Cuban said that fans planning to attend games will still come regardless of start timeGETTY IMAGES
Mavericks Owner Mark Cuban said that it would be a "smart business practice" for the NBA to adjust the start times of games to "cater to the largest potential television audience," according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. Cuban said, "What is the best start time for ratings? Because we don't have to worry about people showing up for the games -- whatever time we make it, they're going to show up." He added that fans who would "attend a game live would make the proper adjustments to attend a playoff game or a Finals tilt for the draw of that experience no matter what time" the game started. Cuban also said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver "said it clear as day: We make far more money off of television than we do from tickets." Cuban alluded to the NBA's recent TV deal with ESPN and TNT that runs through '24-25 and is worth a reported $2.66B annually, saying, "That's our biggest customer." More Cuban: "Given the changes with streaming and everything and the demographic makeup of television, we've got to give that a lot of careful consideration. You want to optimize for television first" (ESPN.com, 6/5).