SALT LAKE CITY — It’s become a media pastime to speculate on the declining popularity of the NBA. It’s a sky-is-falling routine — the league isn’t going anywhere, despite its many glaring flaws and missteps and a declining product — but there is evidence that it’s losing interest.
TV ratings have been downtrending for years. The TV ratings for the 2020 playoffs have been down from the start, and they’ve been worse since the players’ brief boycott. A new Harris poll reveals that 38% of sports fans are watching fewer NBA games.
Respondents were given 10 choices and allowed to select more than one of them.