Ethan Strauss Goes Deep into NBA Ratings, Career Path

Ethan Strauss, an NBA writer for The Athletic, joins the podcast this week! We discussed:

- His great story separating fact from myth on NBA ratings declines, and why we both disagree with Kevin Draper, the New York Times sports business reporter who argues that ratings have no impact on fans' lives.

- Underlying factors discussed include player injuries, cord-cutting, if the regular season has enough stakes, TNT's status as an entertainment programming platform, and more.

- On the margins, have NBA ideologies made some people on the Republican end of the spectrum feel marginalized.

- Would excitement increase for both regular season and postseason if the NBA adopted the MLB playoff structure?

- Strauss's career path: How he got to ESPN, why getting laid off wound up actually being a huge breath of relief, and the story ideation process at The Athletic regarding strategy for converting readers into subscribers.

Hope you enjoy!

Listen and subscribe on iTunes. Previous guests have included Deirdre Fenton, Asaf Peled, Jon Rothstein, Nick Kostos, Logan Paul, Andy Staples, Jenn Decker, Adam Lefkoe, Dan Orlovsky, Adam Amin, Jimmy Traina, Prince & Cecil Fielder, Eric Bischoff, Rob Perez, Conrad Thompson, Bill Pidto, Arash Markazi, BJ Armstrong, Jeff Passan, Pat McAfee, Chris Russo, Nick Friedell & Malika Andrews, Michael Mulvihill, Jeff Goodman, Buster Olney, Kayce Smith, Ryan Ruocco, Patrick Crakes & Bob Seidman, Tim Kurkjian, Matt Vasgersian, Dianna Russini, Albert Breer, Matt Jones, Stugotz, Jorge Sedano, Nancy Faust, Chris & Kyle Long, Lanny Poffo, Greg Norman, Richard Deitsch, and Kevin Negandhi.

And: Tom Haberstroh, Jason Barrett, Steve Levy, Bo Ryan, James Jones, Nate Robinson, Dave Finocchio, David Ortiz, Deandre Hopkins, Lisa Byington, Dave Portnoy, Nick Wright, Darren Rovell, Erika Nardini, Cassidy Hubbarth, Jim Ross, Joel Klatt, Rachel Nichols, Dan Patrick, Brandi Rhodes, Joe Davis, Sean McDonough, Jay Bilas, Bruce Feldman, Aaron Taylor, Josina Anderson, Alexi Lalas, Seth Davis, David Kaplan, Michael McCarthy, Ramona Shelburne, Ira Berkow, Ozzie Smith, Bryan Curtis, Dave Kindred & Michael Kornheiser, Vince Wilfork, Dustin Johnson, Mike Florio, Andy North, Chad Millman, Tracy Wolfson, Ernie Johnson, Grant Hill, Joe Buck, AJ Hawk, Dan Wetzel, Adam Schein, Aaron Nagler, Jeff Van Gundy, Jalen Rose, Kevin Burkhardt, Cari Champion, Scott Van Pelt, Colin Cowherd, Kristine Leahy, Ryan Satin, Big Cat, Woj, Peter King, Urban Meyer, Peter Mehlman, Ahman Green, Michael Wilbon, Kenny Smith, and Dan Le Batard.