By Cole Gee | Staff Writer
Last week all eyes were on the NBA as the All-Star Game arrived in California. Due to past failures to “keep up competition” among the players, the NBA switched the traditional 2-team format to a 4-team competition. Fans like myself were hoping that this new format would signal a change for the NBA, a league notorious for ad-heavy programs. Just like many fans who turned on the game hoping to see Lebron James play, I was left very disappointed.
Funny enough, I got that same sinking feeling whenever I watched last month’s college football playoff games or even the MLB All-Star game. I couldn’t tell if I was watching a sports competition or a glorified commercial.
To give perspective, during the three-hour game, the NBA only allowed fans to watch a whopping 42 minutes of actual basketball.
Out of the four games played, the longest was only 16 minutes and the shortest was 12. Meanwhile, fans were forced to watch a bad Kevin Hart stand-up with the TNT crew, a MrBeast 3-point contest and multiple music performances. All I could think while sitting through this was, “Is this a basketball game or some TNT executive’s sick fantasy?”
Over the last decade, more and more sports leagues have been programmed to try to drain every last dollar they can from their fans through multiple subscription services for games, high stadium prices or overpriced gear — or in this case, renaming every sports award, game or halftime show after companies and brands.
I’m looking at you, Starry 3-point contest or the even worse Kia NBA MVP Award. These leagues are already taking more money than most can afford; why take away the sport as well?
Many fans truly want to know when enough will be enough. The NBA and other leagues across the country have had yearly profits that would’ve been inconceivable 50 years ago.
Sports have gone global and thanks to the internet, nearly anyone on the planet with wifi can support their favorite team anytime they want. But if organizations like the NBA continue to try and overburden their fans with incessant ads and a poor-quality product, even the most hardcore fan will reach a breaking point.
The various conversations regarding the All-Star game show might be arriving at the point of no return when it comes to ads and commercialization in sports. Viewership for the game was around 4.72 million viewers across multiple networks. Unfortunately, this is a large drop from the 5.40 million viewers the game had last year.
All hope is not lost, however, for the sports world. The homes for the MLB and NBA are set to change for the next decade, thanks to new broadcasting deals. The NBA is moving to NBC and for the first time in decades, the MLB will be leaving ESPN. Maybe the league’s insatiable appetite for ad revenue and commercials may finally be contained.
