[Rankin] ... Kevin Durant continuing to address #NBA viewership being down. "I take this serious. I'm locked in as to why people don't want to watch us play."

https://x.com/DuaneRankin/status/1872176949801504956?t=sOlhzun3lYo5ImePn8Xpwg&s=19

6.5k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

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u/TheStoogeass Rockets 1d ago

It's the ads, the length of the games, the lack of analysis, the missed plays due to interviews and injury reports.

It's about how we can't talk about Popovich without putting his substitute on the screen regardless of what is happening on the court.

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u/amedeoisme Knicks 1d ago

I absolutely hate coach interviews in every single sport during a game or coming out of half time. They are useless and they always say the same “gotta play harder/keep doing what we are doing” crap. Who cares??? Missing potential plays during the game to hear nothing of value.

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u/FriendshipBest9151 1d ago

Literally every in game interview is useless and dreadful. Like who the fuck is getting boned up listening to a player say nothing while trying to catch their breath.

It's one of those things that makes sense in theory but comes off terrible in reality.

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u/Lanigangam_style Grizzlies 1d ago

This isn’t totally related, but they did kind of an interesting format for a player interview during the college football playoffs last week. Instead of pulling coaches/players aside, they mic’d them up during warmups on the field. The Gameday guys asked a few questions to a QB as he warmed up with his receivers.

It felt so much more natural and the kid was visibly less nervous than they would be with a mic/camera in his face. I know it may be tougher to set up and that’s it’s not necessarily new, but it struck me as so much more interesting than a traditional pregame panel interview.

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u/BleedingEdge61104 Mavericks 1d ago

Yeah and you can’t blame the coaches, because obviously they don’t want to give up what they’re actually talking about in the locker room to the opposing team. It’s just a stupid idea.

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u/GGTae Spurs 1d ago

I know right ? they can do split screens to show ads during a free throw but they can't do it while there's a play ?

also yeah the interviews during one/two plays is annoying af, you're not even listening the interview because you want to follow what's happening..

that would kill them to not put 2 less ads and not polluting the game experience ?

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u/Not_a__porn__account 76ers 1d ago

I don’t want to listen to interviews period.

Show me the game and I’ll find the superfluous content elsewhere.

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u/I2RFreely 1d ago

With baseball (regular season) it makes sense cos it's a slower game and they dig much deeper than the surface area and you hear interesting stories rather than media soundbites

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u/Not_a__porn__account 76ers 1d ago

I have never found a mid game interview interesting or that it added value.

To each their own though.

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u/PMinisterOfMalaysia Clippers 1d ago

I'm not about the nationally televised games where they're interviewing players while they're literally fielding balls, but I love when our home team announcers interview the pitching staff during our ABs. Blake Snell, Michael King, and Dylan Cease were all a joy to listen to.

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u/I2RFreely 1d ago

Yeah, the regionally called games. That's why i said regular season interviews

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u/thesmellafteritrains Pistons 1d ago

In game interviews go like this, with almost no variation:

Team winning? "We have to keep this up, can't get too comfortable"

Team losing? "We have to do better, we can come back"

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u/I2RFreely 1d ago

I mean, it might not add value to the specific game in hand, but it adds character to the game of baseball itself imo.

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u/HD_Thoreau_aweigh [BOS] Marcus Smart 1d ago

Really random: I watched part of a hardwood classic game on Tubi yesterday. 1985 Christmas match, Knicks Celtics.

The thing that was the best was exactly this. The broadcast had absolutely no on screen graphics, split screens, ANYTHING. Like, 99% of the time they didn't have display the score or the time and I fucking loved it.

I'm suddenly no-overlays-pilled.

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u/Thuasne Mavericks 1d ago

I am in Europe and watch the 45 minutes condensed replays in the morning. Yesterday on Christmas I had time to watch a game live and it was an absolutely awful experience. I have zero interest in watching this literal shit show live...

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u/TheMachoMaine Mavericks 1d ago

Same. I'll watch the occasional game live, but overall watching NBA games is a very strange and frustrating experience for someone who is used to watching european soccer games.

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u/Thuasne Mavericks 1d ago

Yeah I feel the same. With football (soccer) I get 90 minutes of uninterrupted sport entertainment +15 minute break with a bit of commercials and analysis. In the NBA I get 2 hours of stuff I don't want, no flow, constant interruption and a bit of sport in between

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u/Aggressive_Let2085 Hornets 1d ago

It’s bad in the NFL too. There will be a score, commercial, kickoff, commercial, and then a turnover happens, commercial. Anytime something interesting happens it goes to commercial.

