Plenty of speculation and concern surrounds NBA TV ratings, which trended downward earlier this season.

One person who is not worried is former ESPN president John Skipper. In an appearance Friday on Pablo Torre Finds Out, Skipper downplayed ratings concerns and made a compelling case.

“My view is (the NBA) are ascendant,” Skipper said. “The deals they just did are much, much more important than whatever the regular season ratings are. We are back to people thinking the ratings are some dramatic indication of the health of the league. The ratings this year for the NBA are up and down. I think overall, other than the Christmas games, they’re down a little bit.

“But so what? I mean Adam [Silver, NBA commissioner] has to address it, but his league couldn’t be more healthy. They just signed $76 billion worth of deals, triple what they got before. If you could ask any owner, the commissioner, anyone associated with the NBA, would you rather have the ratings go up 20%, or the media rights go up 300%?”

Skipper makes a great point there. The NBA’s new 11-year, $76 billion media rights deal was announced last year, and partners Disney/ESPN, NBCUniversal, and Amazon knew the ratings trend before signing on.

Skipper has negotiated such huge media deals in the past. He was at ESPN when the network signed its NBA deal in 2014. He thinks the new deal, which begins next season, is worth it.

“I think the league was worth it, I think the league is fine,” Skipper said. “People are watching the games, people care. We’re in New York City of course, the Knicks are good, the city is alive when the Knicks are good.

“I think the league is in excellent shape … I don’t think the fact that the ratings are down 3% for one Sunday or up 2% for one Sunday is particularly relevant.”

Former ESPN president John Skipper sounds off on the NBA’s ratings drama 😳

“The deals they just did are much, much more important than whatever the regular season ratings are. We are back to people thinking the ratings are some dramatic indication of the health of the league.… pic.twitter.com/KRq6XdHaPn

— Pablo Torre Finds Out (@pablofindsout) February 14, 2025

Plenty of theories have been floated on why NBA ratings have trended down, with analysts pointing to the playing style (“Players shoot too many threes”), aging superstars such as Steph Curry and LeBron James, and even negative media coverage. WNBA star Caitlin Clark even speculated the decline might be due to NBA players being too good.

But Skipper’s perspective, that everything is fine, makes sense. The $76 billion media rights deal speaks volumes about the NBA’s health.