Amazon Prime Acquires NBA Broadcast Package // TNT & NBC Update PG 4

[2019nbachamps]

So in order to watch some regular season games, people will need to pay for Amazon Prime?

Lame. And yeah, Silver hasn't been great either and players getting richer isn't an accomplishment. Gambling commercials, spreads and other sleazy crap constantly in your face, commercials in between free throws, no defence and easy fouls for stars, ridiculous scores and endless offence, completely irrelevant All-Star games, wearing road uniforms at home and weird ass alternate jerseys, horrendous officiating et al.

No, Amazon has acquired the rights to some games. Espn, tnt, abc, local broadcast channels, and likely more streamers will also show games. Plus we’ll still have NBA league pass. Basically Amazon and the streamers will be competing with ESPN/TNT/ABC for national games. Fans can still get league pass for national coverage and will still need to rely on local broadcasts for their home teams.

The advantage to fans for getting Amazon or other streaming services is those companies include other shows/movies and in Amazon’s case, free music and free shipping. Obviously NBA league pass only shows you basketball games.

More choice and access is good for fans. The downside is we’ll continue to need multiple services to watch all the games we want.

The problem is that if you're someone who is paying for cable, you're getting screwed because suddenly you won't get all the games on your cable package anymore, you'll have to buy a separate service to see every game. So saying "continue to need multiple services" is inaccurate, because right now just having a reasonable cable package gets you every Raptors game and every NBA playoff game, that won't be the case in the future.

Is there a cable tv package that currently gives you access to every single NBA game?

[WaltFrazier]

This is good news for fans. The only annoying thing is other streamers like Google/Apple will also get rights. You’ll still need to have a mix of streaming/cable services to watch all the games. I’m hoping one day the streamers buy up the rights and offer the games for free (they can then monetize your data by selling it to advertisers). I’m sure this is where their heads are at but it’s probably not financially viable at this point.

Yeah sure will be great when everything is free

[WaltFrazier]

No, Amazon has acquired the rights to some games. Espn, tnt, abc, local broadcast channels, and likely more streamers will also show games. Plus we’ll still have NBA league pass. Basically Amazon and the streamers will be competing with ESPN/TNT/ABC for national games. Fans can still get league pass for national coverage and will still need to rely on local broadcasts for their home teams.

The advantage to fans for getting Amazon or other streaming services is those companies include other shows/movies and in Amazon’s case, free music and free shipping. Obviously NBA league pass only shows you basketball games.

More choice and access is good for fans. The downside is we’ll continue to need multiple services to watch all the games we want.

The problem is that if you're someone who is paying for cable, you're getting screwed because suddenly you won't get all the games on your cable package anymore, you'll have to buy a separate service to see every game. So saying "continue to need multiple services" is inaccurate, because right now just having a reasonable cable package gets you every Raptors game and every NBA playoff game, that won't be the case in the future.

Is there a cable tv package that currently gives you access to every single NBA game?

No but Rogers and Bell give you every Raptor game and every playoff game as he said, plus many other RS games. Which is plenty

[Chandan]

Great news for me

[WuTang_OG]

Read on Twitter

The league’s negotiations with its streaming and TV partners are fluid, and the parties are still haggling over who gets rights to air the most high-profile games and series. Amazon is likely to get a share of the Conference Finals alongside the other partners, and Disney’s ABC is on track to retain the rights to the NBA Finals, some of the people said.

Warner’s TNT has the ability to try to match rival offers, people familiar with its pact said.

For Warner, the loss of the NBA would be a blow to the strength of its TNT cable network at the same time it is being hurt by cord-cutting and a shrinking advertising marketplace.

TNT still has a heavy roster of sports, including the NCAA March Madness college-basketball tournament, the NHL and Nascar. Without the NBA, though, Warner could have a harder time charging distributors as much for carriage of its channels. Warner’s networks currently bring in about $3 a month per cable customer, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Warner Chief Executive David Zaslav has emphasized cost savings and had indicated on calls with analysts that while securing NBA rights is important, the company would be disciplined in its approach to a new deal.

