For most of the past decade, the NBA was the fasting growing sports league in the world. Their massive TV deals brought them into hundreds of countries and generated enormous revenue that spurred that growth even more. With the flagging interest in the MLB, basketball has appeared poised to take up the mantel as America’s most popular sport alongside football.
Still, that growth has appeared to level off some in the past year or so with a ratings dip that seemed to belie its immense popularity. It’s possible that some of the concern might be overblown, given that streaming viewership is up more than 30 percent this year, which could be representative of the steady migration to new media rather than waning interest among fans.
Money-wise, the league is more profitable than ever. Collectively, NBA teams generated record revenues last year and are projected to rise again this season. The value of individual teams is up 14 percent from last year, with the average team clocking in at a whopping $2.12 billion. In fact, there are now three NBA teams that have pushed past the $4 billion threshold.
Via Kurt Badenhausen of Forbes.
By our scorecard, the moribund New York Knicks grab the top spot ($4.6 billion) for the fifth straight year, up 15%, followed by the Los Angeles Lakers ($4.4 billion) and the Golden State Warriors ($4.3 billion). These three teams have by far the highest revenue in the NBA. Only the Dallas Cowboys ($5.5 billion) are worth more than the Knicks among North American sports franchises, with the New York Yankees ($4.6 billion) the only other team ahead of the Lakers and the Warriors.
Having the Knicks top that list was certainly unexpected, given their ongoing turmoil on and off the court. That was less so the case for the Yankees, Cowboys, and Lakers. Then again, being in a media market as gigantic as New York City can help with this regard, even when the team is in a lengthy spell of misfortune.
Both the cable deals, worth an estimated $24 billion, and the collective bargaining agreement from 2011, which increased the owners’ share of the profit, have been the catalyst for the skyrocketing value over the past decade, and that’s only going to continue in the years to come.
(Forbes)
