One of those people very happy with the TV ratings fall of the NBA would be Donald Trump. Instead of having a congratulatory word for the Lakers, Trump talked about the 70% fall in Finals viewership.
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The feud between Donald Trump and LeBron James is nothing new.
It all began when Trump disinvited the Warriors from a White House visit – one they were not planning to make anyway. In response, James called Trump ‘a bum’ for doing that, using a corny high school analogy.
Since then Trump has made a number of statements against the most well-known player in basketball.
Donald Trump rejoices at the NBA’s viewership decline amid Lakers win
Last night, instead of writing a congratulatory note for the champions as would be the norm for a person in his position, Trump talked about the NBA’s ratings. The POTUS pointed out that viewership numbers for the Finals are down by nearly a 70% margin.
While LeBron James would not have expected a congratulatory text from Donald Trump, the President could have stayed away from belittling the NBA finals at a time when the Lakers were celebrating their 17th title.
The President also ridiculed NBAs relationship with China by saying that ‘maybe the finals were being watched in China’. For some time now, the NBA has been working on building a relationship with China, as the sheer numbers in the country can help take NBAs revenues to the next level.
It is worth noting that the NFL is by far the most viewed and followed American sport. The Super Bowl alone had an average of 99.9 million viewers this year, a figure that’s 2 and a half times the NBA’s total Finals viewership.
It has always been this way, even in prime Michael Jordan days when viewership for the NBA was peaking.
Comparing it to the Americans’ regular Sunday pastime makes little logical sense. Trump also fails to take into account how other sports have also had declining viewership. He refuses to look beyond how this isn’t basketball season.