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u/ArmPractical8038 1d ago

Land of entertainment, constantly desperate for the very next thing. Sad

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u/TheStoogeass Rockets 1d ago

I won't watch a game live. I have cable with a DVR and everything is delayed so I can fast forward. I don't need to be bombarded with booze and gambling ads and I don't need to be bombarded with Stephen A Smith and Kendrick Perkins.

When the games are on NBATV I'm sometimes able to turn off the commentary and just hear the sounds of the live game and that is a great experience.

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u/scoobynoodles 1d ago

You can do that on NBATV? Is that the actual channel or league pass you’re referring to?

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u/TheStoogeass Rockets 1d ago

actual channel on an xfinity cable box. Turning on audio description in accessability setting turns off commentators during the game.

I have no idea how I accidentally figured this out one time. You also have to remember to turn it back off when you want to watch something else.

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u/scoobynoodles 1d ago

Wow that’s neat to know. I’ll try it out.

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u/yelper [SEA] Gary Payton 1d ago

wait WHAT!

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u/wcooper97 [OKC] Russell Westbrook 1d ago

IIRC, surround sound users can also do this by muting the front channel.

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u/DosDobles53 1d ago

This is the answer, the ability to watch a game live like if we were in the arena would be so much better and then being able to turn up or down the radio broadcast.

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u/Kapsalian Lakers 1d ago

Yeah am from Europe and there is no point sitting through 1.5+ hours of ads just to watch the small amount of gameplay live, that combined with the late timings most games are make me pass on paying for anything.

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u/MindofShadow Pacers 1d ago

I watched a condenced game on League Pass the other day for the first time and, while I wish it had a bit more flow... watching a 2.5 hour game in 35 mins was crazy and pointed out how awful the breaks are constantly.

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u/Vedu1234 1d ago

This is exactly it, I don’t understand how Americans have allowed to get it this bad. There is an add break every fucking 3 mins. What’s the fucking point, there is no momentum.

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u/JurassicPark3-4Lyf 1d ago

Yeah when it was on sky sports I used to record games and watch them in the morning when I could fast forward through the 1000 ad breaks but now it’s not on sky sports no chance I stream them live at 1am to sit through ad after ad.

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u/Kobebeef9 1d ago

Wholeheartedly agree, the breaks and commercials really take away from any enjoyment because it’s difficult to catch momentum of the game and also the lack of in depth game analysis.

I see my self nowadays just checking the scores and watching condensed analysis on YouTube (like awful coaching or bbbreakdown).

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u/lumsni Thunder 1d ago

Where you watch the condensed games?

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u/Thuasne Mavericks 1d ago

I have the Leaguepass

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u/suddenmoon 1d ago

The All Possessions Recap editing guidelines prioritise capturing plays that lead to baskets. I wish they'd do a 1hr version instead of 35mins - that way you'd get every play, some key replays, and a few seconds each side of critical plays in the fourth when it's tight.

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u/Thuasne Mavericks 1d ago

Sometimes they are 45 minutes and it feels like they are capturing all possessions but I might be wrong

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u/suddenmoon 1d ago

I just mean that I'd prefer to watch plays and defence develop. The edits often remove the start of possessions, especially if it leads to a miss, which acts as a constant spoiler.

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u/Thuasne Mavericks 1d ago

Ahh now I know what you mean. Yes that's a fait point

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u/river_town 1d ago

Spot on. After watching 40 minute all possessions broadcasts, and EuroLeague games in under 2-hours, the NBA is a comparably awful live product on TV.

1

u/HereComesJustice Spurs 1d ago

whaat you don't like all the ads and game stoppage??

1

u/Sportsfan369 1d ago

What’s the 45 min condensed version called? I watch full game highlights but it’s only 10mins.

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u/WarlockArya 18h ago

Where do u find the condensed replays I can only find live streaming

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u/Thuasne Mavericks 18h ago

I have the leaguepass

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u/johnny____utah Pacers 1d ago

I forced my parents, who don’t watch basketball, to watch all day yesterday. During one halftime my Dad literally said “who are these guys they’re horrible, where’s Charles?”. He then brought up San Antonio women. I’m not joking here, I guess some NFL guy brought up big ol’ San Antonio women so that’s how he knew.

