Some NBA fans have resorted to hacking Zoom so they could watch games with friends

Mel Magazine

Group-watching Netflix became a pastime during the pandemic, but sports leagues have yet to catch up. "The problem strikes at the heart of a snowballing issue for the league," says Quinn Myers. "The NBA makes most of its money from contracts with ESPN and TNT, which combined for $24 billion in 2016, but its fanbase is increasingly composed of younger, online cord-cutters. And as cord-cutting is on the rise due to the financial crisis, the NBA’s reportedly 'alarmingly low' ratings don’t bode well for next season." Asked if there could be an alternative, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban told Myers: "It may not be a bad idea for the NBA to look at advertiser-supported streams and see if they make economic sense." Meanwhile, Myers found a friend who "MacGyver-ed a solution that allowed him to reconvene his family and friends scattered across L.A. around their beloved Lakers" that involved "'tricking' Zoom into thinking the video of the game streaming on his desktop is a physical webcam to avoid lag and quality loss, while configuring the 'conference bridge' as well."