Last week, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban blamed cord cutting for lower ratings of NBA games.
It’s true that numbers are declining for the league. Sports Business Journal shows that the ratings of games on TNT are down 23%, games shown on ESPN are down 20%, and Regional Sports Networks are down 13%. But is cord cutting to blame?
Sports Media Watch shared some insights about why the NBA is off to a slow start this season, citing “injuries, competition, and a weak schedule” as factors for the low ratings numbers.
In his tweets, Cuban commented that “All of our national broadcasts are exclusively available on cable, which is losing subs daily.” But cord cutters have options when it comes to watching NBA games. NBA TV is available on live streaming services including Sling TV, fuboTV, YouTube TV, PlayStation Vue, and AT&T TV NOW. Local channels are available through most live TV streaming services, or with an antenna. Cord cutters can also subscribe to NBA League Pass for $99.99.
Check out our cord cutting guide for sports fans for more info about streaming sports without cable.
Is cord cutting bringing down the ratings or does the NBA need to become more accessible to cord cutters in order to maintain and grow its audience? Let us know what you think in the comments.
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