Personally I think the TNT show is a small part of the problem, but ESPN’s product is a way bigger problem. It’s not even neutral at this point, it’s a negative.

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u/HasswatBlockside [MIA] Hassan Whiteside 1d ago

I blame the officiating equally. You can’t let players have their moment without giving them a tech these days. Have an incredible dunk and stare .1 seconds too long? Thats a tech. Another issue is the complete disregard for the rules of the game. I can’t explain just how awful the officiating is now.

4

u/Icy_Bodybuilder_164 1d ago

Ads and length of games are annoying of course, but NFL and most American sports have the same issue yet NBA is the only one suffering. NFL games take forever and have more ads than actual play, but they're doing just fine.

Lack of analysis sucks, but idk if that's an issue for the casual fan. People love (or at least talk about) personalities like SAS, Skip, Kellerman, Shaq, Kendrick Perkins that add nothing to basketball discourse because they make inflammatory takes and memes. "I want Iguodala"??

Agree on the missed plays, but I think there are more issues. The constant injuries, load management, the lack of stakes for regular season basketball (oh no! my favorite team is about to be 26-21 instead of 27-20!!!). And then streaming sites of course.

5

u/SnooGadgets204 1d ago

Everything you said all speaks to 1 thing, a lack of/terrible production. A lot of sports have ads/interviews/bad analysis, it just feels like the NBA has zero flow to games. It’s break/timeout/bs 90sec review/tv timeout, the choppiness kills it for me. Couple that with an over-entitled player base that, for the most part only cares about chasing a dollar or cool podcast clip. Sports can handle one or two major issues, but the NBA seems to have “all of them” built into 75 games and then begs people to watch for 20 at the end. David Stern would have straightened the players out long ago

2

u/fuckinnreddit Timberwolves 1d ago

Man, I know I’m late to the party but you nailed it. There’s no flow to the game anymore. Each team gets like 10 timeouts per half, and then there are a hundred “media” timeouts where they throw betting ads at you, and the last 5 minutes of a close game takes 25 minutes to play with all the fouls and free throws and timeouts and shit. And with all due respect, fuck that.

I fully admit I’m a pretty casual fan to begin with, but hell if I’m going to even think about sitting through that crap for however many hours a game takes these days.

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u/OverwhelmingLackOf 1d ago

“I know the most unique player in the world is playing right now but can we get a good angle on Pop’s substitute coach?”

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u/T7220 1d ago

NO FLEX. ZONE!!!!!!!

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u/Rolands_ka_tet Bucks 1d ago

It’s about ESPN East Coast/Lebron bias. Anytime Doris Burke calls a game she’s disgusted at Giannis’ dominance yet ball washes Tatum or the entire NYK teams.

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u/NOLASLAW Pelicans 1d ago

NO FLEX — ZONE

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u/celj1234 1d ago

It’s the style of play, stars sitting when they could play, and length of the season.

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u/Basic-Heron-3206 76ers 1d ago

it really isnt. And stars dont sit when they can play, thats a made up thing

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u/socoolandawesome Bulls 1d ago

It definitely plays a part. Basketball is now as repetitive as it’s ever been in terms of style of play save for maybe a couple teams.

The regular season feels as unimportant as it’s ever felt which makes it feel longer, and the stars seem to never be playing in matchups that should be hyped otherwise (hyperbole, but it’s way too common how many matchups are ruined by someone not playing)

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u/celj1234 1d ago

So what is load management?

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u/SnooGadgets204 1d ago

Interesting flair, I wonder if your comment is personally motivated. Hmm?

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u/SnooGadgets204 1d ago

Interesting flair, I wonder if your comment is personally motivated. Hmm?

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u/Kapsalian Lakers 1d ago

Everything has ads, everytime there’s a second of game pause, every free throw. They couldn’t even name the Kia mvp trophy after Kobe Bryant without forcing the Kia branding on there.

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u/vmpafq 1d ago

Compared to the olympic games there was such a difference. The Olympics felt like pure sport. An nba game is a non-stop advertisement

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u/MixonWitDaWrongCrowd Thunder 1d ago

Adding in players sitting out for “rest”

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u/JAhoops 1d ago

Who’s really sitting out though? Kawhi?

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u/BrtGP NBA 1d ago

People made up their minds on that and think stars just miss for whatever reason even though that is rarely the case. Even someone like PG played more than he missed this season and that dude was injured too but somehow players don't care or are soft.

