Handlogten's Heros
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In all their changing of the schedule and in all their innovation... they have added games... not subtracted them. They are attempting to have their cake and eat it to by addressing the availability of their stars during national tv games without cutting total games. Who knows if it will work but voluntarily reducing games may have zero impact on the premium or viewership numbers.Yeah I'm pretty sure they talk about it because viewership is down and the large majority of people think that players sitting out sucks. It isn't the only reason ratings may be down, of course, but I feel pretty confident in calling it a problem because they are in fact trying to address the problem. You can agree to disagree, but I find it very easy to argue. If it wasn't a big issue, it wouldn't be talked about so much and the NBA would not be constantly trying to innovate and address the problem. Changing the NBA schedule to lessen games would be a drastic change and difficult to implement even if it is better long term. Truthfully, I do not think it can happen until local TV contracts are put into the dirt....but I don't think that part is too far fetched.
And if you think media partners are paying a premium now, imagine what they would pay for even more viewership. The National TV product should always be the biggest concern when you're talking about revenue, it is by far the league's biggest money maker.