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Golden State Warriors games on NBC Sports Bay Area down 51%

By Nathan Beighle

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 05: Injured Willie Cauley-Stein #2 and Klay Thompson #11 sit on the bench during their game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Chase Center on October 05, 2019 in San Francisco, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 05: Injured Willie Cauley-Stein #2 and Klay Thompson #11 sit on the bench during their game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Chase Center on October 05, 2019 in San Francisco, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /
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The Golden State Warriors 4-19 start has, as it should, put a damper on the team’s television ratings to start the season.

We know the on-court performances for the Golden State Warriors have been lacking.

While it’s obvious why they cannot win, this lack of success has forced those once-loyal fans to stop watching on the local TV station, NBC Sports Bay Area. It’s not just an unsuccessful product but the lack of stardom that’s caused the dip in ratings.

Stephen Curry was injured in the team’s fourth game of the season. The two-time MVP is one of the most popular players in the game and is capable of a three-point explosion every time he steps on the court.

Klay Thompson, who tore his ACL in Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals, could also be out all season and has yet to play this year. Kevin Durant left in free agency, and even D’Angelo Russell has missed the last few weeks.

It’s clear that a 51% drop in ratings, as reported by SBJ’s John Ourand, can be justified.

https://twitter.com/Ourand_SBJ/status/1201682472758583296?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Eembeddedtimeline%7Ctwterm%5Elist%3Asbjsbd%3Asbj_sbd_tweets%7Ctwcon%5Etimelinechrome&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sportsbusinessdaily.com%2FJournal.aspx

It’s not just for Golden State either. It’s league-wide, as you can see in his tweet. While a few markets are up, the national media-shown games are down about 20%, a huge dip in ratings from last season.

There’s no good excuse for the games on ESPN and TNT to be down. It just seems that fans are not as interested this season. Creating a schedule prior to the season instead of flexing games as they go could be a reason why, but it’d be almost impossible to flip that script.

However, as has been reported, Golden State will lose two primetime games so there will be mid-season adjustments after all.

As for Golden State, there’s no reason to believe that they’ll be becoming more watchable in the next few months. Curry will stay out, and the team will continue to be led by Eric Paschall and Draymond Green. The return of Russell may help, but it’s far from a guaranteed boost.

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Expect ratings to bounce back up if Curry returns late in the season or when the team is again a championship-contender next year.

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