellite and by 98 internet dot com boom was there also....yet bulls game 5 in the finals used to pull 20+ ratings....jordan alone was worth about 8-10 rating points in the nba finals...he could outdraw some of the past decade's nba finals just by showing up...he was arguably bigger than the rest of the stars of the nba combined

[Celtics4ever]

Jordan was a legend and he was known all over the world. My family in Italy that didnt even know how basketball was played knew of Jordan. He made Non-Basketball fans watch basketball. We will never get another player like Jordan.

LeBron is a phony. He is not known outside of the US

[Celtics4ever]

Because there hasn't been a player since Jordan who captured people's interest as much as he did. It's pretty simple actually. All those people going on about more channels, internet, etc... How do you explain the ratings drop after Jordan retired following the first and then second threepeats? Were more channels created and the internet invented in '94... then again in '99? :oldlol:

http://www.rosswinnekins.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/nbapostseasonthrough2007.thumbnail.gif

Nice find. A lot of people are too young to know how popular Jordan was. No one really watches basketball anymore.

[ConanRulesNBC]

Why is it that right now the NBA finals TV rating is not even close to the Jordan era? Isn't the NBA getting more popular and well know, so should there be more viewers?

Not here in the U.S.. Internationally, the NBA is getting more popular but here in the U.S. the NBA was way more popular in the '80s and '90s.

[SpecialQue]

Jordan, just like the Beatles, was also an excellent product to sell. Very easy to like and difficult to find flaws with (game wise especially), even if you don't like him.

[madmax]

duh, because it was an era of peak television - no internet to compete with (yet), NBA expanding their broadcasting rights overseas helped immensely too. I still remember how popular NBA was in the mid 90's in Europe - every teenager, who had a TV set at home, was crazy about Jazz, Sonics or Bulls battles. Since 00's, internet has taken over those young teenage minds and left TV in the dust - simple as that

[Sawbucks23]

Michael Jordan brought in so many fans who wouldn't have been fans of the sport. I can't tell you how many guys lost interest in basketball after Jordan retired. The NBA was entering the "hip-hop" era at the time, and many old school fans didn't care for the attitude and dress that was perpetuating through-out the league...add in the high schoolers coming in, and the NBA lost that "professional" appeal.

lol During our time, people who grew up in the 80's and 90's loved basketball mainly because of Jordan. You used to see mulitple pickup games at the local courts. Now, the courts are just empty and you hardly see people play anymore. :(

[nycelt84]

The reasons had little to do with watching online, the reasons were first Michael Jordan was the greatest draw in basketball history. The finals ratings during the 90's where he did not play dropped off sharply from the series that involved him, and there are many people who stopped watching basketball after his retirement from Chicago. Jordan was a cultural phenomenon who was marketed as the greatest player to ever play the game and a once in a lifetime athlete that you just could not miss.

Another important reason is that NBC did a much better job of marketing and presenting the game then ABC does. Ratings dropped off sharply in just 1 year with the move to ABC. And a lot of people didn't like the younger generation of players such as Allen Iverson and there was a strong image that the NBA was a league full of thugs hence the reason why David Stern implemented a dress code and instituted an even further crackdown on fighting.

[bwink23]

lol During our time, people who grew up in the 80's and 90's loved basketball mainly because of Jordan. You used to see mulitple pickup games at the local courts. Now, the courts are just empty and you hardly see people play anymore. :(


That is the TRUTH....We used to run game from 6 at night to 11 or 12 every day of the week. There wasn't a day you couldn't get a full court game going. Now, those same courts a barren wasteland.

SAD

[mika]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PR7cd_N2LPU ding ding ding

[Celtics4ever]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PR7cd_N2LPU ding ding ding

How I miss those days. Thanks for the memories Jordan.

Today's stars are a bunch of whimps. They are hyped up before they even prove themselves.

[nashwade]

music, tv, comics, sports were better back in the days

blame it on the internet, iphone, commercialisation

[Fatstogie]

Michael Jordan brought in so many fans who wouldn't have been fans of the sport. I can't tell you how many guys lost interest in basketball after Jordan retired. The NBA was entering the "hip-hop" era at the time, and many old school fans didn't care for the attitude and dress that was perpetuating through-out the league...add in the high schoolers coming in, and the NBA lost that "professional" appeal.

Yea exactly. Too many men wanna be another man. it wasnt about the sport. It was about man love.

