NBA dials back late starting times to help boost East Coast ratings

The NBA is kicking the tires on a new scheduling initiative designed to give East Coast hoops fans a reprieve from having to stay up until the wee hours of the morning to keep tabs on the league’s Western Conference superstars. Beginning this season, the NBA is slashing the number of nationally televised games that will tip off at 10:30 p.m., scheduling 33 such meetings versus the 56 late starts featured during the 2018-19 campaign. Pushing up the starting time of so many West Coast showdowns could go a long way toward keeping fans of LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers locked into the action for the lion’s share of the telecasts, which in turn should help boost the ratings on TNT and ESPN. Per the NBA schedule released this afternoon, the Lakers will appear in 10 late-doubleheader games that tip off at 10:30 p.m. ET, down from 19 such starts last season. Shifting LeBron and the new-look Lakers to the occasional 10 p.m. ET and 9:30 p.m. ET starts is expected to help the NBA and its TV partners keep the spotlight on a player (and a franchise) that have long had an outsized impact on the Nielsen ratings. Also seeing a reduction in 10:30 p.m. start times are the Golden State Warriors, which will play in 11 such games, down from 19 in 2018-19. The NBA’s decision to help fans in basketball-mad towns such as New York, Boston and Philadelphia grab a little more shuteye comes on the heels of a ratings-erosion trend that may have been precipitated by James’ move to the... Continue reading at 'Advertising Age'

[ Advertising Age | 2019-08-13 10:00:00 UTC ]
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After several stark years in which stores like Cody's in San Francisco and Davis-Kidd Booksellers in Nashville closed and the nation's second largest chain is teetering more than ever, publishers and booksellers are looking for new ways to work together. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-01-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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