The NBA’s new media strategy: Build on what the NFL does right - Article

[Piff Perkins]

I wouldn't say "selling the lie" as much as simply talking about basketball. ESPN and TNT don't talk about basketball. Their hosts talk about themselves, grandstand, and throw generic talking points out. Someone didn't try hard enough, someone else wanted it more, somebody just knows how to win, etc. It's asinine and it doesn't grow the game.

ESPN's NFL coverage has gotten worse this year (Ryan Clark and Dan Orlowsky especially) but overall they actually talk about football. They show more than one type of highlight, VS the nonstop 3 point highlights for basketball. If someone makes a great defensive play you actually see it discussed.

 

[Soldier]

Let the QB position be less white and see.

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/nfl-record-15-black-qbs-to-start-in-2024-week-1-after-patriots-name-jacoby-brissett-starter-for-opener/

A record 16 Black quarterbacks are starting in Week 1 of the NFL season

As the NFL gets ready to kick off a new year, a record 16 Black quarterbacks are slated to start Week 1 of the 2025 NFL season.

www.usatoday.com

The QB position has been taken over already. Russell Wilson and Cam Newton led the way a decade ago. Then Lamar Jackson, Jalen Hurts, Patrick Mahomes, etc followed the path they’ve traced. And brehs like Randall Cunningham, Steve mcnair, Warren moon, Donovan mcnabb existed anyway even if they were a minority among QBs.

 

[CodeBlaMeVi]

Real Madrid and the rest of those European soccer teams full up stadiums playing preseason games in America.

But soccer is still not that popular in America.

Its the same point I made with my example.

 

[KFBF]

It's not clear to me how the NBA is supposed to combat SAS, Perkins, Sharpe, etc. When ESPN wants them do to the exact opposite, but I think this is a step in the right direction.

I also think it's important to note that while ESPN and other mainstream media has devolved into slop merchants when covering the NBA (the new reported Legler segment is an attempt to rectify this), independent content creators are doing tremendous work. It's not possible to follow your teams by just reading the paper anymore.

 

[Gritsngravy]

Delete

 

[Soldier]

People say this and the NFL is still more valuable than the NBA, MLB, and MLS. Plus, flag football is the fastest growing sport in the world and it is a derivative from the NFL's investments in growing the sport internationally.

Globally, the most valuable sports team is the Dallas Cowboys. Go figure.

Citation for most valuable teams internationally

The NFL outside the USA and soccer in the USA are both heavily marketed novelties. Curious People with FOMO(fear of missing out) will attend annual nfl games in Europe or Brazil, and soccer games in America because they don’t want to miss out on these special and rare events. Their temporary and fickle interest in these sports never go beyond amused curiosity, there's nothing more to it. It’s like another fun activity, like going to the beach or the movie theaters for them. I guess that There might be new converts to football or soccer but most people in attendance will likely forget about the existence of these sports as soon as the games/events are over. Soccer will always rule Europe/brazil with an iron fist, and gridiron football will always be king in the USA. This will never change.

Rugby is a sport similar to football and is very popular in the UK, France, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa. Most Rugby fans overseas look down on the NFL product and see gridiron sport as a b*stardized and inferior version of rugby. They see the nfl as a poor imitation of rugby.

Even if football grows internationally, it will never replace and overtake soccer. Let alone other sports like basketball , baseball, rugby, cricket, and hockey.


Soccer is one of the most played sports among kids in America. But it has never resulted in big grassroot interest at the college/professional level. And playing soccer as a kid doesn’t translate to interest in the sport. Not many Americans follow the domestic league, the MLS or foreign leagues like the English Premier League. Soccer isn’t taken seriously, it’s seen as a soccer mom sport for kids in the suburbs lol. The only sports taken seriously in the US are football, basketball, hockey and baseball . Because The best American athletes play these three sports.

Where’s the American Ronaldo or Messi yet? It’s well known that many sports fans in America are narcissistic, insular, chauvinistic, and obsessed with themselves first and foremost. They don’t care about foreign athletes and foreign sports like that. They need a local, American born and raised, relatable soccer star to even start to be interested in the sport.

 

[KFBF]

Where’s the American Ronaldo or Messi yet? It’s well known many sports fans in America are narcissistic, insular, chauvinistic, and obsessed with themselves first and foremost. They don’t care about foreign athletes and foreign sports like that. They need a local, American born and raised, relatable soccer star to be interested in the sport at first.

That was supposed to be Freddy Adu. I haven't really followed since, but Im sure there have been others. The impression I've always gotten was that an American player is not going to be/get good enough by staying her. If that's not the case I hope someone chimes in

 

[Stinky Diver]

I think this will help; I'm not sure it will explode the NBA's viewership the way they are hoping, because ultimately its the product that has gotten worse.

All of this is to help the presentation of the product, which again, I think will help. But it's still the presentation.