Sad too though. Cause Lebron is better than Jordan but so many D*** riders out there who are so far up MJ's ass theyll never see the truth.

[kurt_rambis]

tv ratings for everything were better pre-internet

that and jordan is in the top 3 of all-time american athletes

[DCL]

jordan WAS the NBA

[jbryan1984]

Also, a lot of people watch everything on DVR these days, when it is convenient for them. They do not add the DVR ratings into the live ratings. I watch everything but basketball on DVR. Basketball I watch live cause I like to get on here a lot and get into the conversations and all my friends and my brother will text me and spoil shit for me.

[97 bulls]

Lets not forget Rodman. Rodman was an icon in his own right. I know alot of females loved to watch him. And just people iin general wanted to watch him to see whhat he was gonna do.

Just think. People didntt start wearing tattoos all over their body until Rodman started wearing them. People didnt color their hair. Now its the norm

And dont forget Kukoc bought in the european audience too.

Combine that with Jordans exploits and overall charisma (the tounge, the dunking, etc) and the Bulls just steamrolling through the NBA.

[ConanRulesNBC]

As much as the NBA hypes the current players, they just can't compare to Jordan, Bird, Magic, Hakeem, Stockton, Reggie Miller, Barkley and those guys.

[Coffee Black]

Did OP miss out on 90s NBA? I hope its not because of your birth date.

[f0und]

Back then the overall quality of the product was better. When i talk to people who were fans or just casual fans of the nba back the, they all got turned off by the general culture of the game and players. How theyve become more selfish, whiny, and immature. Just overall less professionalism.

Oh and the GOAT and most exciting player retiring didnt help either.

[dude77]

Lebron is better than Jordan


http://i1214.photobucket.com/albums/cc494/steelermia/alain_delon_gif.gif

[JohnnySic]

Basketball peaked in popularity in the early-mid 90's. Even college ball was mainstream. The NBA was approaching NFL levels. Then it fell off...

[StarJordan]

that said if the nba finals involving a team from OKLAHOMA can draw big ratings the nba is on an upswing ...its not like the 2000s....ratings are back up and headed in right direction, miami is a popular team and basketball is getting a lot of hype these days

[G.O.A.T]

Because there are so many more entertainment options on tv these days.

This is the reason, TV ratings are way down for every network show because Cable doesn't suck anymore and there are 100's of great options online as well.

[DonDadda59]

tv ratings for everything were better pre-internet

that and jordan is in the top 3 of all-time american athletes

Nah son.

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Super-Bowl-Through-2010-500x392.png

Why hasn't more channels, the internet, global warming, or whatever random excuse people come up with affected the Superbowl's ratings (which sets new highs every year) like it affected the NBA finals ratings after Jordan's retirement(s)?

[Knoe Itawl]

Nah son.

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Super-Bowl-Through-2010-500x392.png

Why hasn't more channels, the internet, global warming, or whatever random excuse people come up with affected the Superbowl's ratings (which sets new highs every year) like it affected the NBA finals ratings after Jordan's retirement(s)?

Exactly. :oldlol: @ people trying to downplay just how huge Jordan was. The phenomenon was like nothing seen before or since, and not Shaq, Kobe whoever could come close to duplicating it. Jordan was that much of an icon.

And Rodman and Kukoc? They weren't even on the first 3-peat team. Rodman got his shine because he played with Jordan. If he did those same antics on the Raptors, no one would've cared anywhere near as much.

[StarJordan]

^In 1993 NBA Finals for the first time beat the world series with a 17.9 average rating . That was chicago-phoenix, granted charles barkley and phoenix suns in those days had a big following too, but everytime chicago reached the finals in those days, tv execs were jumping up and down because chicago bulls were just a national team.

I feel the bulls team with jordan-pippen-grant-paxon-cartwright and phil jackson was bigger and more popular than any team ever.

Also NBC sports did a greater job of producing the nba finals than abc for sure.

[CLTHornets4eva]

^In 1993 NBA Finals for the first time beat the world series with a 17.9 average rating . That was chicago-phoenix, granted charles barkley and phoenix suns in those days had a big following too, but everytime chicago reached the finals in those days, tv execs were jumping up and down because chicago bulls were just a national team.

I feel the bulls team with jordan-pippen-grant-paxon-cartwright and phil jackson was bigger and more popular than any team ever.

Also NBC sports did a greater job of producing the nba finals than abc for sure.

NBC was awesome. The Intro song was epic.

[RedBlackAttack]

Nah son.

