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Interesting article about Attending NBA games (Pacers Mentioned)

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  • Interesting article about Attending NBA games (Pacers Mentioned)

    http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/nba...?urn=nba,57019

    Fans to NBA: not tonight, we've got a headache

    By Kelly Dwyer

    Monday, Dec 10, 2007 11:49 am EST



    This, actually, makes a whole heap of sense. Though local and national television ratings for NBA games are up across the board, attendance is down this season. And though hardcore NBA fans don't make up the bulk of patrons in attendance in an arena's lower bowl (most of those are corporate-bought ducats, handed down sometimes two or three times to clients and favor-givers), it seems as if quite a few NBA junkies are preferring a night in front of a tube watching the game as opposed to an evening spent observing in person. Sports Media Watch reports:


    "The situation for the National Basketball Association can be summed up thusly: ratings for Indiana Pacers games are up 43% on FSN Midwest, while attendance for the team is down 28%.


    The piece goes on to explain that this pattern is repeated on other networks and across the league. There are several, quite obvious, reasons behind this. First among all has to be the prohibitive cost of NBA tickets. The league has a mandated block of ten-dollar seats available in every arena, but most of those seats are pretty worthless and anything approaching a passable seat is going to cost you - to say nothing of the overpriced parking, Sysco-brand food products and the pricey beverages of your choice.

    Secondly - and as a 27-year old male I'm well aware that I'm smack in the middle of the NBA's target demographic - the game experience can be nauseating. The music and sound effects, played during actual game possessions and ostensibly meant to aid the home team, can be dizzying and headache-inducing even from the comfort of your own home. Most teams don't exactly do a sound job of advertising the product via TV when they crank up canned "DE-FENSE" chants or play a needless Gwen Stefani hook in the midst of an important play called out of a timeout.
    Teams now employ in-game hosts to purportedly drive up interest during timeouts, morons somehow afforded microphones and team-issued activewear that do nothing but annoy and distract most fans over the age of four and a half. This goes well beyond some over-caffeinated team employee chucking t-shirts into the stands by way of an air-cannon: this is a full-on affront to the senses that is team-sponsored. These NBA teams, rife with PR hacks and promotion-types trying desperately to protect their phony-baloney jobs, have convinced themselves that you want this sort of nonsense.

    And, as you've already told them via your refusal to deign to attend these games, these mugs are wrong. Way wrong.
    There are dozens of other reasons behind why NBA fans are tuning into television broadcasts in droves while staying away from the arenas, but it's also become evident that fans (even over-caffeinated types like me who appreciate a good batch of noise and nonsense in heaping amounts) are pretty sick of the clang and clatter that the NBA sponsors within the realm of the game experience. Fans are choosing to create their own brand of game experience, without the NBA treating them like a toddler agape at a dangling pair of car keys, and I applaud them for that.
    Related: Indiana Pacers


    ================================================== ====

    At least people are still watching on tv. I do agree that there is too much extra music and side stuff that takes away from the game itself.
    I was ready for Josh Smith to go to Indiana, but he went to the NBA. I am ready for him to come to Indiana once again.

  • #2
    Re: Interesting article about Attending NBA games (Pacers Mentioned)

    It's nice to hear someone in the media talking about this, even if it is just a Yahoo blog.

    I live in Montana and I don't get to go to many games, but I can tell you that even if I lived in Indy, the price of decent seats would make it impossible to go to as many games as I'd like.

    From what I see on TV, the Pacers aren't as bad as many arenas with the in-game tom foolery. It's especially noticable when you watch them play a team like Cleveland or Charlotte.

    For most people, it's hard to justify spending $100+ per person to go see a bunch of 20-somethings getting payed multiple millions of dollars to play a game.

    My plan to fix the NBA:

    - Shorten the regular season.
    - Lower ticket prices.
    - Lower salary cap.
    - At least one, if not two, 5 game playoff series.
    - Stop calling so many stupid fouls.
    - Allow teams to cut one player per year.
    Last edited by OakMoses; 12-10-2007, 02:15 PM. Reason: I made it better, just like I always do.
    "A man with no belly has no appetite for life."

