BLM Protests in the NBA spark decrease of ratings and disinterest among viewers

Evan Rebhorn

I interviewed a student recently about his view on the current sports landscape and how players are choosing to use their platforms to protest racial tensions and mistreatment in America. When I asked him what he thought about it, he told me that he was not in favor, because him and many others do not watch sports for politics being thrown at them. Knowing this, it sparks a genuinely interested discussion: How are these protests affecting NBA’s ratings and popularity among their viewers?

Because of the recent protests, A Forbes article named, “NBA Playoff Ratings Slip As Fans Grumble That League Has Become ‘Too Political”, provided a poll that said that 39% of viewers had stopped watching the NBA because of the political nature of the games. Sports Illustrated released an artcile by the name of, “Lakers no match for NASCAR head-to-head, as NBA ratings stay on low side, showed that ratings compared to last year’s playoffs are down by 20%, and that viewership decreased after the Lakers protested Game 4 against the trailblazers. As seen here, as players have continued to excersize their rights and protests during/against playing, viewers have become less interested in watching the games.

What does this mean for the future of this NBA postseason and beyond? The political discussions and protests, as shown in the Articles above, have decreased viewership in the NBA, and could threaten to worsen as the playoffs go on, as many viewers have shown they’d rather watch something that distracts them from the issues we’ve faced in 2020.