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Super-Bowl-Through-2010-500x392.png

Why hasn't more channels, the internet, global warming, or whatever random excuse people come up with affected the Superbowl's ratings (which sets new highs every year) like it affected the NBA finals ratings after Jordan's retirement(s)?
:oldlol:

So true. In my office, I was one of the few people that gave two sh!ts about the NBA this year. Me and one other guy that I work with were huge NBA fans. Outside of that, more people were into what was happening in baseball.

In prime Jordan's era? Seemingly everyone was watching. It was a foregone conclusion.

Kids just don't understand.

[jstern]

About watching the games online, why would anyone do that when it's on national TV?

Even so, the way TV rating are collected, it would still count whether someone saw it online or on ABC. And that will be the case until they start building TVs that send information about what a person is watching.

Bottom line, the rating were great this year and the NBA is popular. The reason why they were higher during Jordan's time is simply Jordan. The years he retired the rating for the NBA finals went down, and when he came back they went up again. So there's the obvious answer, Jordan was very popular.

Edit: Also are there really more cable channels now than there were back in the 90s? I don't find that to be the case. It's like the same old channels, perhaps some new channels like the Oprah channel that I think used to be the Oxygen channel, so not a really new channel. And other new channels like the Fast Food Network, channels that won't affect the NBA ratings one bit.

[RedBlackAttack]

About watching the games online, why would anyone do that when it's on national TV?

Even so, the way TV rating are collected, it would still count whether someone saw it online or on ABC. And that will be the case until they start building TVs that send information about what a person is watching.

Bottom line, the rating were great this year and the NBA is popular. The reason why they were higher during Jordan's time is simply Jordan. The years he retired the rating for the NBA finals went down, and when he came back they went up again. So there's the obvious answer, Jordan was very popular.
People loved watching Jordan play. Hell, he made it his personal mission to destroy my franchise and I still couldn't help but to enjoy watching him play the game. It was beautiful.

No one since has approached it.

[Heilige]

:oldlol:

So true. In my office, I was one of the few people that gave two sh!ts about the NBA this year. Me and one other guy that I work with were huge NBA fans. Outside of that, more people were into what was happening in baseball.

In prime Jordan's era? Seemingly everyone was watching. It was a foregone conclusion.

Kids just don't understand.


Why aren't most people interested in the NBA now?

Also, in general why isn't the NBA as popular as the NFL? Would you say the reason is racial?

[DuMa]

The rise of Michael Jordan in the 80s to the top of the mountain in 91 and everyone trying to take turns to knock the king of the basketball world after that was ratings bonanza.

[Nevaeh]

Why aren't most people interested in the NBA now?

Also, in general why isn't the NBA as popular as the NFL? Would you say the reason is racial?

There's still a lot of Black NFL Players, so a big fat "nope" to this question. The NBA shot themselves in the foot by taking players straight out of High school, and basically letting the players dictate what the League would be, and not the other way around like it always was.

The early 2000's "Thug-Weed Head" image, with players doing what the f@ck they wanna do, simply rubbed people the wrong way, both Black and White. Don't nobody wanna see no mumblin' ass, ignorant ass, can't even pronounce words right N!gga after a game giving a press conference, especially when his whole vibe is negative.

Stern realized his f@ck up of letting things go too far, which culminated in the "Palace Brawl" of 05, and made SURE to not let that sh!t happen again. Now ratings are slowly making their return to somewhat decent levels, thanks to players who, for the most part, got their heads on straight.

[Da_Realist]

People loved watching Jordan play. Hell, he made it his personal mission to destroy my franchise and I still couldn't help but to enjoy watching him play the game. It was beautiful.

No one since has approached it.

Jordan was an artist on the floor and people loved to see him go to work. If he played in his prime now, everyone would put down what they were doing and watch.

The two guys I think are above all others in terms of artistry were Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson**. On any given night, you may see the greatest play you've ever seen in your life. You HAD to watch or you felt like you would miss something.

**The ratings for the Showtime Lakers would have been much greater had they played 10 years later.

[3243]

The early 2000's "Thug-Weed Head" image, with players doing what the f@ck they wanna do, simply rubbed people the wrong way, both Black and White.


Sounds not too different from the "One-On-One Streetballer/Coke-Head" image that was prevalent in the late 1970s-early '80s NBA.

[dak121]

Why aren't most people interested in the NBA now?

Also, in general why isn't the NBA as popular as the NFL? Would you say the reason is racial?

