The NBA season should have begun last night. The big match-up was supposed to be between the Dallas Mavericks and the Chicago Bulls. But of course that never materialized.
It’s unfortunately nearing the point where the league will be hard-pressed to play a full season, even if an agreement is reached soon. Only so many games can be squeezed into January, February and March.
So what is a fan to do? Look around for other entertainment, probably, whether that’s NCAA basketball or ice hockey. Or Storm Chasers. Or American Chopper.
In fact, Discovery Communications Chief Executive David Zaslav, whose networks broadcast those two shows plus a host of other adventure and science programs that draw a male 18-49 demographic, could be a beneficiary of the NBA lockout. He was asked just that question on a conference call.
“Look, on the NBA front, having male audience available is an opportunity for us,” he said while discussing his company’s quarterly earnings .”We do have an overlap with sports viewership, it should work out to our advantage, but we’re taking a wait and see attitude.”