If the product (meaning the actual play on the court) doesn't improve, this is just lipstick on a pig that won't see the return on investment they are looking for.

But bettering the presentation is a start.

Brotha, this might be your best post on the website.

 

[CodeBlaMeVi]

The NFL outside the USA and soccer in the USA are both heavily marketed novelties. Curious People with FOMO(fear of missing out) will attend annual nfl games in Europe or Brazil, and soccer games in America because they don’t want to miss out on these special and rare events. Their temporary and fickle interest in these sports never go beyond amused curiosity, there's nothing more to it. It’s like another fun activity, like going to the beach or the movie theaters for them. I guess that There might be new converts to football or soccer but most people in attendance will likely forget about the existence of these sports as soon as the games/events are over. Soccer will always rule Europe/brazil with an iron fist, and gridiron football will always be king in the USA. This will never change.

Rugby is a sport similar to football and is very popular in the UK, France, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa. Most Rugby fans overseas look down on the NFL product and see gridiron sport as a b*stardized and inferior version of rugby. They see the nfl as a poor imitation of rugby.

Even if football grows internationally, it will never replace and overtake soccer. Let alone other sports like basketball , baseball, rugby, cricket, and hockey.


Soccer is one of the most played sport among kids in America. But it has never resulted in big grassroot interest a professional level. And playing soccer as a kid doesn’t translate to interests in the sport. Not many Americans follow the domestic league, the MLS or English Premier League. Soccer isn’t taken seriously, it’s seen as a soccer mom sport for kids in the suburbs lol. The only sports taken seriously in the US are football, basketball, and baseball . Because The best American athletes play these three sports.

Where’s the American Ronaldo or Messi yet? It’s well known that many sports fans in America are narcissistic, insular, chauvinistic, and obsessed with themselves first and foremost. They don’t care about foreign athletes and foreign sports like that. They need a local, American born and raised, relatable soccer star to even start to be interested in the sport.

Flag football and particularly women's flag football in Mexico is a growing professional sport.

One of many videos on YouTube. They have world games where countries compete.

The UK has a little league, and college league. Not sure about high school or whatever it is called over there. At the college level, they have their versions of FBS (D1) and FCS (D2). So, to mark it as a yearly novelty freak show is incorrect. They sell out like 6 games a year in London. The conversation is not about what's more popular in head count. Soccer (football) is a cheap a55 and simple sport. That is why it is so popular. The goal is to kick a ball into a net. Not rocket science. It's endurance and skill so some folks are better than others but let us not get carried away.

>>> A Mexican Tournament

 

[aceboon]

All that is a temporary wave and has never proven to have the stickiness to keep fans interested. Look at the end result. Player led focus doesn’t have long lasting standing with fans. Players retire….fan interest retires WITH THEM. It’s dumb as fukk for a league to continue reinventing itself around its players when developing interests around TEAM is a fixture that always works to retain the return customer.

And the NBA fueled success helped one player, not the NBA itself. We see this now with Inside the NBA helping themselves but not bringing interest to the league

No way in the world you typed and posted the bolded with a straight face

 

[NYC Rebel]

No way in the world you typed and posted the bolded with a straight face

Sure did.

For league viewership, no. It dropped off the cliff after MJ no different than it did for Golf viewership when Tiger slipped.

 

[fifth column]

I said this before and will say it again, the NBA needs another MJ, someone who is next level special, charismatic, obsessed with competition and winning to the point where the rest of the league wakes up and start elevating their game play to match that player’s intensity. A tone setter of the highest degree.

The league has a competitive spirit problem and viewers can see through it and that’s why the on court product is so stagnant.

 

[2Quik4UHoes]

I dont get the competition angle anyway. They been coexisting for 80 years. NBA has had its ups and downs in that time purely based on what is going on with them. Its never had anything to do with the NFL. Its like WWE "competing" with cartoon network or some shyt. Yall have some overlap for sure but you are not doing the same thing and there is more than enough room for both.

I actually agree, the NBA can be great in its own right and should be a compliment to the NFL if done right. They could both make loads of money together since the NBA has global popularity and the NFL is dominant domestically.

 

[murksiderock]

The NFL product is just as trash imo and they functioning well. It’s going to take YEARS to see a return on this though. Folks today are simply too conditioned

I definitely disagree that the NFL is a trash product.

 

[TM101]

I said this before and will say it again, the NBA needs another MJ, someone who is next level special, charismatic, obsessed with competition and winning to the point where the rest of the league wakes up and start elevating their game play to match that player’s intensity. A tone setter of the highest degree.

The league has a competitive spirit problem and viewers can see through it and that’s why the on court product is so stagnant.

Players are trying to compete and win, but analytics and salary cap restrictions have forced league parity. NBA fans need to accept that another Jordan isnt coming because the league is too optimized for one person to dominate like him in the 90s.