Why do people do this with basketball but not with baseball? Baseball ratings are way down from when McGwire/Sosa/Bonds were playing.

No league can compare to the NFL right now. Basketball is in pretty good shape as the #2 sport. I can remember the days when playoff games were delayed until midnight.

It's like people always try to find the negatives when it involves the NBA instead of talking about the fact that its actually in as good a shape as its been since Jordan left.

[Da_Realist]

Jordan was an artist on the floor and people loved to see him go to work. If he played in his prime now, everyone would put down what they were doing and watch.

The two guys I think are above all others in terms of artistry were Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson**. On any given night, you may see the greatest play you've ever seen in your life. You HAD to watch or you felt like you would miss something.

**The ratings for the Showtime Lakers would have been much greater had they played 10 years later.

Another thing about MJ... He was like a fine cigar whose taste changes over the course of the smoke. He started off as an exciting slasher then morphed into having one of the great mid-range games then changed into one of the great perimeter post players all while doing everything else at elite or near elite levels. In terms of artistry, he kept our attention throughout his run in Chicago.

[RaininTwos]

People are so idiotic, completely giving Jordan credit for the NBA's popularity like he wasn't following up on the NBA's explosion created by Magic and Larry.:facepalm

[3243]

1. Jordan himself
2. The basketball was better--better overall fundamentals (at least during the first half of the '90s), a lot more physicality, the league didn't have ESPN-guided panic attacks every time a fight broke out, more and fiercer rivalries, a bumper-crop of talented, skilled, promotable stars on just about every team as opposed to a few superstar conglomerations in Miami, New York, Boston, Oklahoma City, and both Los Angeles teams and not much for the casual fan to take notice of elsewhere.

[RaininTwos]

Nah son.

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Super-Bowl-Through-2010-500x392.png

Why hasn't more channels, the internet, global warming, or whatever random excuse people come up with affected the Superbowl's ratings (which sets new highs every year) like it affected the NBA finals ratings after Jordan's retirement(s)?

Because it's the fvcking Super Bowl, you cannot be serious here. :facepalm

Super Sunday is basically a holiday in the States, even people who hate sports show up to watch and attend super bowl parties. It's no longer just a game, it's an event.

[3243]

People are so idiotic, completely giving Jordan credit for the NBA's popularity like he wasn't following up on the NBA's explosion created by Magic and Larry.:facepalm

Good point. And don't forget Dr. J. who at least kept the NBA on life support until the Magic/Bird arrival.

[TropicalDrini]

If you know anything about the history of the NBA..you would know that those huge ratings for the NBA started in the 80s, with Bird and Magic..

Game 6 of the 1998 finals had a 22.3 rating..but the game 7 of 1988 had a 21.2 rating.

NBA was already huge..Jordan just made it bigger.
I think people just loved stars back then..way more than they do now..people had their own opinions..the internet has crippled everything when it comes to people being objective watching the game.

NFL is and will always be bigger than other sports..its shorter, more intense..more teams contending every year. Its part of the American culture..just like Baseball was before all the steroids thing destroyed it.

NBA is coming back though..we just live in a different age right now tho.

[jlip]

Nah son.

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Super-Bowl-Through-2010-500x392.png

Why hasn't more channels, the internet, global warming, or whatever random excuse people come up with affected the Superbowl's ratings (which sets new highs every year) like it affected the NBA finals ratings after Jordan's retirement(s)?


Because it's the fvcking Super Bowl, you cannot be serious here. :facepalm

Super Sunday is basically a holiday in the States, even people who hate sports show up to watch and attend super bowl parties. It's no longer just a game, it's an event.

Yeah. The Super Bowl was a bad example. That's a once a year event that is, as you indicated, actually bigger than the game itself. Also, one of the reasons football remains so popular is because most teams play only once a week. Your favorite team doesn't play 3-4 times a week as with b-ball. Considering the fact that a NFL team's schedule is only 16 games and an NBA team's schedule is 82, there are literally 5 times as many opportunities to see your favorite NBA team as there are to see your favorite NFL team. The rarity of something always contributes to its value.

[DonDadda59]

Because it's the fvcking Super Bowl, you cannot be serious here. :facepalm

Super Sunday is basically a holiday in the States, even people who hate sports show up to watch and attend super bowl parties. It's no longer just a game, it's an event.

And? :oldlol:

Why is the NFL not affected by the internet, more channels, more entertainment options, manbearpig, etc?

