As there has been all the talk about the NFL and their viewership starting to fall and the reasons for it, it appears the NBA isn't having that problem.

Per Austin Karp of Sports Business Daily:

NBA games across ABC, ESPN, TNT and NBA TV are averaging 1.4 million viewers, up 15% from the same point last season.

There are a few reasons for the rise of the NBA while the NFL falls, but one of the main reasons is that people feel a closer connection to NBA Players.

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Ben Sturner, president of sports marketer Leverage Agency agrees,

“NBA stars don’t wear helmets, so fans think they know them better by watching their features and their gestures, This sense of familiarity plays really well with the social media set.”

Another reason for the rise in the NBA is almost every team has a player worth watching. If the Mavericks are on national television, they aren't a very good team, and although they don't have much to play for this year, they still have Dennis Smith Jr, an up and coming star who is a lot of fun to watch.

In the NFL although the Cleveland Browns do have some good young players, with 22 players on the field at times it's hard to watch your favorite young player.

It also helps in the NBA that any night, any team can beat anyone, something that can't always be said in the NFL. The Browns aren't beating the New England Patriots in a football game, but there is a chance that the Mavericks might beat the Rockets.