Why is the NBA the least popular sport nowadays?

[211269]

Hockey more popular than basketball?

Depends on your market. I can guarantee you the Devils outdraw the Nets in NJ and the Maple Leafs WAY outdraw the Raptors both on TV and live. I am willing to bet there are other markets where the hockey teams are watched more than the NBA teams.

[jinsanity]

I'm talking out of the big 4 (basketball, baseball, football, hockey) it seems like the NBA keeps on going lower and lower each season in terms of popularity. Especially here in Chicago. Once in a while you'll hear people talk about Derrick Rose but that's about it. Before this season the Bulls at least were talked about more than the Blackhawks but now I'd say that NHL has replaced the NBA as the 3rd best sport at least around here.

When it comes to teams...

1.) Bears
2.) Cubs
3.) White Sox
4.) Blackhawks
5.) Bulls

Sports...

1.) NFL
2.) MLB
3.) NHL
4.) NBA

What does David Stern need to do to make the NBA popular again? Even before the Blackhawks got really good this season I would talk to a lot of hardcore sports fans who would say that they prefer college basketball over the NBA. David Stern has got to do something to change the image of the NBA for the better.

Well, ever since Michael Jordan retired, the interest in basketball for casual fans really dropped for some reason. Especially in the international markets. China would be an exception though due to Yao. Anyway, I thought Lebron would increase the popularity of the NBA in the general public and have a Tiger Woods/MJ impact but in reality he hasn't.

Also, the league has definately gained a more hip-hop image compared to Jordan's era. I don't care about this , but for the average ,conservative, middle aged public, this doesn't seem to be desirable.

Globally, NBA is still the most popular American sports league, but in the US. it obviously isn't.

[ConanRulesNBC]

When it comes to talent this is definitely the best the NBA has been since the early to mid '90s. But even on SportsCenter and ESPN News and all of ESPN actually they spend way more time talking about the NFL and MLB and even now NHL.

[DuMa]

nba is all top heavy teams. not much parity. thus only teh teams in the bigger markets care about their own teams.

but it is still better than the NHL. although i've heard the NHL is a better spectator sport than the NBA is. i have a few ducks tickets to use up for 2009. im lookin forward to my first hockey game

[miles berg]

Its pretty close between the NBA and MLB, both battling for 3rd after the NFL and NASCAR.

The NBA Finals drew over 15 million viewers this year, the World Series over 13 million.

[211269]

i have a few ducks tickets to use up for 2009. im lookin forward to my first hockey game

I live 2 miles from the Honda Center and go on occasion. Hockey is 50 times better live than on TV, its not even close.

[hawksdogsbraves]

Depends on your market. I can guarantee you the Devils outdraw the Nets in NJ and the Maple Leafs WAY outdraw the Raptors both on TV and live. I am willing to bet there are other markets where the hockey teams are watched more than the NBA teams.

The NBA has a much higher revenue than the NHL does overall. In fact, NASCAR makes more money than the NHL does. The NHL may be more popular in a couple of markets but it lags far behind the NFL, MLB, and NHL as far as revenues and valuations are concerned.

The average NFL team costs about $530 million, MLB $293 million, NBA $247 million, NHL $160 million.

[EricForman]

I'm talking out of the big 4 (basketball, baseball, football, hockey) it seems like the NBA keeps on going lower and lower each season in terms of popularity. Especially here in Chicago. Once in a while you'll hear people talk about Derrick Rose but that's about it. Before this season the Bulls at least were talked about more than the Blackhawks but now I'd say that NHL has replaced the NBA as the 3rd best sport at least around here.

When it comes to teams...

1.) Bears
2.) Cubs
3.) White Sox
4.) Blackhawks
5.) Bulls

Sports...

1.) NFL
2.) MLB
3.) NHL
4.) NBA

What does David Stern need to do to make the NBA popular again? Even before the Blackhawks got really good this season I would talk to a lot of hardcore sports fans who would say that they prefer college basketball over the NBA. David Stern has got to do something to change the image of the NBA for the better.

Maybe it applies to America.

But to the world, NBA has a brighter--by far--future than NFL, NHL and baseball combined.

People in Asia and Europe will never give a crap about football. But basketball will grow. Bball is easily be the second biggest sport in the world.

Trust me, the NBA is fine. They're huge all around the world... while 95 out of 100 people in Hong Kong (where I'm at right now) wouldn't know who the hell Tom Brady is.

[A. Blackmon]

If fans rated their home teams on their recent success, why would a team who has won 0 Super Bowls be #1 on our list over a team who is the current World Series Champion?

You=

I'm only talking Hoops. Like I said before I hate baseball so much I don't even care enough to Google "World Series Champs" to see if you even know what your talking about.

My point was that those people don't care about NBA because there teams are $h*tty.

[ConanRulesNBC]

Its pretty close between the NBA and MLB, both battling for 3rd after the NFL and NASCAR.

The NBA Finals drew over 15 million viewers this year, the World Series over 13 million.