Is it just the NBA being affected by these miscellaneous factors while the NFL is immune?

[RaininTwos]

And? :oldlol:

Why is the NFL not affected by the internet, more channels, more entertainment options, manbearpig, etc?

Is it just the NBA being affected by these miscellaneous factors while the NFL is immune?
:sleeping

[StarJordan]

Game 6 of the 1998 finals had a 22.3 rating..but the game 7 of 1988 had a 21.2 rating.

True but can't compare game 6 to a game 7, what was game 6 of 1988 finals?....Had the 98 or the 93 finals extended to a final game 7, ratings would have approached 30 imo....nba ratings in 80s were good but cable/satellite really took off in the 90s which makes the bulls/jordan driven ratings rise after the 80s all the more remarkable....just about every sport went down in tv ratings post 80s but nba finals rose to record numbers when bulls started entering the nba finals.

[StarJordan]

Also, one of the reasons football remains so popular is because most teams play only once a week. Your favorite team doesn't play 3-4 times a week as with b-ball.

football is bigger but not that much bigger as superbowl ratings would indicate...football is once a week not 4 times a week and nfl playoffs are not a series based...elimination is single game based like ncaa...overall viewership for a nba finals over a 7 game stretch is going to be pretty high

[supe12sta12z]

How do you expect casual fans to connect to the NBA and it's teams when 99% of it's games are shown on cable networks. Games broadcast over the air on local networks are far and few in between.

Most of the playoffs are on cable networks until the Finals. Not exactly easy to connect to these teams.

The NFL broadcast EVERY playoff game on local networks. This makes it easy for people to follow in the postseason.

[Cali Syndicate]

People are so idiotic, completely giving Jordan credit for the NBA's popularity like he wasn't following up on the NBA's explosion created by Magic and Larry.:facepalm

It's common knowledge that Magic's and Bird's rivalry saved the league while Jordan took the league's popularity to the next level.

Both the 80's and 90's had "explosions" but the one in the 90's was the reason why the NBA became as popular as it did. And while comparisons of current players to legends are common place, you never really hear a player being deemed the next Bird, Magic, Wilt or whoever. There is only one player the league keeps looking to replace and that's Jordan. And for very good reason too.

The NBA is a business and wants to duplicate the impact Jordan had on the league. IMO it will never happen though. Two reasons.

First, the NBA had a lot of room for growth in the 80's and into the 90's. In the 90's, it attained that potential growth and hit a peak both nationally and internationally. All today's league can really hope for is to reattain that popularity and sustain it if they haven't already.

Second, I feel people lost interest in the league because it has become more about entertainment value rather than competition. Don't get me wrong because I still think the game is still competitive but it has lost its edge. Its become style over substance. Also with all the value players have nowadays, the league tries really hard to protect it's assets. And that takes away from truly enjoying the game. As a spectator, it's important to me to feel it was a fair game, as to comfortably say the better team won. Refs seem to dictate the outcome of game more so than ever these days and that will hurt any sport.

[Nevaeh]

It's common knowledge that Magic's and Bird's rivalry saved the league while Jordan took the league's popularity to the next level.

Both the 80's and 90's had "explosions" but the one in the 90's was the reason why the NBA became as popular as it did. And while comparisons of current players to legends are common place, you never really hear a player being deemed the next Bird, Magic, Wilt or whoever. There is only one player the league keeps looking to replace and that's Jordan. And for very good reason too.

The NBA is a business and wants to duplicate the impact Jordan had on the league. IMO it will never happen though. Two reasons.

First, the NBA had a lot of room for growth in the 80's and into the 90's. In the 90's, it attained that potential growth and hit a peak both nationally and internationally. All today's league can really hope for is to reattain that popularity and sustain it if they haven't already.

Second, I feel people lost interest in the league because it has become more about entertainment value rather than competition. Don't get me wrong because I still think the game is still competitive but it has lost its edge. Its become style over substance. Also with all the value players have nowadays, the league tries really hard to protect it's assets. And that takes away from truly enjoying the game. As a spectator, it's important to me to feel it was a fair game, as to comfortably say the better team won. Refs seem to dictate the outcome of game more so than ever these days and that will hurt any sport.

This is a great point that you made, and one that seems to get lost on the younger generation when it comes to Jordan. Back in the day, Jordan would get slapped, leveled by screens, undercut while in the air, and taken down on dunk attempts. Not every play of course, but it did happen, and one of the BIGGEST reasons he became a low post "back to the basket" type of player. Contrary to popular opinion, he wasn't some coddled "Cash Cow" who wasn't allowed to be touched.