    - Salman Rushdie

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    • #3
      Re: Interesting article about Attending NBA games (Pacers Mentioned)

      Interesting

      Here is the actual Sports media article which discusses TV ratings vs attendance.
      http://sportsmediawatch.blogspot.com...ame-on-tv.html




      Monday, December 10, 2007
      NBA fans would rather watch the game on TV.
      The situation for the National Basketball Association can be summed up thusly: ratings for Indiana Pacers games are up 43% on FSN Midwest, while attendance for the team is down 28%.

      This pattern is repeated, though in much smaller proportions, leaguewide. NBA ratings are up on ESPN, TNT, and the majority of local broadcasts. Meanwhile, attendance throughout the league is down.

      John Dempsey of Variety reports ratings for NBA games on ESPN and TNT are up across the board in the key demographics of adults 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54.

      Fox Sports Net, which broadcasts local coverage of 17 NBA teams, has seen its ratings climb by 12%, including an increase of 146% for Milwaukee Bucks games on FSN Wisconsin. Comcast, which holds the local broadcast rights to five NBA teams, has seen its ratings climb by 20% -- led by a 76% increase in ratings for coverage of the Boston Celtics on Comcast SportsNet New England.

      One could look at the generally good ratings as a sign of league health. However, slumping attendance could be a signal of problems for the league -- even in some of the markets where the ratings have been climbing. The aforementioned Indiana Pacers, with ratings up 43%, have seen their attendance plummet to second-worst in the Eastern Conference, were averaging fewer than 13,000 fans per game as of December 3 -- compared to over 17,000 fans at that point last year. Only the Philadelphia 76ers have worse attendance in the conference.

      Through December 3, nine NBA teams are averaging fewer than 15,000 fans per game. At this point last year, no NBA team averaged fewer than 15,000 in attendance. The 76ers and New Orleans Hornets are both averaging fewer than 12,000 per game, down 29% and 36%, respectively, from last year. The 76ers are filling the Wachovia Center to less than 60% of arena capacity; even the Hornets -- with the worst attendance in the NBA -- are filling a larger proportion of New Orleans Arena.

      Three NBA teams, the 76ers, Hornets and Pacers, are playing to less than 70% capacity. Perhaps more ominously, eight NBA teams are playing to less than 80% capacity; by comparison, at the end of last season, only four teams could not fill their arenas to 80% capacity.

      The NBA has set attendance records in each of the past three seasons.

      On the positive side, the Portland Trailblazers and Boston Celtics are only two of several teams to see marked improvement in attendance. Despite losing number one draft pick Greg Oden for the season, the Trailblazers have seen their attendance rise 23% from last year. Meanwhile, the Celtics, off to a 17-2 start, have seen attendance climb 10% from the same point in '06. The Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, Utah Jazz, Toronto Raptors and New York Knicks have also seen their attendance rise by at least 5%.

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      • #4
        Re: Interesting article about Attending NBA games (Pacers Mentioned)

        Here is a general link to several articles about NBA's TV ratings. I find this stuff intersting, not sure if anyone else does

        http://sportsmediawatch.blogspot.com/search/label/NBA

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Interesting article about Attending NBA games (Pacers Mentioned)

          I completely agree with the sentiment of the article. Especially the point made about the MCs or whatever you want to call them. The Pacers have a couple of them, one or two women, and this new guy that I first saw at the Mavs game over Thanksgiving. The guy is especially annoying and I *****ed about him to my dad for most of the game.

          The one thing the Pacers do though that drives me over the top is the idiotic montage/video of celebrities yelling at the fans to get up and be loud. Ashton Kutcher is a guy that I go out of my way to avoid seeing on a TV and when the Pacers force me to listen to him screaming and see his goofy *** face with his G.D.'ing trucker hat it makes me want to vomit.

          My point is this, cut the crap Pacers. Its not bringing anyone in and if anything its keeping people away. No one is going to the game to watch a 20-something MC in a Pacers t-shirt do a dumb dance in front of the camera during "smile cam". You are either there to see the game or you are there as a social/business event and the annoying obnoxious timeouts that they have don't add to either of those experiences.
          Last edited by Trader Joe; 12-10-2007, 02:49 PM.


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          • #6
            Re: Interesting article about Attending NBA games (Pacers Mentioned)

            [QUOTE=
            My plan to fix the NBA:

            - Shorten the regular season.
            - Lower ticket prices.
            - Lower salary cap.
            - At least one, if not two, 5 game playoff series.
            - Stop calling so many stupid fouls.
            - Allow teams to cut one player per year.[/QUOTE]

            This is nice in thought but not in real life.

