The NBA took a break on Monday, ceding the spotlight to the NCAA title game between Villanova and North Carolina. The championship is sure to attract a big audience but the ratings, compared to recent seasons, are virtually certain to drop.
Why? College basketball’s championship landed on cable this year, with TBS paying for the broadcast rights. According to a New York Times article, CBS and TBS will take turns broadcasting the title game through 2024.
While a majority of Americans have cable, it’s still somewhat controversial to not broadcast a major sports championship on network TV. Not too long ago, it would have been considered taboo to deny anyone without cable the opportunity to watch a championship game.
Of course, times have changed, with more people watching sports on their phones and computers. Yet, selling the broadcast rights for a major sports championship to a cable company still raises some eyebrows.
For the most part, top professional championships have remained on broadcast TV, including the Super Bowl, NBA Finals and World Series. But many playoff games can only be seen on cable TV.
Some other big events, such as the new College Football Playoff and top tennis tournaments, have been moved to ESPN and other cable stations.
The NBA broadcasts many of its playoff games on TNT, ESPN and even NBA TV. But the Finals have remained on ABC, allowing everyone with a TV access to the best-of-seven series.
This leads us to our question of the day: Would you have a problem with the NBA broadcasting the Finals on a cable network, like the NCAA has done with its major basketball and football title games?
Please take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on the subject. We look forward to what you have to say.
Yes! That would be awful. Most people already have to miss a good portion of the playoffs because of where the game airs. The finals would be awful to miss
We have a better situation than some predicted 30 years ago, when the idea was a significant number of major sporting events would move to pay per view. But no one envisioned paying as much for cable as many do now, so maybe it’s a wash. In any case, the leagues have to weigh the value of access and the reach of broadcast television against the money they can get from cable companies. Cable has gained an upper hand recently, but watch for this pendulum to swing back the other way eventually, given the youthful demographics of cord-cutters.
With many people streaming games now, it’s become less of a concern. 10 years ago, it might have been outrageous. Today, I don’t have an issue with any network buying the rights to any event.
Streaming is the wave of the future. Eventually, people probably won’t even need a television to watch whatever they want to.