The MLB lockout thread

[Rams Fan]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

NHL got a rights deal with ESPN again and that will help, but they've essentially spent 20 years spinning their wheels. If they make up any ground, it's gonna be a long haul.

The NBA kinda keeps shooting itself in the foot. I mean it's already more popular than baseball in urban areas so if it's going to pass baseball, it has to catch up in middle-america and suburban/rural. It can't just lean into its existing fanbase to catch up/pass MLB.

And frankly, I don't see it happening with the league's insistence on championing social causes anytime soon. I'm disinclined to turn this into a politics thread, but the people that the NBA needs to attract to pass baseball just aren't going to become NBA fans in this climate. I am an NBA fan and don't watch the league anymore.

Issue with interest in NHL is that for the youth the entry cost is so high with regards to equipment as well as ice availability. Hockey is a niche sport. I love watching it, but the average American isn’t going to give a shit about Winnipeg playing Dallas.

Basketball has probably the lowest entry cost of any sport and a a majority of the stars are American. Average dude probably has more interest in LeBron than Crosby or McDavid.

To further expand a point you made, NHL being on ESPN helps but you can’t ignore how terrible NBC was broadcasting the games.

My point is since basketball is cheap to play, majority of teams and stars are domestic/American, it has a decent chance at passing MLB that the NHL never will.

The reasons it couldn’t that you brought up are valid, but they aren’t unique to the NBA. Look no further than MLB and Atlanta in the ASG.