Latest news with #Pacers-Thunder
Fox Sports
6 hours ago
- Business
- Fox Sports
Whether ratings are good or not, Thunder-Pacers could be a series true basketball fans enjoy
Associated Press OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — It's No. 25 Indiana vs. No. 47 Oklahoma City in the NBA Finals. That's not their seeding. That's their media market ranking. To some, that might matter. To others, it probably won't — and probably shouldn't — matter whatsoever. A title matchup that starts Thursday night between the Pacers and Thunder — two young, fun teams that score a ton and are led by marketable stars in reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for Oklahoma City and Olympic gold medalist Tyrese Haliburton for Indiana — is the type of series that real basketball fans clamor for. It has everything: star power, good coaching, All-Stars on both sides. And it adds to the NBA's recent run of parity. That the good news. Here's the inevitable other side: The ratings, especially at the start of the series, probably aren't going to be good because the home markets are so small. Those who like the NBA won't be dissuaded by that. Those who don't like the NBA will tout it as great failure. 'I think this finals is a great representation with the two teams that are in it," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. "You know, they're teams that play good, exciting styles of basketball. Players that have great individual stories, teams that have a great story collectively. And we're proud to be a part of that.' People are watching; they just may not be watching on television. The social media tracking site Videocites says NBA content is getting consumed at a 64% higher clip than last season — 32 billion views and counting so far in these playoffs. Gilgeous-Alexander is the most viewed player, Haliburton is No. 3 and playoff clips of those two have about 1.5 billion views between them to this point. That's billion, with a B. And speaking of that, there are 76 billion reasons the NBA won't be bothered by whatever the ratings are over the next couple of weeks. The new media rights deals — an 11-year, $76 billion pact between the NBA and broadcast partners Disney (ABC/ESPN), Peacock (NBC) and Amazon (Prime Video) that kicks in at the start of next season — show that clearly somebody is watching NBA games or consuming NBA content. The days of straight relying on Nielsen ratings seem to be long gone, with more and more people ditching cable for streaming and more and more young fans just watching everything on their phones and often in condensed versions. If the ratings tank for Pacers-Thunder, those deals are still worth $76 billion. The ad buys for these playoffs have long been paid for. So, the numbers for this series are largely irrelevant to the NBA's bottom line. Haliburton was asked Tuesday what fans who watch will see if they tune in to these finals. 'I think (they'll see) two high-level teams that play an elite style of basketball, who share the ball really well, a lot of different people that can chip in,' Haliburton said. 'I think that's the exciting part about this. I don't want to say it's like a passing of the torch because the old heads are still here. They're still playing very, very well. But definitely to see two young teams, two young organizations, fighting to win a championship, I think is a very big deal." Late in the regular season, as numbers were bouncing back from a slow start to the season, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said the league's ratings were down about 2% from a year ago. 'But in this environment, where particularly when you're largely featured in legacy media and particularly cable, and no question cable subscriptions are going down, that seems like a victory,' Silver said. In short, nobody at the league office is panicking about ratings, especially right now. Whichever team wins will be the seventh different champion in the last seven seasons, and without question the Thunder and Pacers will be featured in more national broadcasts next season than they were this season and their ratings will be higher — as proven by recent finals runs by Milwaukee, Denver and Dallas. Go ahead and expect Indy and OKC in the Christmas Day package next season as well; neither team was among the 10 picked for that this season, which was probably a mild disappointment for the Pacers and was a huge disappointment for the Thunder. 'I'd love to play on Christmas Day,' Gilgeous-Alexander said earlier this season. 'And I think we're that caliber of team. The NBA makes their decisions. Can't slight them for it. Ball's in our court to prove to them why we deserve to be in that game.' It can easily be argued that both teams did it right: didn't overspend, didn't go into the luxury tax — it's the first finals between two non-taxpayer teams in about two decades — and tried to build around young stars. And the Thunder and Pacers were teams that combined to win 49 games just three seasons ago; their success now has to be a reason for hope for teams like Utah, Washington, Portland, Charlotte and others that have been sputtering. Turnarounds can happen, and they can be rewarded. Some people will watch, some won't, but true fans probably are expecting a pretty good series. 'I think that's exciting,' Haliburton said, 'for any basketball fan.' ___ AP Sports Writer Michael Marot in Indianapolis contributed to this report. ___ On Basketball analyzes the biggest topics in the NBA during the season. More AP NBA: recommended
