Silver: Ratings Not NBA's Fault

Adam Silver Points to Low Cable Viewership For Poor NBA Ratings

December 19, 2024

Adam Silver Admits NBA Ratings Are Down, Not Ready to Blame Product
FOS’ Alex Schiffer reports: “Adam Silver admitted NBA ratings are down this season, but isn’t ready to blame the game’s style of play the other way observers are. Speaking to the media before Tuesday’s NBA Cup final in Las Vegas—where the Bucks defeated the Thunder—the NBA commissioner acknowledged ‘ratings are down a bit,’ but was quick to point out ‘cable viewership is down double digits.’” 
^{Front Office Sports}

The European Super League (Sorry, the Unify League) is Back – But Where is the Imagination?
The Athletic’s Rory Smith writes, “It should be no surprise, then, that the reaction from the institutions that A22 hopes to overturn has risen from disinterest only to express disdain. ‘A project that still does not count on any support from clubs, federations, players, fans or institutions,’ as a forthright statement from La Liga put it. Javier Tebas, the president of La Liga, went further, accusing ‘the guys from A22’ of producing ‘formats like churros’, presumably because they have no nutritional value but are sprinkled with sugar.
^{The Athletic}

NBA Team Values 2024: Warriors, Knicks Lead as Average Hits $4.6B
Kurt Badenhausen reports: “The average NBA franchise is now worth $4.6 billion, according to Sportico’s calculations, with the Golden State Warriors at the top of the league ranking and the Memphis Grizzlies at the bottom. The total is up 15% versus 2023 and nearly double four years ago, when the average was $2.37 billion. The gains at the bottom of the financial table are even greater, with the current $3.06 billion ‘get-in’ price 127% higher than four years ago.”
^Sportico

Netflix to Feature 10 SEC Football Programs in ‘Drive to Survive’-Style Docuseries on 2024 Season
The SEC and Netflix have teamed up with a behind-the-scenes look at the 2024 football season, featuring 10 of the conference’s 16 schools, including Tennessee on its way to a College Football Playoff berth. Netflix said it will air next summer in eight 45-minute episodes.
^{The Athletic}

CBS Draws Its Best Army-Navy Audience On Record
CBS drew its best audience yet for the Army-Navy game on Saturday, with 9.4 million viewers watching the annual rivalry of service academies. That’s up 31% from 7.2 million viewers last year and tops a prior CBS record of 8.4 million set in 2017. This year's matchup presented two of the stronger teams in recent memory. Army came in at 11-1 and Navy at 8-3, and earlier this season, both were simultaneously ranked in the AP Top 25 for the first time since 1960. CBS had not topped 8 million for the game since 2018.
^{Sports Business Journal}

Roku Adds X Games Streaming in U.S.
Connected TV platform Roku is expanding its live sports portfolio, inking a deal with the X Games. The Roku Channel will have the exclusive U.S. streaming rights to X Games Aspen and a slate of other X Games events, beginning in 2025. Roku will also be launching the X Games TV FAST channel and curate a dedicated X Games Zone. The move comes shortly after X Games named skiing legend Jeremy Bloom as its new CEO.
^{Sports Business Journal}

Wake Forest Hires Jake Dickert as Coach After Dave Clawson’s Unexpected Exit
Wake Forest hired Washington State coach Jake Dickert to replace Dave Clawson, just two days after Clawson unexpectedly stepped down, the school announced Wednesday.
^{The Athletic}

Lee Fitting Was ESPN’s ‘Golden Boy’ — Then His Alleged Misconduct ‘Finally Caught Up to Him’
Katie Strang and Andrew Marchand of The Athletic write, “As the show rose, so did Fitting’s profile within ESPN. In addition to “College GameDay,” he eventually oversaw all college and NFL properties, giving him the power to make and break careers, and he was expected to one day succeed Williamson as head of the network’s programming. When he was escorted out of the building by security, some at ESPN’s headquarters groused at what they perceived as indecorous treatment. For all he’d accomplished, Lee Fitting deserved better.

