NBA ratings affected? Is Trump's move to boycott watching NBA damaging viewership?

US President Donald Trump and the NBA continue to be at odds over the league's stance regarding players kneeling during the national anthem. Trump has publicly criticised the league and the players for opting to kneel during the national anthem. Trump has also claimed that he would have no hesitation in boycotting the NBA if players continue to "disrespect the national anthem." Trump noted in the past that he would be boycotting the NFL and MLS for the same reason. 

While Trump's boycotting of the NBA might not be a cause for concern for the league, at least according to LeBron James, NBA's declining TV ratings since the restart might just be an alarming indicator of things to come. During Tuesday's radio interview session on Fox Sports’ Outkick, the POTUS labelled the NBA players as "dumb" and "nasty" for hurting the league's ratings by opting to kneel during the national anthem. But is there truth to Trump's claims?

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NBA ratings since the restart

There no hiding to the fact that NBA TV ratings have been low since the 2019-20 season resumed in late July. During the first weekend in Orlando, per Outkick numbers, the NBA viewership dropped from a combined 5.5 million on opening night to a combined 3 million later. Per Sports Media Watch analysis, the NBA ratings for the first full week inside the bubble (1.56 million) were down 4% from the league’s pre-hiatus average (1.62 million). Similar low numbers were recorded in Major League Baseball. The NBA and MLB's stance over players protesting against racism by kneeling during the national anthem was attributed as the primary reason behind the declining numbers. 

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However, a closer look at the numbers suggests there is much more to the drop in ratings than fans not wanting to see politics and sports being mixed. First and foremost, since the initial first-weekend dip in ratings, viewership was 14% above the pre-hiatus average. According to FOX News, primetime viewership (1.68 million) remains 11% ahead of the pre-hiatus average. Compared to Major League Baseball (MLB), the NBA has largely drawn a higher viewership. Per reports, regular-season games on ESPN were averaging 1.39 million viewers through August 9. This us 34% more than the numbers posted by MLB games on ESPN (1.03 million). 

Donald Trump's repetitive criticism of the NBA is hurting ratings to some extent. However, as the numbers suggest, Trump's decision to boycott NBA games did not have a lasting effect on its viewership. With the NBA playoffs fast approaching, the numbers might receive yet another major boost.

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(Image Credits: AP, NBA.com)