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New NBA TV negotiations

Posted: Mon Apr 22, 2024 7:29 pm
by dougthonus
https://theathletic.com/5430093/2024/04/22/nba-tv-rights-amazon-nbc/?source=user_shared_article&access_token=8791271&redirected=1

The athletic is a subscription service, so sorry if you can't see all the article, but some interesting stuff here.

Ignoring the commentary about who will get what, one theme is super awesome and very prominent. The NBA wants to ditch the affiliate model and give consumers who don't have cable the option to see all games and stop local blackouts.

A couple quotes:
The NBA will broach the idea of partnering with ESPN, Amazon, Apple, Google/YouTube TV — maybe more than one of them — to potentially offer local games direct to consumers. However, one prominent model being contemplated would not offer exclusive rights to these outlets, according to executives briefed on the plans.

For example, in New York, the Knicks are available on cable through MSG Network or with MSGN’s direct-to-consumer subscription app. The NBA could try to sell Knicks games directly to fans on a local level, as a season pass or per game. MSGN offers the same type of service, but also includes other programming.

The NBA’s idea would be to have as many fans have access to the games as possible as cable diminishes.

Re: New NBA TV negotiations

Posted: Mon Apr 22, 2024 7:47 pm
by patryk7754
dougthonus wrote:https://theathletic.com/5430093/2024/04/22/nba-tv-rights-amazon-nbc/?source=user_shared_article&access_token=8791271&redirected=1

Ignoring the commentary about who will get what, one theme is super awesome and very prominent. The NBA wants to ditch the affiliate model and give consumers who don't have cable the option to see all games and stop local blackouts.

Wow, I thought this next deal would be more restrictive with all the subscription services (following the NFL with the Peacock game). But it looks like they are following the lead of the Jazz(?). I believe they made all their home games available on local TV

Re: New NBA TV negotiations

Posted: Mon Apr 22, 2024 9:28 pm
by kodo
They really have to. They're missing out on so many fans who simply won't deal w/ the local blackout nonsense, and the youngest gens never grew up with cable.

Re: New NBA TV negotiations

Posted: Tue Apr 23, 2024 2:47 am
by League Circles
Yeah a direct stream w/out blackouts would be ideal, but the service has got to be robust. I tried espn streaming app for the last two games and it was very poor quality both times. Nowhere near something like netflix, youtube, or even amazon quality.

Re: New NBA TV negotiations

Posted: Tue Apr 23, 2024 12:26 pm
by dougthonus
League Circles wrote:Yeah a direct stream w/out blackouts would be ideal, but the service has got to be robust. I tried espn streaming app for the last two games and it was very poor quality both times. Nowhere near something like netflix, youtube, or even amazon quality.


I haven't tried any of the minor streaming apps that may stink, but the important thing is thematically they want to have a direct option, and this should be available 25/26 season, so only one more season without it. Even if the platform isn't initially high quality, the fact they will have legal rights to do it means that the platform can always improve year over year.

I'm hoping that it's effectively just league pass without blackouts. I'd be all over it, and it'd save me about $700 a year.

Re: New NBA TV negotiations

Posted: Tue Apr 23, 2024 1:03 pm
by nekorajo
dougthonus wrote:
League Circles wrote:Yeah a direct stream w/out blackouts would be ideal, but the service has got to be robust. I tried espn streaming app for the last two games and it was very poor quality both times. Nowhere near something like netflix, youtube, or even amazon quality.


I haven't tried any of the minor streaming apps that may stink, but the important thing is thematically they want to have a direct option, and this should be available 25/26 season, so only one more season without it. Even if the platform isn't initially high quality, the fact they will have legal rights to do it means that the platform can always improve year over year.

I'm hoping that it's effectively just league pass without blackouts. I'd be all over it, and it'd save me about $700 a year.


Agreed. I only have YouTube TV for Bulls games.

Re: New NBA TV negotiations

Posted: Tue Apr 23, 2024 4:14 pm
by Nate3carp
If something like this comes to fruition, I wonder what that means for local channels (in our case Comcast Sports Chicago). Does the TV station "sell" their broadcast to the NBA? Certainly the NBA isn't going to have their own broadcast to compete against the local channels, right? I guess I don't really care as long as we don't end up losing Adam and Stacy out of this!

