Oct 28 2008
User Preferences Driving Content on TV, Too
I make no apologies for being an openly obsessed basketball fan. So believe me when I tell you how truly excited I am that NBA TV is doing something I’ve wanted to see for years: allowing fans to choose which game they want to be nationally televised each week on NBA TV.
Fans can easily vote for the game they want to see on NBA.com’s Fan Night page. Each Tuesday NBA TV will air the game that fans have selected, with the notion that more fans will tune in for the most popular matchup. I love this because it eliminates the problem that networks often face when a popular team suddenly has a terrible season. Last year, for example, the Miami Heat’s best player was injured and they traded away Shaquille O’Neal, making them the worst team in the league — but because the TV schedule was created 6 months earlier, the Heat appeared on national television multiple times late in the season, during what would otherwise have been prime viewing hours.
It seems like the NBA has learned something from the online world: our customers have preferences. If we listen and respond to them with relevant and timely content, viewership will increase. And hey, maybe advertisers will like that too!