Guys were expected to "earn" those millions of dollars back then, through blood, sweat and tears. And the refs would let the players, for the most part, dictate the game, which made it more exciting, without constant breaks in the action. But like you said, with it being a "business" with corporate sponsorship all over the place, it was only a matter of time before the League started to suck.

The League does have its moments, but it's just not the same.

[Cali Syndicate]

This is a great point that you made, and one that seems to get lost on the younger generation when it comes to Jordan. Back in the day, Jordan would get slapped, leveled by screens, undercut while in the air, and taken down on dunk attempts. Not every play of course, but it did happen, and one of the BIGGEST reasons he became a low post "back to the basket" type of player. Contrary to popular opinion, he wasn't some coddled "Cash Cow" who wasn't allowed to be touched.

Guys were expected to "earn" those millions of dollars back then, through blood, sweat and tears. And the refs would let the players, for the most part, dictate the game, which made it more exciting, without constant breaks in the action. But like you said, with it being a "business" with corporate sponsorship all over the place, it was only a matter of time before the League started to suck.

The League does have its moments, but it's just not the same.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37ZjiJb9Efk

[RedBlackAttack]

Why aren't most people interested in the NBA now?
The biggest thing is that Michael Jordan isn't playing. It is hard to even quantify his popularity and celebrity in terms that a young fan today could understand. He was must-see TV every time he took the floor.

The other thing is that the late-70s and early-80s set the scene for the popularity of basketball in the early-to-mid 90s.

Basketball was not a popular sport in the mid-70s.

Bird and Magic coming along really got people to start paying more attention to the NBA. After six years of those guys dominating the NBA headlines, this young kid with the Bulls starting wowing people.

So, as more people migrated over to the NBA to watch Bird/Magic, they became more aware of other things happening in the league, most notably this phenomenal young player.

So, the nation basically watched Jordan grow from a uniquely talented one-man show to the greatest player to ever lace them up playing on a team that was virtually unbeatable.

It was a perfect storm of factors that can't be duplicated... Although the league has tried several times since.

It was the right mix of players at the perfect time and then the rise of the GOAT while the entire nation was interested in basketball for the first time in a long time.


Also, in general why isn't the NBA as popular as the NFL? Would you say the reason is racial?

Meh, I think the hip-hop culture, especially in the early-00s, turned some people off. I really don't think that is a huge factor though.

Even in Jordan's prime, the NBA took a backseat to the NFL. America just loves football.

[RedBlackAttack]

Because it's the fvcking Super Bowl, you cannot be serious here. :facepalm

Super Sunday is basically a holiday in the States, even people who hate sports show up to watch and attend super bowl parties. It's no longer just a game, it's an event.
It's not just the Super Bowl.

Check out ratings for the AFC/NFC Championships.... the Divisional round... Hell, a regular season game.

Football blows everything else out of the water and there is no argument otherwise.

To put things in perspective for you... Game 5 of the Finals, which everyone knew could be the final game of the season... It had, what? A rating of a little over 12?

They said that the game was seen by 18.5 million viewers. That was the close-out game and everyone knew that it could be the final game.


The NFC Wildcard Playoff Game this past NFL season was seen by 39.3 million viewers... Over double Game 5. And, that was for a first round playoff game.

http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/media_entertainment/nielsens-tops-of-2011-television


To drive the point home even more, a Redskins/Cowboys regular season game on Monday Night Football last year... REGULAR SEASON... had 17.1 million viewers... Which was higher than the average rating for the five Heat/Thunder games in the Finals.

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2012/01/05/nfl-2011-tv-recap-record-37-shows-earn-more-than-20-million-viewers/115523/

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/23/sports/basketball/nba-finals-game-5-receives-high-tv-ratings.html


In other words... Don't f#ck with the NFL.

[Da_Realist]

It's common knowledge that Magic's and Bird's rivalry saved the league while Jordan took the league's popularity to the next level.

Both the 80's and 90's had "explosions" but the one in the 90's was the reason why the NBA became as popular as it did. And while comparisons of current players to legends are common place, you never really hear a player being deemed the next Bird, Magic, Wilt or whoever. There is only one player the league keeps looking to replace and that's Jordan. And for very good reason too.

The NBA is a business and wants to duplicate the impact Jordan had on the league. IMO it will never happen though. Two reasons.

