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The new normal for the NBA is just around the corner. One of the side effects of the delayed finish to this season is that it will also push the start of next season to a much later date. As it stands, the 2020-21 NBA season will begin around Christmas. Here's why we should consider keeping it that way.
The 2020-21 NBA season could potentially start in December and extend through late July or August, per @wojespn pic.twitter.com/JUkFfpgIIz
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 1, 2020
The NBA season usually starts in mid to late October, and wraps up with the NBA Finals in the early portion of June. Here are a few concrete reasons why a Christmas day start to the season would be ideal:
The sports calendar
Despite the growth of the NBA on a global scale in the last decade or so, it still lags behind the NFL in terms of ratings and revenue, especially for the viewership market within the United States. Starting in October means a much greater overlap with American football season, four entire months' worth of it.
With the move in the schedule to December, the intersection with the NFL is reduced from four months to fewer than two. Although the NBA would be starting in the midst of the NFL playoffs, they already clash with it in the normal schedule anyway. The move at least minimizes the impact to the NBA calendar and would allow the league to hit its regular-season stride as the football season reaches a conclusion.
A December start also changes the months when the NBA extends towards the Major League Baseball season. Starting in October also means trying to divert attention away from the baseball postseason, most especially the World Series. Instead, the NBA's playoff race and postseason would have to go head-to-head with just the first few months of MLB baseball.
Christmas day is the NBA's holiday
The NBA always serves up its best matchups during the most wonderful time of the year. One of the more anticipated wrinkles of the NBA scheduling release is seeing which teams made the cut and which rivalries will be renewed on December 25. The rest of the sports world has all but ceded this day to the NBA already.
The league has made itself synonymous with Santa Claus for sports fan in that it brings us all the league marquee matchups and its most compelling stars in one basketball marathon wrapped with a big red bow on top. With Christmas day signaling the return of hoops every year, the NBA can go big and announce its return to television screens with a bang. Anticipation for the holidays would mix in with excitement for the return of NBA basketball and that feels like a recipe for success.
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Many already consider Christmas day as the league's unofficial true start date. Why not make that the reality?
Change in viewership behavior
One of the key reasons why the NBA chooses to start in the middle of October is that it allows for the league to wrap up its season in the early portion of June. This allows them to avoid going up against the majority of the summer months when television viewership historically drops.
People were always more inclined to spend their summers outdoors or on vacation with their families. But as Mark Cuban details, the way we consume television has definitely changed.
“I have been saying that for the past 15 years … And the reason I have been shot down is that there’s a thing called HUT [households using television]. During the summer that drops. A lot fewer people are watching television because they could be outside. In the past that was a big deal. You wanted to end by June when you can maximize people watching TV. But as you guys know as well as anybody, TV has changed.”
Cuban's words ring true for a variety of reasons. People have changed the way they watch their programs and shows. More on more people are using NBA league pass and other streaming services. This is happening especially around the globe, where the league has been building its audience for years as a priority by both the late David Stern, and current NBA commissioner Adam Silver.
Growing a younger audience
There's a common theme when people share anecdotes about watching the NBA while growing up. They typically say that they were able to stay up and watch their favorite stars because their mom or dad would allow them to watch the big games on school nights. This memory is a special one for a lot of NBA athletes and fans alike when they were younger, to be able to steal away a few hours of sleep to catch their favorite players.
But with a Christmas start date pushing the NBA playoffs into the summer, this would allow the league to cultivate a younger audience that can finally stay up to watch most of the NBA postseason. Let's not kid ourselves and admit that more often than not, our fondest NBA memories come from the thrill of the seven-game series.
Allowing a much younger fan base to get exposed to the excitement during their time off of school will be a gift that keeps on giving for the league as it grows.
The NBA may be starting its new normal soon, but they should at least keep one part of it for good.