But look at who made it to each one. The Celtics and Lakers come from two really strong markets. Now if it was the Cubs vs. Yankees or Cubs vs. Red Sox it would have blown away the NBA finals.

[JayGuevara]

The Lions still have fans no matter what, and probably more now after 0-16. The Tigers had a revival and then promptly underachieved but they're still a draw for fans. The Pistons are popular, but I think the Red Wings are the biggest in the area.

Well, for the state or at least metro area. For the actual city of Detroit, not so much, how many minorities like hockey?

[ConanRulesNBC]

They even had a poll recently on ESPN asking which one was more exciting and I forget a couple of the choices but the Celtics winning the NBA championship was last and Michael Phelps winning all those gold medals was way higher.

[Alonzo Magic]

I posted this in the "NBA: AN afterthought?" thread a couple of days ago:

I completely understand why you guys say the NFL is more popular and therefore will be shown more. It's obvious to me that in the States that Gridiron is No.1 followed by Baseball, and these two are much bigger than the rest of the American sporting market. It's kinda hard to make a case for the NBA when a star like Iverson says his dream was to play in the NFL, or when the first question LeBron is asked in an interview is what he thinks of the Yankees new pitcher. Everyone associated with Basketball has accepted it, hell even love the rival sports. Here in Australia that's unheard of, a person in say, Rugby would NEVER talk about a rival code, let alone one it's star players. You think soccer players here would give coverage to a summer sport rival like Cricket? Hell no! All the Professional Sports codes here are fighting for the most media coverage and fans. That's what I don't get about American Sports.

Going back to what I was saying about the NFL being more popular in America therefore getting more coverage - Here in Oz, the NBA is quite popular, particularly in my state of Queensland, where Basketball is widely regarded as second only to Rugby in the winter and Cricket in the summer. Even with the National Basketball League being near bankrupt. The yearly Nielsen ratings show that the NBA consistently beats out the NFL in coverage, although the Superbowl generates the most viewing audiences in the one sitting between the two sports. The NBA beats out the NFL in merchandising also - I've never seen an NFL jersey in a sports store, Sure I've seen Balls, but never jerseys. Where as NBA jerseys generate a steady and reliable income. Don't get me started on shoes. Most importantly - the Fans, and their knowledge of both sports. Almost all my non NBA watching friends can tell me who Carmelo Anthony is, but if you asked them what TO stands for then they'd be more inclined to say Time Out then Terrell Owens.

After this, after all of this, do you know how many times they show the NFL here? SIX live games a week, as opposed to the 2 games of NBA. I just can't fathom that. It's infuriating.

I was watching a video clip of most of the Heat players being interviewed a couple of days ago and there was a question each an everyone of them was asked - "What did you want to be when you were younger?" You know what most of them said? Football players, that's right half the players on the Heat roster wanted to be in the NFL when they were growing up. Marion, Marcus Banks, Udonis Haslem, etc. That just seems foreign to me here living in Australia, like I said before, no one gives an inch to a rival sport here.

[Posterize246]

I'm only talking Hoops. Like I said before I hate baseball so much I don't even care enough to Google "World Series Champs" to see if you even know what your talking about.

My point was that those people don't care about NBA because there teams are $h*tty.

My point is the Sixers could win back-to back-to back NBA championships and football would still be #1 here. So having a ****ty team doesn't really have much to do with it.

[miles berg]

But look at who made it to each one. The Celtics and Lakers come from two really strong markets. Now if it was the Cubs vs. Yankees or Cubs vs. Red Sox it would have blown away the NBA finals.

From what I have read, this years Finals outdrew the last Yankees World Series. But, regardless, what they draw in the US is really nothing compared to global ratings where the NBA blows everyone else away. Also, as I read earlier, NBA sales, jerseys, etc...are the best both in the US and in the Global market. The NBA also has a far greater internet following, as they are googled more than any US sport.

Point is, these are all revenue sources for the NBA. According to Wiki, the NBA was getting higher ratings in the 90s for regular season games, then MLB overtook them early this decade, and now the NBA is only slightly below MLB and, according to the ESPN article I was reading, the NBA is seeing a dramatic increase in ratings over the last two years.

Honestly, MLB just went through a Golden Era, it is the first time in a long time that casual fans were into it, mainly because of ESPN hyping the hell out of the Yankees/Red Sox rivalry. The NBA was at its lowest after the lockout and Jordans retirement yet it stood strong and, now, appears poised to enter another Golden Era similar to the mid 80s to late 90s era which placed the NBA #2 in the US.

But, again, this is all purely in the US. When you factor in the Global Market, MLB is nowhere close to the NBA and more than likely will never be. While MLB has been working to fix itself in the US, David Stern has been working to make the NBA the #1 league in the entire universe and it is.

If I were a betting man Id say that by 2015 the NBA will be more popular than it has ever been and a clear #2 to the NFL in the States and the runaway Global leader.