Re: New NBA TV negotiations

Posted: Tue Apr 23, 2024 4:58 pm
by jnrjr79
Nate3carp wrote:If something like this comes to fruition, I wonder what that means for local channels (in our case Comcast Sports Chicago). Does the TV station "sell" their broadcast to the NBA? Certainly the NBA isn't going to have their own broadcast to compete against the local channels, right? I guess I don't really care as long as we don't end up losing Adam and Stacy out of this!


I would think NBCSN just shuts down if it doesn't have the rights to the Sox, Bulls, and Hawks. They've already laid tons of people off and cut back on their studio content. What would they be left with? A couple of talk shows and poker reruns?

As to Adam and Stacy, it would just be up to the new TV group to hire or not hire them.

Re: New NBA TV negotiations

Posted: Tue Apr 23, 2024 5:27 pm
by dougthonus
Nate3carp wrote:If something like this comes to fruition, I wonder what that means for local channels (in our case Comcast Sports Chicago). Does the TV station "sell" their broadcast to the NBA? Certainly the NBA isn't going to have their own broadcast to compete against the local channels, right? I guess I don't really care as long as we don't end up losing Adam and Stacy out of this!


it is an interesting contractual question for teams which already have rich local contracts based on the clauses within those contracts.

Re: New NBA TV negotiations

Posted: Fri May 3, 2024 7:08 pm
by kodo
If NBC successfully replaces TNT, the Inside the NBA crew will be broken up.

NBCU is planning to bid $2.5 a year for rights to the games, according to the Wall Street Journal. If the offer is successful, the company would supplant media rival Warner Bros. Discovery, whose TBS and TNT cable networks began carrying NBA games in 1988. TNT has been the flagship Turner network associated with pro basketball, with its Inside the NBA the gold standard of sports studio shows, since 1989.


Ernie will stay with TNT without the NBA, Barkley will sign a new deal to cover the NBA with another program or do something else entirely.

While Charles Barkley is a certain broadcast free agent if Warner Bros. Discovery loses its NBA package following the 2024-25 season, industry sources said Thursday that co-host Ernie Johnson would remain at Turner either way -- meaning next season could be the last for TNT’s award-winning studio show "Inside the NBA."


That would be sad, the TNT crew has been the greatest NBA program in history. I guess everything comes to an end

Re: New NBA TV negotiations

Posted: Fri May 3, 2024 7:18 pm
by jnrjr79
Tough call: bring back Roundball Rock or preserve Inside the NBA?

Re: New NBA TV negotiations

Posted: Sat May 4, 2024 3:27 am
by HomoSapien
NBA knows how important Inside the NBA is. It wouldn't surprise me if we see TNT get half the games they get now with NBC splitting the rest.

Re: New NBA TV negotiations

Posted: Sat May 4, 2024 3:07 pm
by prolific passer
jnrjr79 wrote:Tough call: bring back Roundball Rock or preserve Inside the NBA?

I believe many want to keep on TNT but get it off of ESPN/ABC.

Re: New NBA TV negotiations

Posted: Sat May 4, 2024 4:10 pm
by dougthonus
prolific passer wrote:
jnrjr79 wrote:Tough call: bring back Roundball Rock or preserve Inside the NBA?

I believe many want to keep on TNT but get it off of ESPN/ABC.


At this point, doesn't seem like that option is on the table. Sounds like they have agreements with Disney (ABC/ESPN) and Amazon already and are just going back and forth with NBC / TNT for the final grouping.

Re: New NBA TV negotiations

Posted: Sat May 4, 2024 4:31 pm
by Charlesareed
dougthonus wrote:
prolific passer wrote:
jnrjr79 wrote:Tough call: bring back Roundball Rock or preserve Inside the NBA?

I believe many want to keep on TNT but get it off of ESPN/ABC.


At this point, doesn't seem like that option is on the table. Sounds like they have agreements with Disney (ABC/ESPN) and Amazon already and are just going back and forth with NBC / TNT for the final grouping.