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Whether ratings are good or not, Thunder-Pacers could be a series true basketball fans enjoy
Oklahoma City Thunder players and coaches celebrate after Game 5 of the Western Conference finals of the NBA basketball playoffs against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Wednesday, May 28, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings) OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — It's No. 25 Indiana vs. No. 47 Oklahoma City in the NBA Finals. That's not their seeding. That's their media market ranking. To some, that might matter. To others, it probably won't — and probably shouldn't — matter whatsoever. Advertisement A title matchup that starts Thursday night between the Pacers and Thunder — two young, fun teams that score a ton and are led by marketable stars in reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for Oklahoma City and Olympic gold medalist Tyrese Haliburton for Indiana — is the type of series that real basketball fans clamor for. It has everything: star power, good coaching, All-Stars on both sides. And it adds to the NBA's recent run of parity. That the good news. Here's the inevitable other side: The ratings, especially at the start of the series, probably aren't going to be good because the home markets are so small. Those who like the NBA won't be dissuaded by that. Those who don't like the NBA will tout it as great failure. 'I think this finals is a great representation with the two teams that are in it," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. "You know, they're teams that play good, exciting styles of basketball. Players that have great individual stories, teams that have a great story collectively. And we're proud to be a part of that.' People are watching; they just may not be watching on television. The social media tracking site Videocites says NBA content is getting consumed at a 64% higher clip than last season — 32 billion views and counting so far in these playoffs. Gilgeous-Alexander is the most viewed player, Haliburton is No. 3 and playoff clips of those two have about 1.5 billion views between them to this point. Advertisement That's billion, with a B. And speaking of that, there are 76 billion reasons the NBA won't be bothered by whatever the ratings are over the next couple of weeks. The new media rights deals — an 11-year, $76 billion pact between the NBA and broadcast partners Disney (ABC/ESPN), Peacock (NBC) and Amazon (Prime Video) that kicks in at the start of next season — show that clearly somebody is watching NBA games or consuming NBA content. The days of straight relying on Nielsen ratings seem to be long gone, with more and more people ditching cable for streaming and more and more young fans just watching everything on their phones and often in condensed versions. If the ratings tank for Pacers-Thunder, those deals are still worth $76 billion. The ad buys for these playoffs have long been paid for. So, the numbers for this series are largely irrelevant to the NBA's bottom line. Haliburton was asked Tuesday what fans who watch will see if they tune in to these finals. Advertisement 'I think (they'll see) two high-level teams that play an elite style of basketball, who share the ball really well, a lot of different people that can chip in,' Haliburton said. 'I think that's the exciting part about this. I don't want to say it's like a passing of the torch because the old heads are still here. They're still playing very, very well. But definitely to see two young teams, two young organizations, fighting to win a championship, I think is a very big deal." Late in the regular season, as numbers were bouncing back from a slow start to the season, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said the league's ratings were down about 2% from a year ago. 