First, the NBA had a lot of room for growth in the 80's and into the 90's. In the 90's, it attained that potential growth and hit a peak both nationally and internationally. All today's league can really hope for is to reattain that popularity and sustain it if they haven't already.

Second, I feel people lost interest in the league because it has become more about entertainment value rather than competition. Don't get me wrong because I still think the game is still competitive but it has lost its edge. Its become style over substance. Also with all the value players have nowadays, the league tries really hard to protect it's assets. And that takes away from truly enjoying the game. As a spectator, it's important to me to feel it was a fair game, as to comfortably say the better team won. Refs seem to dictate the outcome of game more so than ever these days and that will hurt any sport.

The fact that it's become such a perimeter-oriented league makes it less interesting to watch, imo. Too much dribbling while waiting on a play to develop. Too much standing around when they don't have the ball. And big men have been taken out of the paint which has created a league where nearly everyone is a perimeter player. There's like 2 or 3 quality big men in the league. There isn't that balance between perimeter and post play anymore. It's like a glorified, super talented version of 4 on 4 at the local rec.

Even Phil Jackson admitted on HBO Real Sports that he doesn't like watching the NBA anymore. Too much screen/roll, too much dribbling and not enough creativity.

[bdreason]

Because the NBA was better in the late 80's and early 90's.

[Pinkhearts]

so Two and a Half Men in its prime with Charlie had higher ratings than Game 5 week after week...

[RaininTwos]

It's not just the Super Bowl.

Check out ratings for the AFC/NFC Championships.... the Divisional round... Hell, a regular season game.

Football blows everything else out of the water and there is no argument otherwise.

To put things in perspective for you... Game 5 of the Finals, which everyone knew could be the final game of the season... It had, what? A rating of a little over 12?

They said that the game was seen by 18.5 million viewers. That was the close-out game and everyone knew that it could be the final game.


The NFC Wildcard Playoff Game this past NFL season was seen by 39.3 million viewers... Over double Game 5. And, that was for a first round playoff game.

http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/media_entertainment/nielsens-tops-of-2011-television


To drive the point home even more, a Redskins/Cowboys regular season game on Monday Night Football last year... REGULAR SEASON... had 17.1 million viewers... Which was higher than the average rating for the five Heat/Thunder games in the Finals.

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2012/01/05/nfl-2011-tv-recap-record-37-shows-earn-more-than-20-million-viewers/115523/

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/23/sports/basketball/nba-finals-game-5-receives-high-tv-ratings.html


In other words... Don't f#ck with the NFL.

Good info, the NFL is King in North America. We all know that I was just shocked at how absurd the line of questioning Don Dadda kept presenting.

[JMT]

Even the extremely casual fan (my grandmother) knew who Jordan was, marveled at his athleticism and found him likable. Very similar to Tiger Woods pre-hydrant.

Today many casual fans tune in to root against James. The draw of a negative isn't as strong as that of a positive.

As others noted, more fans watch online. Also there are more channels/networks and entertainment options.

Also don't diminish the negative impact of supposed "fans" who cry incessantly about games and draft lotteries being fixed. If you don't really have a strong rooting interest and are thinking about checking it out, that's enough to dissuade you.

[jt21]

Part of the reason I don't find it as enjoyable is that NBA is no longer shown on NBC. NBA on NBC was amazing with the theme song and the great match ups every weekend. ESPN/ABC and TNT are ok but don't come close to NBC's presentation during the late 90's IMO (much of that is the theme song).

I can't remember off the top of my head what it was like 10-15 years ago, but I'd also say that currently it seems that players are more concerned with getting to the foul line and manipulating the referees than creating good shots.

Using the pump fake as an example, I don't remember what it was like in the Jordan era, but now the pump fake is used exclusively to get the defender into the air and flop into him for a foul, rather than using it to drive and get a better shot.

It's much less enjoyable to watch when the game is interrupted by a foul call every single possession. Some of that has to do with the rule changes(i.e. handcheck), but a lot of it is just an overall player mentality. The vast majority of "star" players spend almost every single transition period complaining to the refs instead of just running back on D.