It would be best to take it off ESPN/abc Disney thing is abc is broadcast television not cable that’s why the wavy nbc it would be a massive mistake to leave tnt tho tbh the nba has been on tnt for over 40 years

Re: New NBA TV negotiations

Posted: Sat May 4, 2024 4:39 pm
by dougthonus
Charlesareed wrote:It would be best to take it off ESPN/abc Disney thing is abc is broadcast television not cable that’s why the wavy nbc it would be a massive mistake to leave tnt tho tbh the nba has been on tnt for over 40 years


I would guess the NBA would view it as being a massive mistake to leave money on the table and view the channel it airs on as basically a commodity option.

Re: New NBA TV negotiations

Posted: Sat May 4, 2024 5:10 pm
by prolific passer
Charlesareed wrote:
dougthonus wrote:
prolific passer wrote:I believe many want to keep on TNT but get it off of ESPN/ABC.


At this point, doesn't seem like that option is on the table. Sounds like they have agreements with Disney (ABC/ESPN) and Amazon already and are just going back and forth with NBC / TNT for the final grouping.



It would be best to take it off ESPN/abc Disney thing is abc is broadcast television not cable that’s why the wavy nbc it would be a massive mistake to leave tnt tho tbh the nba has been on tnt for over 40 years

People want it off ESPN/ABC because they haven't liked their coverage since going over there. Doesn't help that their first few NBA finals were 2 of the lowest in NBA history.

Re: New NBA TV negotiations

Posted: Sat May 4, 2024 10:23 pm
by kodo
The X factor here is that TNT is now owned by Discovery and Zaslav. He's been ... interesting as a CEO. He doesn't seem to really be all that passionate about what they bought. His background is incredibly different...a lot of reality TV shows. He sees HBO/Warner Bros/TNT as mainly a revenue stream. He's the Jerry Reinsdorf of content CEOs.

He said we don't need the NBA, when their existing deal is $1.2B per year. The deal they have to beat is $2.5B a year.

https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2022/11/nba-future-tnt-questioned-david-zaslav-warner-bros-discovery/

The NBA’s future with its longest-tenured partner could be in question under penny-pinching Warner boss David Zaslav.

Discussing the rising cost of sports media rights at a conference Tuesday, Zaslav said Warner Bros. Discovery (formerly WarnerMedia) has favorable deals for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, NHL and Major League Baseball Postseason and that “we don’t have to have the NBA,” per Joe Flint of The Wall Street Journal.

The NBA is by far the most expensive of Warner’s sports properties at an average of $1.2 billion per year...

Zaslav has made a reputation for cost-cutting in a short time running Warner Bros. Discovery, at one point cancelling a fully-finished film in order to write off the costs of production.

Re: New NBA TV negotiations

Posted: Sat May 4, 2024 10:32 pm
by Michael Jackson
kodo wrote:The X factor here is that TNT is now owned by Discovery and Zaslav. He's been ... interesting as a CEO. He doesn't seem to really be all that passionate about what they bought. His background is incredibly different...a lot of reality TV shows. He sees HBO/Warner Bros/TNT as mainly a revenue stream. He's the Jerry Reinsdorf of content CEOs.

He said we don't need the NBA, when their existing deal is $1.2B per year. The deal they have to beat is $2.5B a year.

https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2022/11/nba-future-tnt-questioned-david-zaslav-warner-bros-discovery/

The NBA’s future with its longest-tenured partner could be in question under penny-pinching Warner boss David Zaslav.

Discussing the rising cost of sports media rights at a conference Tuesday, Zaslav said Warner Bros. Discovery (formerly WarnerMedia) has favorable deals for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, NHL and Major League Baseball Postseason and that “we don’t have to have the NBA,” per Joe Flint of The Wall Street Journal.

The NBA is by far the most expensive of Warner’s sports properties at an average of $1.2 billion per year...

Zaslav has made a reputation for cost-cutting in a short time running Warner Bros. Discovery, at one point cancelling a fully-finished film in order to write off the costs of production.



Poor Bat Girl

Re: New NBA TV negotiations

Posted: Sun May 5, 2024 5:44 pm
by HomoSapien
Zaslav sucks. Big reason for why the Hollywood strike lasted as long as it did and also robbed us of more Michael Keaton as Batman.