'But in this environment, where particularly when you're largely featured in legacy media and particularly cable, and no question cable subscriptions are going down, that seems like a victory,' Silver said. In short, nobody at the league office is panicking about ratings, especially right now. Whichever team wins will be the seventh different champion in the last seven seasons, and without question the Thunder and Pacers will be featured in more national broadcasts next season than they were this season and their ratings will be higher — as proven by recent finals runs by Milwaukee, Denver and Dallas. Go ahead and expect Indy and OKC in the Christmas Day package next season as well; neither team was among the 10 picked for that this season, which was probably a mild disappointment for the Pacers and was a huge disappointment for the Thunder. Advertisement 'I'd love to play on Christmas Day,' Gilgeous-Alexander said earlier this season. 'And I think we're that caliber of team. The NBA makes their decisions. Can't slight them for it. Ball's in our court to prove to them why we deserve to be in that game.' It can easily be argued that both teams did it right: didn't overspend, didn't go into the luxury tax — it's the first finals between two non-taxpayer teams in about two decades — and tried to build around young stars. And the Thunder and Pacers were teams that combined to win 49 games just three seasons ago; their success now has to be a reason for hope for teams like Utah, Washington, Portland, Charlotte and others that have been sputtering. Turnarounds can happen, and they can be rewarded. Some people will watch, some won't, but true fans probably are expecting a pretty good series. 'I think that's exciting,' Haliburton said, 'for any basketball fan.' ___ AP Sports Writer Michael Marot in Indianapolis contributed to this report. ___ On Basketball analyzes the biggest topics in the NBA during the season. More AP NBA:
Winnipeg Free Press
6 hours ago
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
Whether ratings are good or not, Thunder-Pacers could be a series true basketball fans enjoy
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — It's No. 25 Indiana vs. No. 47 Oklahoma City in the NBA Finals. That's not their seeding. That's their media market ranking. To some, that might matter. To others, it probably won't — and probably shouldn't — matter whatsoever. A title matchup that starts Thursday night between the Pacers and Thunder — two young, fun teams that score a ton and are led by marketable stars in reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for Oklahoma City and Olympic gold medalist Tyrese Haliburton for Indiana — is the type of series that real basketball fans clamor for. It has everything: star power, good coaching, All-Stars on both sides. And it adds to the NBA's recent run of parity. That the good news. Here's the inevitable other side: The ratings, especially at the start of the series, probably aren't going to be good because the home markets are so small. Those who like the NBA won't be dissuaded by that. Those who don't like the NBA will tout it as great failure. 'I think this finals is a great representation with the two teams that are in it,' Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. 'You know, they're teams that play good, exciting styles of basketball. Players that have great individual stories, teams that have a great story collectively. And we're proud to be a part of that.' People are watching; they just may not be watching on television. The social media tracking site Videocites says NBA content is getting consumed at a 64% higher clip than last season — 32 billion views and counting so far in these playoffs. Gilgeous-Alexander is the most viewed player, Haliburton is No. 3 and playoff clips of those two have about 1.5 billion views between them to this point. That's billion, with a B. And speaking of that, there are 76 billion reasons the NBA won't be bothered by whatever the ratings are over the next couple of weeks. The new media rights deals — an 11-year, $76 billion pact between the NBA and broadcast partners Disney (ABC/ESPN), Peacock (NBC) and Amazon (Prime Video) that kicks in at the start of next season — show that clearly somebody is watching NBA games or consuming NBA content. The days of straight relying on Nielsen ratings seem to be long gone, with more and more people ditching cable for streaming and more and more young fans just watching everything on their phones and often in condensed versions. If the ratings tank for Pacers-Thunder, those deals are still worth $76 billion. The ad buys for these playoffs have long been paid for. So, the numbers for this series are largely irrelevant to the NBA's bottom line. Haliburton was asked Tuesday what fans who watch will see if they tune in to these finals. 'I think (they'll see) two high-level teams that play an elite style of basketball, who share the ball really well, a lot of different people that can chip in,' Haliburton said. 'I think that's the exciting part about this. I don't want to say it's like a passing of the torch because the old heads are still here. They're still playing very, very well. But definitely to see two young teams, two young organizations, fighting to win a championship, I think is a very big deal.' Late in the regular season, as numbers were bouncing back from a slow start to the season, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said the league's ratings were down about 2% from a year ago. 