Seems like I kicked up some dust over not being impressed by the In Season Tournament’s viewership numbers, decent 4.6 mil return on the Laker title game notwithstanding. Someone from the league even sent me an angry email over it. That’s fine, people can disagree, but let’s take a step back rather than single the NBA out for scrutiny. Because, it’s worth pointing out that most sports face the same challenges nowadays.
Due to those challenges, it’s just so hard to create regular season events like the IST and have them gain lasting traction. One example of an invented regular season hit was Baseball’s Field of Dreams Game, which drew over six million viewers in 2021. When MLB ran it back in 2022, about half as many people watched. That doesn’t mean the game was a bad idea or a failure. It’s just more evidence that a league can add an exciting element to its regular season, but find it difficult to sustain enthusiasm over it.
Read Full Article »