Caitlin Clark appeared on the ‘New Heights’ podcast with Jason and Travis Kelce for the first time, and shared her thoughts on a number of topics including the NBA’s recent struggles with declining TV ratings. The Indiana Fever superstar was part of a ratings boom in the WNBA in 2024 and was asked why viewership was down in the NBA over the same period.
After citing how “the average basketball fan doesnt understand how good NBA players are,” Clark landed on one theory for the change: physicality.
“The physicality of the league has changed a lot,” Clark told the Kelce brothers. “I wasn’t around when it was much more physical and maybe people want more beef and physicality, and people think it’s gone soft. But I think that’s also because the skill has just changed.”
Per SportsMediaWatch, primetime NBA games on TNT, ESPN, and ABC were down 19% through mid-December this season versus last.
Ive been asking a lot of people about this and why they think theyre down, Clark posited. I feel like the average basketball fan doesnt understand how good NBA players are. And they think it looks like theyre not trying. I promise you theyre trying. Theyre just, like, so good. Thats why it looks like theyre not trying.”
The NBA is also dealing with an identity crisis: superstar LeBron James just turned 40, and fellow ratings behemoth Steph Curry isn’t much his junior. Despite a recent influx of foreign stars like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic, the league has struggled to find an heir to arguably the two biggest American sports stars of the 21st century.
Nonetheless, the NBA has seen an improvement in the last few weeks, moving up to -3% largely thanks to a big boost from their Christmas day slate.. Additionally, the continual increase in streaming platforms explains a fall in cable viewership — almost all American sports leagues (sans the NFL) have experienced a drop in ratings over the past decade.
Meanwhile, Clark is a supernova in the WNBA unseen ever before. Her involvement in the 2024 WNBA All-Star game led to a 305% viewership spike from 2023.
Former NBA players continue to bemoan the style of play for the drop. “Steph Curry and those guys messed it up,” Shaquille O’Neal said of his ‘Big Podcast” in November.
Its down because were looking at the same thing, ONeal said. Everybody is running the same plays I dont mind Golden State back in the day shooting threes, but every team isnt a 3-point shooter. So why [does] everybody have the same strategy? I think it makes the game boring.
“Its a copycat league. Everybody wants to be Steph Curry, but everybodys not Steph Curry and thats why viewership is down,” he continued. “But these dudes, they need to wake up because if viewership is down, the money is gonna come down.
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