‘Basketball Wives LA’: Ratings Are Down, VH1 Series Moves To New Time Slot To Avoid Competing With ‘Power’?
Basketball Wives LA premiered Season 5 last Sunday with a cast that should have brought back fans of the VH1 reality show in droves. Unfortunately, the first show of the new season only drew about half the viewers as the Season 4 premiere. It has since been announced that BBWLA will move to a new time slot in an effort to draw a bigger crowd since many believe the premiere of the Starz hit Power debuted on the same day and time.
Some are reporting that the thrill is gone and that’s why Basketball Wives LA ratings are tanking during Season 5. Others have suggested that the dip in viewers can be blamed on a really bad time slot. Many fans admitted to skipping out on reality TV in order to enjoy the return of Power which also debuted on the same night and at the same time. Either way, fans will find out soon enough if the VH1 reality show can stay afloat because it’s being moved to a new time slot in an attempt to bring back viewers.
Duh! Power comes on the same time RT @GlobalGrind: ‘Basketball Wives LA’ lost more than half of its viewers???? https://t.co/IPCektiZ34
— Bob Lee Swagger (@LilMissChynki) July 22, 2016
The Root gave a breakdown of Season 5 and the cast members who came with the newest BBWLA offering. From the way they are describing the group, it sounds like Angel Love is replacing Season 3’s Brittish Williams with the “on a break” story and proclamations that she doesn’t want to know about his cheating ways. Meanwhile, they also questioned the addition of Brandi Maxiell’s BFF DJ Duffey, who is dating a basketball agent, not an actual player.
Has anyone pointed out that literally none of the Basketball Wives LA cast are actually basketball wives? Jackie Christie comes the closest with her longtime husband Dough Christie, but even he is a basketball retiree and has been for years. Shaunie O’Neal, Tami Roman, and Malaysia Pargo are actually basketball divorcees, but their ex-spouses don’t even play in the NBA anymore.
Global Grind reported that Season 4 of BBWLA had 1.9 million viewers tune in for the premiere. In stark contrast, Season 5 only netted the VH1 reality series about 500,000 viewers. That’s a huge change from one season to the next, especially when the show only lost one major star. Of course, that happened to be Draya Michele, the most popular woman on the show. Did the ratings drop because of Draya’s departure? Certainly, she’d like to believe that, but fans have a much different theory.
Full Sunday cable ratings now up, including “Ballers,” “Vice Principals” & “Basketball Wives LA” as well as “Power.” https://t.co/36Z9CFWBa2
— TVbytheNumbers.com (@TVbytheNumbers) July 19, 2016
Last Sunday was a huge day for series premieres with one of the most anticipated returns being Season 3 of Power on Starz. Unfortunately for Basketball Wives LA, the two shows happened to debut at the same exact time and also happen to have a similar fan base. Many BBWLA fans were forced to choose which show they watched first and since VH1 always replays their reality shows at least twice later in the night, it’s a pretty good guess which one people watched first.
The Power Season 3 premiere was so popular that just days later, Starz reported that the show had already been renewed for Seasons 4 and 5 before the second episode of Season 3 even aired. That’s pretty telling when it comes to the real reason behind the huge drop in the BBWLA ratings between this season and the last.
The true test will come on Sunday when VH1 plans to air Basketball Wives an hour early. It’s a smart move on their part and a great test to see just how loyal their reality TV fans are because they also plan to air Episode 3 right behind it in competition with Power again. This will be the true test to see if BBWLA can stay afloat this season and bring back their fans. Will you be watching?
[Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images]
