Amid declining NBA television ratings, the Boston Celtics’ continue to rise

Despite the NBA experiencing sharp drops in viewership. the Boston Celtics television ratings continue to climb.

It’s no secret the NBA is dealing with a ratings drop, but at least for the Boston Celtics, it hasn’t been a problem.

For the other 29 teams in the aggregate, a combination of factors is likely working together to create lower television ratings for the NBA.

One of the biggest issues is whether that lack of ratings also means a lack of eyes, as people are increasingly turning to alternate means of consuming games that may distort just how many eyes are actually watching games.

Cord-cutters are still counted when they watch League Pass, the NBA’s digital alternative to cable, even seeing a modest 2 % rise in global subscriptions recently, reports Front Office Sports’ Michael McCarthy.

The rise of illegal streaming services and growing popularity of shortened game videos and highlight clips on streaming video sites like YouTube and Streamable makes tracking the actual growth (or shrinkage) of the league’s viewership a fraught task.

High-profile injuries like that of megastars like Stephen Curry and heavily-anticipated rookie Zion Williamson is likely part of the picture, as is “load management” of star players an additional factor besides the declining number of households watching cable and broadcast television.

Sports Illustrated’s Jimmy Traina reports TNT’s Thursday night games having to compete with the NFL may also be a problem.

The unexpected controversy between the NBA and China earlier this season may also be a factor behind the falling ratings.

But, whatever the cause(s), the Celtics seem immune, with their ratings increasing steadily over the last several seasons, reports the Boston Globe’s Chad Finn. NBC Boston, for example, has logged as much as almost 400 % higher viewership than competing markets.

One explanation for the better numbers posited by Finn is the deep institutional knowledge and continuity enjoyed not just by the team with figures like Danny Ainge continuing their connection with the historic franchise, but also of the long ties of media personalities like Mike Gorman.

According to Finn, there’s “a certain high point comes when there’s a flashback clip to something that happened years ago.”

“[S]uch as a couple of nights ago, when an old clip of Danny Ainge burying a bunch of 3-pointers was shown — and you get to hear Mike Gorman and Tommy Heinsohn’s in-the-moment call of that game 30-something years ago. Then it cuts back to live action and you get Mike and Tommy now.”

While that history is certainly a draw even without Danny, Mike, and Tommy, the familiarity has certainly caused at least the author to pick the broadcast with the familiar faces, so there may be something to this point.

Whatever the issue that plagues rating across the wider NBA, fans of the league’s winningest team aren’t watching any less basketball.

And with the season going how it has so far for Boston (the last two games excluded), it doesn’t take a data scientist to understand why.