[StarJordan]

- The NBA was in trouble in the late 70s for the same reasons it was in trouble in the mid2000s...league was seen as too black and basically had a coke-snorting image
- Coming of larry Bird (being a white superstar) in early 80s was a turnaround point in ratings for the casual basketball fans, ie mostly white fans of the time. His rivarly with magic johnson on the other side of the country created the initial boost, and then people stayed because 80s basketball was pretty good. They became NBA fans.
- By 1984 though, Jordan had entered the league and and he created a different kind of fan following than lakers vs celtics. Jordan had a spectacular game and a superstar personality that would cross over.....magic had a spectacular game but he wasn't a smooth talker or witty like jordan.....bird was smart but didn't have the spectacular game like jordan....jordan had the entire package on and off the court...and persona wise, outside of him, only Charles Barkley has. With some help from Nike, Jordan by mid-late 80s was the top star of the league, getting the most votes at the all star game etc and air jordan brand was on parallel with rest of nba. Also with jordan came barkley and stockton and mullin and nba had a pretty solid transition into the next decade
-But the league's and basketball's popularity really peaked during 1991-1993 imo, especially during the dream team phase. Both nationally and internationally. Ratings for nba finals peaked in 1998. But interms of basketball on the playgrounds and overall hype, it was probably around '92-93...basketball became the cool sport to play in america....and michael jordan had a lot to do with that. Also to a lesser extent pippen, barkley, ewing, robinson, mullin, regiie miller and those type of stars of that era. Many of those guys are on tnt today interstingly and still popular.

That said, I wanna add that lebron and wade and bosh and durant have similar appeal as the non-jordan stars of that prime era. Dwade, lebron these guys are popular for sure. And their basketball is also not bad either, so its not like you're going to get nba finals with ratings <10 anytime soon with this crew in the finals. Like i said, when a finals with oklahoma city can do well, then the nba is doing pretty good.

[DonDadda59]

Good info, the NFL is King in North America. We all know that I was just shocked at how absurd the line of questioning Don Dadda kept presenting.

So you agree with RBA but my reasoning, which is the same as RBA's, is 'absurd'? Does not compute :confusedshrug:

People are really reaching for excuses here. Anyone who was around for the Jordan phenomena knows why the interest just isn't there nowadays like it used to be. ESPN, ABC, etc knows the reason as well which is why they're still looking for the 'next Jordan' (looks like they've given up on Kobe and now Lebron gets all the comparisons).

But all that aside... I was just hoping that all the 'internet, cable, more entertainment' caused the NBA's decline would be able to explain why the NFL keeps growing in popularity and viewership while facing the same obstacles. Also would be nice for someone to explain why the NBA experienced massive drop offs in viewership that coincided with Jordan's retirements in '94 and '99.

[Heilige]

How do you expect casual fans to connect to the NBA and it's teams when 99% of it's games are shown on cable networks. Games broadcast over the air on local networks are far and few in between.

Most of the playoffs are on cable networks until the Finals. Not exactly easy to connect to these teams.

The NFL broadcast EVERY playoff game on local networks. This makes it easy for people to follow in the postseason.


Don't most people have cable?

[RaininTwos]

So you agree with RBA but my reasoning, which is the same as RBA's, is 'absurd'? Does not compute :confusedshrug:

People are really reaching for excuses here. Anyone who was around for the Jordan phenomena knows why the interest just isn't there nowadays like it used to be. ESPN, ABC, etc knows the reason as well which is why they're still looking for the 'next Jordan' (looks like they've given up on Kobe and now Lebron gets all the comparisons).

But all that aside... I was just hoping that all the 'internet, cable, more entertainment' caused the NBA's decline would be able to explain why the NFL keeps growing in popularity and viewership while facing the same obstacles. Also would be nice for someone to explain why the NBA experienced massive drop offs in viewership that coincided with Jordan's retirements in '94 and '99.

You question was asinine. That's like in a topic about the 2008 recession, people talk about how sales went down and you keep asking "How come the Iphone still sold like crazy?" or in a thread about declining record sales, you ask "How come Adele's '21' is still selling millions of copies?".

That's just being stupid, there is no comparison. You know it, I know it, we all do.

Why are wasting time asking? The NBA and NFL are not the same, so why would you expect challenges to NBA ratings to apply to NFL ratings?

The NFL is obviously the exception.

All RBA did was provide info just to show how much of an exception the NFL is.

[Soundwave]

Jordan was far more popular with casual fans/non-fans, hence the Bulls would get a large ratings boost.

LeBron is good but he's really not even close in popularity with fringe/non-fans.

Jordan was a global icon ala a Michael Jackson/Princess Diana/etc. for his time.

Things were just different back then.

[senelcoolidge]

Yeah, it was because of Jordan. But than again there was better star power, league was just better, better competition..etc.