Chapter 4: Analysis

4.1 Introduction

This chapter relates to the analysis of the data collected on the basis of the aforementioned
methodology. It contains the strategy followed in analysing, a review of the data, descriptive
analysis and a detailed analysis of the data collected where an answer to the research
question is obtained.

4.2 Analysis Strategy

Before the data was collected, it was decided that thematic analysis would be used to
analyse the data. Thematic analysis involves a search for themes among the data to
generate a conclusion/hypothesis (Braun & Clarke, 2006). A theme is usually a category
identified by the analyst through their data which relates to the research focus, builds on
the identified codes and provides the researcher with the basis for a theoretical
understanding of their data that can make a theoretical contribution to the literature
relating to the research focus (Bryman, 2012). The process involves looking for repetitions,
indigenous typologies & categories, metaphors & analogies, transitions, linguistic
connectors, missing data and theory related material (Ryan & Bernard, 2003). For data to be
categorised as a theme, the most important thing to look for during data analysis is
repetition; only recurring codes or patterns within the data that are relevant to the research
question warrant being categorised as themes (Boyatzis, 1998). Once the data was obtained
and coded, the aforementioned method of analysis was used. The themes that emerged
from the data were then used to answer the research question.

4.3 Review of Data

Before the data used in the study was collected, a pilot study was conducted to measure the
adequacy of the research instrument (see section 3.6). Apart from the changes mentioned
in Section 3.6, it was also observed that participants seemed to have difficulty remembering
parts of long questions. The length of the questions was subsequently shortened. It was also
observed that after a long answer by the participant, further probing to summarise their
opinion and answer either in the affirmative or the negative yielded clearer answers.
Furthermore, encouraging participants to speak even when they were not directly asked a
question, and join the discussion led to more dialogue. It also became clear that some
participants required more probing to open up about their feelings than others. Feedback
was also received from participants that it would be advisable to mix the order in which the
participants were asked questions to minimize their idle time. One limitation that was
identified was that some participants identified themselves as “hardcore” or “die-hard” fans
but then proceeded to answer questions on behalf of the more casual viewers rather than
answering questions from a personal stand point.
4.4 Descriptive Analysis
Even though population was chosen to be middle-class individuals in the 20 to 35 age
bracket (see section 3.4.1), only 1 willing individual above the age of 30 could be found.
Some logistical issues were faced while organising a focus group for women since the initial
responses only displayed participation interest from 3 candidates. Further measures were
taken to fill the remaining 2 spots and the 3 existing women participants assisted in finding
the remaining 2. Apart from that, the focus groups largely took place as planned but most
exceeded the expected duration of 45 minutes by 5-10 minutes. Apart from the 30+ age
group being under represented, an adequate mixture of participants was found.

4.5 Analysis
The questions were framed in a manner to first see how the participants defined
competitive balance in their own words and their opinion on whether it existed in the NBA,
then to test their opinion on the uncertainty of outcome hypothesis and its impact on
viewership, and finally, how see if competitive balance or lack thereof was important
enough to alter their viewership patterns (see section 3.5.3). After looking at the
transcriptions and codes some key themes emerged.
4.5.1 On Competitive Balance
Most participants defined competitive balance in similar ways to the literature which
included factors like talent distribution, financial equality and equal opportunity for all
teams to win:
Competitive balance means being fair

Competitive balance is when every team has fair means to competition and no team has competitive
advantage over the other (See Transcription Appendix )

A situation of competitive balance would be when money is not allowed to dominate a sport and
every team spends similar amounts of money

Competitive balance for a league, I mean all teams should have favourable conditions to win the
league… (See Transcription Appendix )

A majority of participants said that they believed that the NBA did not have competitive
balance and cited a number of reasons along the same lines as their definitions, about some
teams having more talent than others and how big market teams like New York, Boston and
Los Angeles have significant advantages in signing free agents. However, one theme that
was observed was that most participants believed that the NBA’s conference structure and
playoff seeding system was flawed and that was the culprit behind such imbalance. Most
participants suggested a removal of the conference system and one participant even
suggested an open league structure which would include promotion and relegation of
teams:
for me, competitive balance would mean that both the eastern and western conferences are
combined…the division between eastern and western conference is not fair… The foundation that
the NBA is built on is not optimal for balance (See Transcription Appendix )

…to less the unbalance in western conference, I would say rather than having an eastern and
western conference, you should have a league system as in the weaker teams have a different
league and the few number of teams who win the league they go up to the other league against the
better ones (See Transcription Appendix )

I think it is clear that throughout the NBA’s history, one conference has clearly been stronger than
the other and this has led to the teams of the stronger conference having a bad disadvantage

I remember one year the Wizards made the playoffs in the east with 43 wins or something but the
Grizzlies in the west didn’t, even though they had 48 wins…that’s really unfair

Overall, most participants commented that the NBA is not a competitively balanced league
but there were differences in their believed severity. Some participants remarked that the
fact that the last 4 NBA finals were played between the same team is a testament to how
unbalanced the league is. In rebuttal, participants mentioned that the playoffs each year had
been very competitive, especially in the later rounds and the same teams meeting in the
Finals was a simple coincidence.
4.5.2 On the Uncertainty of Outcome Hypothesis and Impact on Viewership
Like the literature, uncertainty of outcome initially appeared to be a divisive topic. Firstly, a
slight majority of participants agreed with the hypothesis but in varying degrees.
Participants also talked about the unique challenge that NBA fans face in India due to the
timings of live broadcasts:
I agree with the uncertainty of outcome hypothesis because if you think that a team’s going to be
dominated, you will not leave that one weekend morning to watch that game

… if just two teams are playing, we would only want to watch the match if we know that the
outcome is not certain, at least for me… competition is a huge part of sports (See Transcription
Appendix )

I wouldn’t feel like waking up early to see a match at 5-6 am if I know that the match won’t even be
competitive.

