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The Magic didn’t give fans much reason to tune in to their games. And that was certainly reflected in their television ratings.
The Magic had the second lowest ratings in the NBA this season, trailing only the Brooklyn Nets, according to John Ourand and John Lombardo of Sports Business Journal.
Despite the league’s local ratings overall increasing three percent, the Magic again failed to draw viewers during what was another long and frustrating season.
Not surprising to hear that the Magic had the second lowest television ratings in the league considering this is what most Orlando fans want to do while watching a game.... pic.twitter.com/UNMHlhrtaB
— Orlando Pinstriped Post (@OPPMagicBlog) April 26, 2018
How many losses can a fan take before changing the channel and never coming back?
The 25-57 Magic had a 0.48 percent rating, which edged out the Nets’ 0.38 percent. Orlando also suffered the fourth worst decline in ratings from last year, seeing a 25 percent drop from the 2016-2017 season. Only the Clippers, Suns and Hawks saw a larger decline this season.
The numbers are in no way an indication of the fine product that David Steele, Jeff Turner and the good folks at Fox Sports Florida put on the airwaves. The Magic’s lack of winning simply leads to a lack of interest, which leads to a lack of viewership.
Perhaps some luck in the lottery and a trade or two will give the Magic a boost in ratings next season.