If Warner loses NBA rights, that would injure the planned sports-streaming venture the company is launching alongside Disney and Fox. Carrying NBA games was to be one of its key selling points.

Read on Twitter

[gp2015]

Remember when Raptor games were on basic tv channels like CityTV/The New VR?

Now to watch the Jays, you need Apple TV for some games and now Prime Video for NBA.

Pretty soon, you'll need Netflix, Disney+, Netflix, Apple TV, Prime Video to watch specific games.

[mrdressup]

The techno platforms starting to make inroads everywhere. This is Yannis Varoufakis' post capitalist techno feudal economy developing before our eyes. The money hungry fools laugh as they think they're doing great deals in the service of the game of basketball. You'll understand the inflationary pressures that will come from this later. The predatory data mining leaders aren't what I would call the best people to get in bed with. Caveat Emptor. Don't shovel your money to the wrong people in the name of getting your fix.

[TheAlchemist23]

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

The roundball rock song is owned by Fox sports now

[brownbobcat]

I feel like Silver's reign will be viewed poorly in hindsight.

How so? Prime video right now without ads, costs 3$/mo. If he finds a way for me to be able to watch the NBA in very good quality, and I don't have to pay Rogers 50-100$/mo for **** TV services and a bunch of crap I don't want, who tf am I to complain.

You can dunk on him for a lot of stuff, I don't understand how this is one of them.

I highly doubt Silver's end game is to make the NBA cheaper for fans.

[will]

Nah. I'll watch the Prem, Series A and La Liga.

[Scase]

I feel like Silver's reign will be viewed poorly in hindsight.

How so? Prime video right now without ads, costs 3$/mo. If he finds a way for me to be able to watch the NBA in very good quality, and I don't have to pay Rogers 50-100$/mo for **** TV services and a bunch of crap I don't want, who tf am I to complain.

You can dunk on him for a lot of stuff, I don't understand how this is one of them.

I highly doubt Silver's end game is to make the NBA cheaper for fans.

He doesnt care about the cost, he cares about how much the broadcasters will pay him for the rights. It's up to the broadcasters to care about the cost. This just seems mutually beneficial.

[WuTang_OG]

TNT needs to match
inside the nba too funny

[Jay240]

TNT needs to match
inside the nba too funny

I'm not 100% sure but I'd assume if they don't match and there's no NBA on TNT, those contracts will be terminated. Making those guys free agents.

[ishoy123]

I feel like Silver's reign will be viewed poorly in hindsight.

Uh why?

[ishoy123]

Remember when Raptor games were on basic tv channels like CityTV/The New VR?

Now to watch the Jays, you need Apple TV for some games and now Prime Video for NBA.

Pretty soon, you'll need Netflix, Disney+, Netflix, Apple TV, Prime Video to watch specific games.

Ok well just get Prime and League Pass if you want to watch like Utah vs New Orleans on a random Thursday night.

I'd be very surprised if this deal changed the distribution of the Raptors local games.

[MadDogSHWA]

I use to work for SN Now and I've following Amazon Prime Live streaming hiring, they've done a ton of hiring the last couple of years for live streaming. I wanted to work there They're primed to take over a lot of rights in the coming years.

I see what you did there.

[ciueli]

I feel like Silver's reign will be viewed poorly in hindsight.

Uh why?

- Gambling taking over the NBA.
- The degree to which ads are crammed into broadcasts (on court ads, jersey patches, in game ads).
- The 3 point explosion, there's been little to nothing done to address it.
- Players don't care about the All-Star game and it's basically unwatchable.
- Timeouts, coach's challenge, and video review making the ends of games take forever.
- Play in tournament (some people like it but some hate it because it makes the regular season less meaningful).