On the other hand, there were some participants that referred to themselves as “die hard
fans” or “fans of the game” which commented that they would watch the games regardless,
due to one of two reason, either the team that they support was playing, or that they were
fans of the sport itself and that the outcome of the game was not of high importance to
them:
I am a die hard fan of the Chicago Bulls. So if I could watch every game, I would, lose or win. (See
Transcription Appendix )

I just love watching basketball so I don’t really care which teams are playing, I just watch because it’s
fun and I get to learn new things
However, even these participants agreed that on the long term, if there was a sustained lack
of competitive balance, it might have an impact on their viewership. On the whole, some
sort of consensus was reached that competitive balance does matter for viewership, at least
in some way. It was in the ensuing discussions however, that some interesting observations
were made.
4.5.3 Mitigating Factors
This point in the discussion presented an intriguing situation. By their own admission,
participants felt like the NBA did not present a scenario of high competitive balance. On the
other hand, some consensus was reached that competitive balance is somewhat important
to long term viewership. However, when they were asked whether this has impacted their
viewership so far, almost all participants said no. It was as this point that, after some
probing, the reason for such behaviour was revealed. Participants identified 2 key reasons
why their viewership remained or might remain unaffected even in a scenario of low
competitive balance. These two reasons have hereafter been referred to as mitigating
factors. The 2 factors are:
1. Presence of Star Players
2. High Magnitude Games
The same 2 factors came up time and time again in all the discussions about why lack of
competitive balance has not already affected the viewership of the fans.
4.5.4 Presence of Star Players
Participants commented that the presence of certain types of star players were enough for
them to find a game intriguing:
…even if a weak team is playing but one good player is there, I would probably watch that match.
(See Transcription Appendix )

Even though players like Anthony Davis and the Greek Freak are stuck on bad teams, I still like to
watch their matches because they are so talented and make the game so entertaining

I used to watch Sacremento’s games even when I knew they were about to get blown out because
they had Cousins.

Participant’s believed that some star players were as big a draw for their viewership as the
game itself.
4.5.5 High Magnitude Games
Games which had a lot at stake also appeared to be a big factor in not letting competitive
imbalance impact viewership. There was some disagreement on what exactly constituted as
a “high magnitude game” with opinions ranging from any playoff game to only the finals.
it depends on how important the match is. As in if it’s a playoff match… even if I know the team that
is dominating, …even then I would go and watch it. So the thing is how important the match is. So if
it’s the finals as it was between Warriors and Cavs, it was quite lopsided. Everyone knew that
Warriors would win but everyone turned up because its such an important match. It was the end of
the playoffs, the end of the season so that also matters. (See Transcription Appendix )

I think we all knew that the Cavs were gonna lose last year but we all still watched because it’s the
NBA Finals! Nobody cares if one team gets swept

However, it was later discovered that while playoff viewership had largely remained the
same to the aforementioned factors, regular season viewership patterns have seen some
change largely due to the low magnitude of games and less likelihood of the presence of a
star player on each team.
4.5.6 Discovering the Impact on Viewership
There was a particularly interesting comment that sparked much debate and helped reveal
how some participants’ viewership had indeed been affected in some way
I think my playoff viewership has been the same, but probably over the years, instead of watching
full regular season games, instead of that I just watch the highlights on YouTube. Regular season has
become a bit boring with the Warriors winning 60+ games every season

This comment was received with wide agreement from the group members with many
saying that they have started watching highlights as well. A similar comment was also made
in which a participant said that it’s much easier and less time-consuming to watch the
highlights on their mobile phones.
These youtube channels literally upload highlight videos within a couple of hours after the game so I
just catch the highlights in the morning instead of waking up so early

When asked where on YouTube were they watching the highlights, the participants
mentioned some YouTube channels, for example MLG Highlights and Free Dawkings. Most
participants seemed aware of such alternatives and were actively using them. On further
investigation, it was revealed that these channels were actually infringing on NBA copyrights
while uploading these videos and these semi-legal YouTube channels were possibly making
millions of dollars in revenue (Winkie, 2016). In the past, the NBA had been quite strict on
the issue and a lot of such channels were taken down, but the NBA’s new commissioner,
Adam Silver, believes that these channels are good for the reaching new consumers beyond
the NBA’s reach and help make NBA a more global brand (Yang, 2017). This led to a more lax
policy on the NBA’s part to crack down on copyright infringement (Yang, 2017).
Nevertheless, it became clear that these channels are making revenue that the NBA could
be making if they invested in such a service.

4.6 Conclusion
In conclusion, most fans believed the NBA to be a competitively imbalanced league, largely
due to the conference structure. Uncertainty of outcome was a divisive topic but there was
consensus that long term uncertainty of outcome is bad for viewership. While the
participants’ playoff viewership has largely remained unaffected due to the two mitigating
factors identified in the study: presence of star players and high magnitude games, there
seems to have been an impact on regular season viewership and many fans have switched
to highlights rather than watching full games.

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