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u/Skilils- NBA 1d ago

Nah just like 75% of the league

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u/JAhoops 1d ago

Who exactly?

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u/Thimit22 Timberwolves 1d ago

Conley does every once in a while but he’s old

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u/JAhoops 1d ago

Yeah that’s fine, nobody is turning off the game because conley isn’t playing though no offense

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u/Skilils- NBA 1d ago

People aren't watching because of the culture of sitting out games. It's not about an individual player, although guys like Curry and LeBron draw in views.

Most of the league misses games for minor nagging aches. Fans don't want to support a league where guys making 50 million dollars a year refuse to show up for work.

How do you not understand this?

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u/JAhoops 1d ago

Who said i don’t understand this?

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u/Skilils- NBA 1d ago

Understand what?

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u/Skilils- NBA 1d ago

Look at the number of players who've missed games, and we're only 1/3 through the season.

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u/jaydizzsl 1d ago

They are humans, they are sometimes injured.

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u/Skilils- NBA 1d ago

They are businessmen, they think long term. The less they play, the more they play the system.

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u/JurassicPark3-4Lyf 1d ago

Man must be hard to have such an empty head.

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u/Skilils- NBA 1d ago

Just say you don't understand the modern NBA and move on.

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u/Temporary-Level-5410 1d ago

And you think they're all doing it for rest, not injuries?

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u/Skilils- NBA 1d ago

Case by case basis. If a player tears his Achilles what do you think it is, rest or injury?

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u/Temporary-Level-5410 1d ago

... that's what I asked you

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u/Skilils- NBA 1d ago

Is it rest or injury?

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u/JAhoops 1d ago

I literally asked you who twice.

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u/Skilils- NBA 1d ago

I've given you the answer. Twice.

I've given you a task, what are you waiting for?

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u/exploding_space 1d ago

You’re the one making the claim, it is on you to justify it. Otherwise your claims are irrelevant.

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u/Skilils- NBA 1d ago

75% of the league sitting out was my claim.

He asked me who.

The better question was who are the 25% I'm not referring to, then he'd figure out the rest. Sounds like someone is too lazy.

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u/Flamdoublebounce Bucks 1d ago

Man, you’e the worst

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u/Skilils- NBA 1d ago

I gave the kid a task that would answer his question. What a moronic question, he can't look it up but relys on me to spoonfeed him? Lmao give that boy a map

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u/ReverendRGreen Knicks 1d ago

It’s also the accessibility to other leagues, where the basketball’s just better and more entertaining. (Team basketball, not individual)

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u/Known-Contract-4340 1d ago

The same could be said for NFL. 10 minutes of game time for a 4 hour broadcast

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u/Gold_Mango_3575 1d ago

They could fix all that and I’d still skip because of the blackouts

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u/medyolang_ 1d ago

the ads is the reason why these players are getting paid what they’re getting paid tho

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u/Disabled_Robot Raptors 1d ago

Hasn't this been nearly the same for the past 10+ years?

I'd say it's the lack of marketing of new era stars, the TV and media partnerships + subscription models and a general decline in TV viewers

NFL games are like an event. Everyone knows when to tune in, and you can engage in the sport during one church-like day of rest

MLB had a mild resurgence from abysmal ratings, very likely because the two largest markets made the world series.

The NHL is also down

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u/wannarave Warriors 1d ago

Can't forget the refs. Doesn't even feel like a real sport sometimes with the calls they make or don't make.

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u/redRabbitRumrunner 1d ago

It’s fine to watch an occasional free highlight reel or two on YouTube. I’m not sitting through a whole game.

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u/QuietRainyDay 1d ago

Exactly- they've built a crap product around a great sport

Then they jacked up prices, made it hard/expensive to watch all the games by distributing it across a million streaming services, etc.

So they want you to watch endless ads, shit-tier halftime shows, and bad officiating while paying $$$s for 3-4 different services... And oh btw you might not even get to watch the actual games you want...

But I dont expect KD or the overpaid NBA execs to understand that. They are disconnected from reality, like most other corporations.

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u/TankSpecialist8857 1d ago

I don’t think that’s why people aren’t watching.

They aren’t watching because the game has gotten boring, too many 3’s, too long of a season.

Simple.

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u/GregMadduxsGlasses 1d ago

Half of these are the same issues facing the NFL and College Football and they are doing perfectly fine in the ratings.