Now we can throw this onto the pile: forcing people to subscribe to a streaming service owned by a company with controversial business practices to watch games.

[brownbobcat]

How so? Prime video right now without ads, costs 3$/mo. If he finds a way for me to be able to watch the NBA in very good quality, and I don't have to pay Rogers 50-100$/mo for **** TV services and a bunch of crap I don't want, who tf am I to complain.

You can dunk on him for a lot of stuff, I don't understand how this is one of them.

I highly doubt Silver's end game is to make the NBA cheaper for fans.

He doesnt care about the cost, he cares about how much the broadcasters will pay him for the rights. It's up to the broadcasters to care about the cost. This just seems mutually beneficial.

Same thing at the end of the day. You don't pay a sky-high valuation for an asset without intending to monetize even more.

[ontnut]

I feel like Silver's reign will be viewed poorly in hindsight.

Uh why?

- Gambling taking over the NBA.
- The degree to which ads are crammed into broadcasts (on court ads, jersey patches, in game ads).
- The 3 point explosion, there's been little to nothing done to address it.
- Players don't care about the All-Star game and it's basically unwatchable.
- Timeouts, coach's challenge, and video review making the ends of games take forever.
- Play in tournament (some people like it but some hate it because it makes the regular season less meaningful).

Now we can throw this onto the pile: forcing people to subscribe to a streaming service owned by a company with controversial business practices to watch games.

- Gambling taking over the NBA. <--- I think this was inevitable, the NBA just dove head first into it. It's been a long time coming with daily fantasy leagues taking over for the last decade or two. I don't particularly like how MUCH of it is around, but gambling ads were all over youtube basketball videos and stuff before it became legal in the NBA. I think they will eventually tone down the frequence of gambling ads, but with the NBA being such a counting stat based sport, I do think it was inevitable.

- The degree to which ads are crammed into broadcasts (on court ads, jersey patches, in game ads). <--- Also inevitable, most pro leagues have tons of ads on the playing surface/jerseys/broadcast. Nothing new here.

- The 3 point explosion, there's been little to nothing done to address it. <--- I'm not sure what Silver can do to fix that beyond entirely changing the game by lengthening the 3ptline (which I doubt most fans want to see).

- Players don't care about the All-Star game and it's basically unwatchable. <--- True, but that's not really Silver's fault. It was an issue before he took over. There's no clear fix to this because it's pretty hard to incentivize the top stars in the league monetarily, vs. the risk of injury. NHL ASG is the same, as is the Pro Bowl...

- Timeouts, coach's challenge, and video review making the ends of games take forever. <--- I think the challenge/video review system could use tweaking, but the fact that we have them at all I think is beneficial to the league vs. before where sh*tty calls just stood because there was nothing you could do about it. I think that's a PLUS for Silver, not a negative.

- Play in tournament (some people like it but some hate it because it makes the regular season less meaningful). <---For the most part I think it has been a success. Typically, the best teams still make it in, and the RS was not as meaningful anyway beyond getting HCA in the first round. The top 4 still play hard to secure HCA, 5-6th seeds play hard to avoid the PIT, and teams from 7-12 or so continue to play hard for the chance at the PIT. I think it actually makes the RS MORE meaningful vs. what we had before with teams anywhere from 9th seed onward actively trying to tank.

[Scase]

I highly doubt Silver's end game is to make the NBA cheaper for fans.

He doesnt care about the cost, he cares about how much the broadcasters will pay him for the rights. It's up to the broadcasters to care about the cost. This just seems mutually beneficial.

Same thing at the end of the day. You don't pay a sky-high valuation for an asset without intending to monetize even more.

For sure there is a direct link, but for the foreseeable future, the acquisition cost from Amazon is not about monetizing it now, but rather later once they've monopolized it. Prime video was part of prime for years, and only recently did they start adding ads to shows, and even then, the cost to remove those is 3$/mo. I'll take that over the current cost of watching games.