            Shorten the regular season.
            Less games equals less revenue. To do this and pay contracts and bills ticket prices go up.

            Lower ticket price
            Lowering the ticket price on top of lessing the chances of getting revenue equals bankruptcy for over half of the season.

            Lower salary cap
            if you can convince the players to take a pay reduction then you should take Sterns job (with a pay cut of course)

            At least one, if not two, 5 game playoff series.
            lessing the season will hurt teams. But taking more games away in the playoffs really hurts their prime income time of the year. It would be like Christmas happening on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. It hurts.

            Stop calling so many stupid fouls.
            Would that increase the scoring or lessen it? Not sure what would happen. But with the Pistons, Heat, and Knicks style defense slowed it down tremendously. Add the hard fouls and you get 80 point games.

            Now stop the favor calls I agree with.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Interesting article about Attending NBA games (Pacers Mentioned)

              Originally posted by Indy View Post
              My point is this, cut the crap Pacers. Its not bringing anyone in and if anything its keeping people away. No one is going to the game to watch a 20-something MC in a Pacers t-shirt do a dumb dance in front of the camera during "smile cam". You are either there to see the game or you are there as a social/business event and the annoying obnoxious timeouts that they have don't add to either of those experiences.
              kids like it. but how marketable are the pacers to kids?

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Interesting article about Attending NBA games (Pacers Mentioned)

                Originally posted by intridcold View Post
                kids like it. but how marketable are the pacers to kids?
                I don't think kids like it. My younger sisters don't. They would honestly rather watch the game. They like Boomer and Bowser and they don't bother me because at least they don't talk (Boomer and Bowser that is). I don't really have a problems with the MCs until they open their mouths.


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                • #9
                  Re: Interesting article about Attending NBA games (Pacers Mentioned)

                  I guess there is a league wide attendance problem. I don't think it's because they overload the senses though. There are so many reasons and we all know them.
                  I'm in these bands
                  The Humans
                  Dr. Goldfoot
                  The Bar Brawlers
                  ME

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                  • #10
                    Re: Interesting article about Attending NBA games (Pacers Mentioned)

                    Maybe the Pacers should try 1500 or so free tickets for a few games. Put on a good show, maybe you'll get a few paying fans out of it. Just a thought.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Interesting article about Attending NBA games (Pacers Mentioned)

                      Originally posted by tdubb03 View Post
                      Maybe the Pacers should try 1500 or so free tickets for a few games. Put on a good show, maybe you'll get a few paying fans out of it. Just a thought.
                      The problem with doing something like that, and two tickets for the price of one or really any discounts - in many ways it isn't fair to the season ticketholders who don't get discounts and have been loyal for 15 years or in some cases a lot longer.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Interesting article about Attending NBA games (Pacers Mentioned)

                        Originally posted by Unclebuck View Post
                        The problem with doing something like that, and two tickets for the price of one or really any discounts - in many ways it isn't fair to the season ticketholders who don't get discounts and have been loyal for 15 years or in some cases a lot longer.
                        I can understand that argument. It doesn't really seem like anything less than a few winning seasons and playoff showings is going to get butts back in the seats. That, or somehow getting Eric Gordon.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Interesting article about Attending NBA games (Pacers Mentioned)

                          Family four pack including 4 tickets, 4 drinks, 4 hotdogs, and 4 popcorns, for $100?

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                          • #14
                            Re: Interesting article about Attending NBA games (Pacers Mentioned)

                            Originally posted by intridcold View Post
                            This is nice in thought but not in real life.
                            I completely agree with you. The things that would improve the product that the NBA puts out would also appear to decrease revenue, so they'll never be done. The things I suggested just seem like fairly reasonable responses to the complaints you hear about the NBA.
                            "A man with no belly has no appetite for life."

                            - Salman Rushdie

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Interesting article about Attending NBA games (Pacers Mentioned)

                              I have a friend, pretty savvy guy, who said people are tired of watching a bunch of young punks shoot a zillion free throws as the climax of a boring game.
                              "Look, it's up to me to put a team around ... Lance right now." —Kevin Pritchard press conference

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