But how so? And I’m using pre-pandemic numbers here.

Single header NFL games were up in ratings compared to single header NBA games which were down in ratings. And I’m talking about big match ups for each sport.

https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2018/12/nfl-ratings-cbs-nba-espn-top-rank/

And that is from a pre-pandemic, pre-protest year.

Here is another crazy stat for you. NBA ratings from 1974-2020

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBA_Finals_television_ratings

The nba had its highest viewers in the 90s at 29-30 million viewers per game. This past decade the ratings were at an avg of 12-15 mil. But during that same time span NFL ratings went up.


80s and 90s ratings were definitely due to the teams of the lakers, bulls, and Celtics, and the players being big time polished players with a huge following.