Falling NBA TV Ratings And Betting TrendsRatings Slide For Years, But League's Betting Handle And Media Rights Have Never Been Stronger |
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For NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, TV ratings aren’t just a number; they’re a barometer of the league’s popularity. They drive everything from its multi-million-dollar advertising contracts to fan engagement.
Yet, despite the NBA TV ratings plummeting by 48% over the last 12 years, the league still managed to secure a record-breaking $77 billion media rights deal in the summer.
This dwindling NBA viewership in traditional media is driving changes in the pro basketball broadcasting landscape and may have an impact on betting trends and turnover too.
The NBA’s Shift Towards Live-Streaming
You could be forgiven for thinking the staggering drop in NBA TV audiences would have alarm bells ringing – particularly amongst franchise owners.
However, while some fans blame the decline on the exhaustive 82-game regular season schedule, the loss of old-school rivalries, the increasing reliance on three-point shooting, as well as the growing trend of resting star players for ‘load management’ reasons, NBA management believes a more plausible explanation lies in the shift towards alternative media platforms, including live-streaming services.
Traditional television remains the preferred way to watch games – particularly headline events like the NBA Finals and the NBA All-Star Game – but the NBA’s record-breaking 11-year, $77 billion media rights deal with ESPN, Amazon, and NBC is a clear indication that fan viewing habits are changing.
The NBA has embraced popular streaming platforms, including Amazon’s Prime Video and, of course, heavily promoted its own League Pass app.
The Rise of NBA Betting Amid Declining Viewership
Remarkably, while TV audiences for the NBA have been shrinking, the sports betting handle on NBA games appears to be on the rise, mirroring a universal trend across all major sports.
Six years on from the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn a federal ban on sports betting, over $420 billion has been wagered, with 2024 clocking up an eye-watering $150 billion alone – up 23% on 2023’s betting handle.
Silver himself has said he supports sports betting and it’s easy to see why.
A 2023 survey revealed that basketball ranked highest on preferred sports to bet on, achieving 52.7%, surpassing Soccer (51.2%) and Football (45.8%) – all indicators point to a notable uptick in NBA betting volume, in direct contrast to its dwindling tv ratings.
This disconnect between rising NBA betting and falling TV ratings underscores a dynamic shift in how fans engage with the game, with streaming platforms and online betting becoming increasingly central to the evolving sports landscape. It sometimes even affects the players themselves.
In-Play NBA Wagering And Viewer Engagement
With the NBA’s TV ratings increasingly transitioning towards live-streamed content, betting markets appear also to be evolving.
Driven by improved access, digital media streams and online betting sites provide fans with access to real-time NBA gambling data – not only enhancing the game’s appeal to viewers, but the resulting surge in casual gamblers entering NBA betting markets allows intuitive bettors a chance to capitalize.
Given that a recent 2024 International Betting Integrity Association’s study revealed that 47% of all sports bets placed last year were in-play wagers, it provides a credible connection between fan engagement and live sportsbook betting.
As a result, NBA betting trends are no longer dominated by pre-game wager markets; instead, the evolution of immersive fan engagement and in-play betting has a number of benefits for seasoned bettors, including:
The Future Of NBA Betting Trends
Beyond the NBA’s showcase events, the rapidly advancing digital era is expected to boost regular season game viewership, not to mention further enhancing the growing appeal of the WNBA.
And, while television’s monopoly of NBA viewership is certainly not over, the new NBA media deal emphasizes Adam Silver’s desire to incorporate additional streaming platforms to help strengthen fan interest, draw in a younger demographic, and more importantly, broaden the NBA’s global appeal.
As the NBA explores new strategies to attract more fans, the bolstering of gameday viewership numbers and the anticipated growth of live sports betting will ultimately offer a wealth of in-play opportunities for astute NBA wagerers to exploit.
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