'But in this environment, where particularly when you're largely featured in legacy media and particularly cable, and no question cable subscriptions are going down, that seems like a victory,' Silver said. In short, nobody at the league office is panicking about ratings, especially right now. Whichever team wins will be the seventh different champion in the last seven seasons, and without question the Thunder and Pacers will be featured in more national broadcasts next season than they were this season and their ratings will be higher — as proven by recent finals runs by Milwaukee, Denver and Dallas. Go ahead and expect Indy and OKC in the Christmas Day package next season as well; neither team was among the 10 picked for that this season, which was probably a mild disappointment for the Pacers and was a huge disappointment for the Thunder. 'I'd love to play on Christmas Day,' Gilgeous-Alexander said earlier this season. 'And I think we're that caliber of team. The NBA makes their decisions. Can't slight them for it. Ball's in our court to prove to them why we deserve to be in that game.' It can easily be argued that both teams did it right: didn't overspend, didn't go into the luxury tax — it's the first finals between two non-taxpayer teams in about two decades — and tried to build around young stars. And the Thunder and Pacers were teams that combined to win 49 games just three seasons ago; their success now has to be a reason for hope for teams like Utah, Washington, Portland, Charlotte and others that have been sputtering. Turnarounds can happen, and they can be rewarded. Some people will watch, some won't, but true fans probably are expecting a pretty good series. 'I think that's exciting,' Haliburton said, 'for any basketball fan.' ___ AP Sports Writer Michael Marot in Indianapolis contributed to this report. ___ On Basketball analyzes the biggest topics in the NBA during the season. More AP NBA:
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Whether ratings are good or not, Thunder-Pacers could be a series true basketball fans enjoy
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — It's No. 25 Indiana vs. No. 47 Oklahoma City in the NBA Finals. That's not their seeding. That's their media market ranking. To some, that might matter. To others, it probably won't — and probably shouldn't — matter whatsoever. A title matchup that starts Thursday night between the Pacers and Thunder — two young, fun teams that score a ton and are led by marketable stars in reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for Oklahoma City and Olympic gold medalist Tyrese Haliburton for Indiana — is the type of series that real basketball fans clamor for. It has everything: star power, good coaching, All-Stars on both sides. And it adds to the NBA's recent run of parity. That the good news. Here's the inevitable other side: The ratings, especially at the start of the series, probably aren't going to be good because the home markets are so small. Those who like the NBA won't be dissuaded by that. Those who don't like the NBA will tout it as great failure. 'I think this finals is a great representation with the two teams that are in it," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. "You know, they're teams that play good, exciting styles of basketball. Players that have great individual stories, teams that have a great story collectively. And we're proud to be a part of that.' People are watching; they just may not be watching on television. The social media tracking site Videocites says NBA content is getting consumed at a 64% higher clip than last season — 32 billion views and counting so far in these playoffs. Gilgeous-Alexander is the most viewed player, Haliburton is No. 3 and playoff clips of those two have about 1.5 billion views between them to this point. That's billion, with a B. And speaking of that, there are 76 billion reasons the NBA won't be bothered by whatever the ratings are over the next couple of weeks. The new media rights deals — an 11-year, $76 billion pact between the NBA and broadcast partners Disney (ABC/ESPN), Peacock (NBC) and Amazon (Prime Video) that kicks in at the start of next season — show that clearly somebody is watching NBA games or consuming NBA content. The days of straight relying on Nielsen ratings seem to be long gone, with more and more people ditching cable for streaming and more and more young fans just watching everything on their phones and often in condensed versions. If the ratings tank for Pacers-Thunder, those deals are still worth $76 billion. The ad buys for these playoffs have long been paid for. So, the numbers for this series are largely irrelevant to the NBA's bottom line. Haliburton was asked Tuesday what fans who watch will see if they tune in to these finals. 