Philadelphia 76ers

'Embarrassing' TV ratings should be 'bright yellow flag' for Sixers' ownership

Published Jul. 23, 2015 9:20 a.m. ET

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The Philadelphia 76ers have been the worst team in basketball for the past few seasons. They've openly tried to game the system, losing as many games in the short-term as possible so they can (hopefully?) experience long-term success.

But this strategy requires lots and lots of patience, and while Philly's front office may have plenty of it to go around, the team's casual fan base appears fed up.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer's Bob Fernandez, the Sixers' television ratings are a putrid reflection of the team's on-court product:

"The numbers - especially for the Sixers, with an average of only 23,000 adults watching their games on TV last season - are startlingly low for storied franchises in the nation's fourth-largest TV market, observers say. 'Those numbers are embarrassing, no question about it,' said Neal Pilson, former president of CBS Sports and now a media consultant...'Wow,' Stephen F. Ross, director of Pennsylvania State University's Institute for Sports Law, Policy and Research in State College, responded to the plunge in viewer numbers. Low TV viewership should be a 'bright yellow flag' for the Sixers' and Phillies' owners because it shows that fans are disenchanted, Ross said."

Times are tough for every team in Philadelphia right now, and the 76ers lead the way, churning through D-League talent on their way to the lottery, year after year. It's bleak. It's dark.

But the team's ownership is likely convinced that fans will tune in once they turn things around. That's probably true. But they also run the risk of turning thousands of paying customers off forever.

(h/t: Philadelphia Inquirer)

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