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We all know that the NBA‘s popularity is on the decline these days. 

Heck, the other week, my fiancé — who has historically been a big Milwaukee Bucks fan — and I were having dinner in a restaurant last week when I looked at one of the TVs above the bar and saw the Bucks were playing the Orlando Magic as part of the NBA Cup Tournament.

The game was in Orlando, which is where we live, so I said what a bummer it was we didn’t go.

And my fiancé — remember, she’s the fan — was just like, “Yeah, I guess…” and that was the end of it.

That doesn’t seem to be an abnormality. Sports Media Watch reports that NBA viewership is down 19 percent from last season.

Now, even NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is acknowledging that TV Ratings are going downhill, but he insists that fans are still interested in the NBA.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver says that even though declining ratings would indicate otherwise, fans are still interested in the NBA. (© Kyle Terada-Imagn Images)

I gave you my anecdote to the contrary, but let the Commish have his say.

“If you look at other data points, in terms of our business, for example, we’ve just come off the last two years of the highest attendance in the history of this league,” Silver said in an interview with The Athletic and other media outlets. “We’re at a point where our social media audience is at the highest of any league and continuing to grow exponentially. So, it’s not a lack of interest in this game.”

Sure, attendance is good, but when your next thing is social media audience size, that’s not ideal. That’s not what pays the bills. TV deals typically do that.

And the NBA recently finalized their new one, which is probably why Silver feels more comfortable being open about the league’s viewership slump. I mean, he said this at a press conference for the NBA Cup. That whole thing was devised to juice ratings. 

Of course, Silver — because it’s his job to deflect, so you can’t blame him — said this can be chalked up to changing viewership habits.

“We’re almost at the inflection point where people are watching more programming on streaming than they are in traditional television,” Silver said. “And it’s a reason why for our new television deals, which will enter into next year, every game is going to be available on a streaming service.”

Okay… but that’s the case for every league and their numbers aren’t declining like the NBA’s is.

The NBA’s new deal kicks in next season and has a big streaming component. So, if that doesn’t right the ship, it’ll be interesting to see how Silver spins things.