'I think (they'll see) two high-level teams that play an elite style of basketball, who share the ball really well, a lot of different people that can chip in,' Haliburton said. 'I think that's the exciting part about this. I don't want to say it's like a passing of the torch because the old heads are still here. They're still playing very, very well. But definitely to see two young teams, two young organizations, fighting to win a championship, I think is a very big deal." Late in the regular season, as numbers were bouncing back from a slow start to the season, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said the league's ratings were down about 2% from a year ago. 'But in this environment, where particularly when you're largely featured in legacy media and particularly cable, and no question cable subscriptions are going down, that seems like a victory,' Silver said. In short, nobody at the league office is panicking about ratings, especially right now. Whichever team wins will be the seventh different champion in the last seven seasons, and without question the Thunder and Pacers will be featured in more national broadcasts next season than they were this season and their ratings will be higher — as proven by recent finals runs by Milwaukee, Denver and Dallas. Go ahead and expect Indy and OKC in the Christmas Day package next season as well; neither team was among the 10 picked for that this season, which was probably a mild disappointment for the Pacers and was a huge disappointment for the Thunder. 'I'd love to play on Christmas Day,' Gilgeous-Alexander said earlier this season. 'And I think we're that caliber of team. The NBA makes their decisions. Can't slight them for it. Ball's in our court to prove to them why we deserve to be in that game.' It can easily be argued that both teams did it right: didn't overspend, didn't go into the luxury tax — it's the first finals between two non-taxpayer teams in about two decades — and tried to build around young stars. And the Thunder and Pacers were teams that combined to win 49 games just three seasons ago; their success now has to be a reason for hope for teams like Utah, Washington, Portland, Charlotte and others that have been sputtering. Turnarounds can happen, and they can be rewarded. Some people will watch, some won't, but true fans probably are expecting a pretty good series. 'I think that's exciting,' Haliburton said, 'for any basketball fan.' ___ AP Sports Writer Michael Marot in Indianapolis contributed to this report. ___ On Basketball analyzes the biggest topics in the NBA during the season. More AP NBA:
USA Today
9 hours ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
When is the NBA Finals? Thunder, Pacers set to play for a title
When is the NBA Finals? Thunder, Pacers set to play for a title Show Caption Hide Caption Shaq gives thoughts on a possible Pacers-Thunder 'small market' Finals Shaq joins Sports Seriously to give his thoughts on if a Pacers-Thunder NBA Finals would be too 'small market' for the league. Sports Seriously What appears to be an obvious mismatch on paper still sets up for an intriguing battle as the 2025 NBA Finals get underway on Thursday. The No. 4-seeded Indiana Pacers completed a stunning run through an upset-filled Eastern Conference bracket to make their first appearance in the Finals since 2000, defeating the No. 3 New York Knicks in six games. Meanwhile the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder rolled through the Western Conference, defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games to reach the Finals for the first time since 2012. Adding to the drama, neither franchise has won an NBA title in its current location. (The Thunder won it all in 1979, when they were the Seattle Supersonics.) OPINION: No one will stop the Thunder from winning NBA championship How to watch the NBA Finals The 2025 NBA Finals presented by YouTube TV will air on ABC. Fans can stream it on ESPN+, Fubo, and SlingTV. Watch the NBA Finals with Fubo 2025 NBA Finals schedule Game 1: Pacers at Thunder (Thursday, June 5, 8:30 ET, ABC) Pacers at Thunder (Thursday, June 5, 8:30 ET, ABC) Game 2: Pacers at Thunder (Sunday, June 8, 8 ET, ABC) Pacers at Thunder (Sunday, June 8, 8 ET, ABC) Game 3: Thunder at Pacers (Wednesday, June 11, 8:30 ET, ABC) Thunder at Pacers (Wednesday, June 11, 8:30 ET, ABC) Game 4: Thunder at Pacers (Friday, June 13, 8:30 ET, ABC) Thunder at Pacers (Friday, June 13, 8:30 ET, ABC) Game 5: Pacers at Thunder, (Monday, June 16, 8:30 ET, ABC)* Pacers at Thunder, (Monday, June 16, 8:30 ET, ABC)* Game 6: Thunder at Pacers (Thursday, June 19, 8:30 ET, ABC)* Thunder at Pacers (Thursday, June 19, 8:30 ET, ABC)* Game 7: Pacers at Thunder, Sunday, June 22, 8 ET on ABC)* The biggest stories, every morning. Stay up-to-date on all the key sports developments by subscribing to USA TODAY Sports' newsletter.
