Adam Silver: NBA considering weekday morning games to appease overseas audiences
The NBA could be moving to a weekday morning near you.
Adam Silver divulged last week that the league will give thought to experimenting with games on weekday mornings to appease overseas audiences.
In trying to get games on TV at a better times overseas, Adam Silver said NBA will explore idea of experimenting with weekday morning games.
— Jeff Zillgitt (@JeffZillgitt) January 15, 2016
This is very much a double-edged sword. If the target is Europe, the NBA could get away with early afternoon tips east coast time, which would ensure most of Europe gets the game in primetime. However, it would have to be started extremely early to make a dent in China. Plus, there’s the issue of optics. Who would attend in the US? Who would watch? Would the arena look and sound half-empty on the worldwide telecast? It may work on weekends, but the NBA couldn’t do weekends because then they’d be competing with Europe’s soccer leagues. Weekdays give them the best exposure, but it would also be the toughest sell stateside.
It’s an interesting idea, but we’ll see if it comes to fruition. If nothing else, it shows that the NFL isn’t the only American sports league that’s trying to attract a global audience.
