Soccer really sucks, doesn't it?

[Al B. Sure!]

Well 3rd in America is basketball. I'm not seeing that since basketball is the most popular sport to play casually (who ever randomly plays a football or baseball game? Pickup basketball games are far more common) and despite this, NBA viewership has plummeted since the days of Jordan. I don't see the relation between playing the sport and watching it.

[Al B. Sure!]

Regular season NBA ratings on network TV

Net. Year Rating
NBC 1996 5.0
NBC 1997 4.7
NBC 1998 4.6
NBC 1999 4.3
NBC 2000 3.3
NBC 2001 3.0
NBC 2002 N/A
ABC 2003 2.6
ABC 2004 2.4
ABC 2005 2.2
ABC 2006 2.2

Maybe soccer will overtake basketball just because basketball has declined so much but not because of the playing/watching relationship.

To put those numbers in perspective, the average Nielson rating for Monday Night Football games in 2008 (on ESPN, mind you, not a network channel) was 8.9; four times more people watch football than basketball.

[Asher]

Regular season NBA ratings on network TV


Maybe soccer will overtake basketball just because basketball has declined so much but not because of the playing/watching relationship.

To put those numbers in perspective, the average Nielson rating for Monday Night Football games in 2008 (on ESPN, mind you, not a network channel) was 8.9; four times more people watch football than basketball.

NHL TV ratings are on the rise.

After the Blackhawks clinched the title Wednesday with an overtime victory in Game 6, it was revealed that the NHL saw its best ratings for a Stanley Cup Finals contest since 1974. The final game of the 2009-10 season was watched by 8.28 million viewers -- a 43-percent increase from last year's Game 6 between Pittsburgh and Detroit. Wednesday's viewers were also greater than the eight million who watched last year's decisive Game 7.

[Al B. Sure!]

Asher:

Maybe people really wanted to see the Flyers?

[Al B. Sure!]

But Asher, temper your hopes...

The 2009 NHL Winter Classic drew a 2.9 overnight rating, setting a record for the most watched NHL regular season game since 1975.

Most watched regular season NHL game didn't attract many more viewers than the average NBA game.

Looks like the NHL will have to rise quite a bit more and the NBA will have to fall a bit more for hockey to surpass basketball in popularity.

Also, last year's NBA finals had an 8.4 average Nielson rating. One of the lowest ever but still comparable to hockey and I suspect this years NBA finals will have a higher average rating.

[Asher]

Doesn't help that the NHL is on Versus in the US right now. Given its handicap, it's doing well.

[Al B. Sure!]

Well it hasn't been considered popular enough to be on a better network.

And most NBA games are shown on TNT.

[C0ckney]

asher, is south america in the old world or the new world?

[Asher]

Old World, you can tell because they live in poverty and don't speak English.

[C0ckney]

you know it would be easier to just admit your argument is rubbish that resort to that.

[Asher]

Seriously, poverty plays a big role. Goes back to the other argument about the cost of playing soccer.

They're sure as **** not gonna play hockey in Brazil.

[Solomwi]

As far as soccer not catching on in North America I think a big part of it is the gap between the average age of people playing sports and the average age of people watching sports on TV. At least in New England, soccer is very popular to actually play (maybe tied with basket ball) and once we have a few decades for the current younger generations to get old enough to sit on their ass all day watching ESPN I think we'll eventually see soccer gradually rising to the 3rd or so most watched sport in America.

People have been making that prediction for over 35 years now.

[Al B. Sure!]

They're sure as **** not gonna play hockey in Brazil.

I don't know Asher... there is a Jamaican bobsled team after all...

[C0ckney]

Seriously, poverty plays a big role. Goes back to the other argument about the cost of playing soccer.

They're sure as **** not gonna play hockey in Brazil.

which goes back to what i said about it being a democractic game that everyone can enjoy, and also what i said about it being very easy to play some north american sports with no/very little money. we're going round in circles here.

we all agree that (ice)hockey is too niche to catch on in most of the world.

what does any of this have to do with ridiculous definitions of the old and new world.

[Asher]

which goes back to what i said about it being a democractic game that everyone can enjoy, and also what i said it being very easy to play some north american sports with no/very little money. we're going round in circles here.

You have an utterly bizarre definition of democratic. I'd say soccer is a "basic" or "entry-level" sport. "accessible" is a PR word for it...

what does any of this have to do with ridiculous definitions of the old and new world.

I don't think any of those southern countries are new in any way.

They're old in spirit.