“There was, in contrast, a subset of current and former ESPN employees who reacted differently. ‘I can’t believe it took this long,’ said one woman.”
^{The Athletic}

Ohio Promotes Brian Smith to Head Coach After Tim Albin’s Departure
Ohio promoted offensive coordinator and interim head coach Brian Smith to head coach. Smith replaces Tim Albin, the coach for the past four years who recently took the same job at Charlotte. Under Albin and Smith, Ohio won the MAC this season for the first time since 1968. The Bobcats have had three consecutive 10-win seasons and will play Jacksonville State in the Cure Bowl tomorrow.
^{The Athletic}

Former Wisconsin, North Carolina OC Phil Longo is Hired as Head Coach at Sam Houston State
Phil Longo is returning to Sam Houston State, this time as the head football coach. Longo previously served as the offensive coordinator for the Bearkats from 2014-16. Longo heads to Huntsville, Texas, after he was fired as the Wisconsin offensive coordinator during the 2024 season. He had come to Madison from North Carolina, where he had also served as the offensive coordinator. He was also the offensive coordinator at Ole Miss before those stops.
^On3

Crew Hosting 2025 Inter Miami Match in Cleveland
Haslam Sports Group will host the Crew’s regular-season match against Inter Miami on April 19 at the Browns’ home stadium, Huntington Bank Field, in Cleveland. HSG owns both the Crew and Browns, allowing the organization to maximize attendance and revenue for an appearance by soccer’s biggest star, Inter Miami F Lionel Messi. 
^{Sports Business Journal}

Josh Hawley Confronts NCAA President Over Trans Athletes Playing Sports
"You're affirmatively permitting biological men in women's sports, but you said to him it's because of federal law," Hawley said, referring to Baker's response to a question on the issue from Republican Senator John Kennedy. "There's no federal law that requires it, right? The relevant federal law is Title IX, is it not?"

Title IX is a landmark federal civil rights statute that protects students from sexual harassment and discrimination on the basis of sex.

"Guidance on this issue from Title IX, or guidance with respect to discrimination law would be—" Baker began, before Hawley cut him off.
^Newsweek

Vanderbilt Football Student is Granted Preliminary Injunction Against NCAA Eligibility Rules
Vanderbilt Football student-athlete Diego Pavia's motion regarding limitations on the NCAA's eligibility rules has been granted a preliminary injunction that will allow him to compete in 2025. U.S. District Court Judge William Campbell writing, in part: "The Court is not persuaded that restricting the NCAA Division I eligibility of former junior college athletes to three or four years is relevant to the 'differentiated athletic product' of Division I football. Given the different treatment of other student athletes, with comparable or more post-secondary experience, the NCAA's assertion that the eligibility rules are necessary to prevent age and experience, disparities and preserve the quality of experience for student athletes falls flat."
^{Sam Erlich on X/Twitter and D1 Ticker}

ESPN’s Pete Thamel Breaks News On Ivy League’s Decision to Join the FCS Playoffs
Sources: The Ivy League has agreed to participate in the NCAA Division I FCS playoffs, starting with the 2025 season. The league had long ended its season at the end of the regular season. Marks a distinct shift for Ivy League football, which can now play for national title.
^X/Twitter

Iowa to Retire Caitlin Clark's No. 22 Jersey With Ceremony in February
At just 22 years old, Caitlin Clark's legacy as an Iowa Hawkeyes legend has been secured. Iowa announced Wednesday it would honor Clark by retiring her No. 22 jersey with a ceremony in February. According to the school, Clark will be in attendance at the retirement ceremony, which will take place during the Hawkeyes' home matchup against USC on Feb. 2.
^{Yahoo! Sports}

Thanks for reading!

Sport & Story Daily is the sports industry’s daily resource for business news. In addition to serving up exclusive trends, Q&As, and columns, the newsletter connects readers to top platforms and stories from across the sports landscape.

Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here!

Feel free to read our Privacy Policy