NBA approves new media deals with Disney (ABC/ESPN), Comcast (NBC), and Amazon for 11 years, $77 billion. Update: NBA REJECTS WBD's (TNT Sports) deal

[mastermind]

This is what I mean by getting embarrassed in Higher Learning and then trying to plot in the sports section and getting embarrassed again.

This is how a bitter old man acts...

No, Eric. No. You should stay on topic.

 

[Saysumthinfunnymike]

No, Eric. No. You should stay on topic.

I've been on topic. I have no dog in the TV rights saga aside from TNT's coverage being far superior than everything else we've had for more than a decade and you agree with that because you posted it yourself. There's nothing else I'm "arguing"... Everything else was based around whether WBD had matching rights (they do), whether they would match Amazon's package (they did) and whether they would sue after it was rejected (they are).

 

[mastermind]

I've been on topic. I have no dog in the TV rights saga aside from TNT's coverage being far superior than everything else we've had for more than a decade and you agree with that because you posted it yourself. There's nothing else I'm "arguing"... Everything else was based around whether WBD had matching rights (they do), whether they would match Amazon's package (they did) and whether they would sue after it was rejected (they are).

i don‘t TNT’s coverage has been superior in a while. They have Harlin, but the rest have fallen off. The announcers can go anywhere. I’m also sure the production staff will get poached.

We will see if they can match, but this really feels like a ploy for a financial settlement by Warner.

 

[KateFabersBoyfriend]

that’s the problem with these kind of guys. They believe they are the smartest guy in the room when most have never played ,don’t really fit the demographic of the NBA’s fan base and are boring . You can add Hollinger and Lowe to that list . Hollinger got a GM job,failed and is still smug . This is without an athletic background at a high level…so why should we pay attention to him ? Lowe was that dude when he was just focusing on ESPN writing the moment he started getting on TV he’s started to sound like just another talking head ..while being grumpy and not funny ..

Yeah Bomani is smug but at least dude can be entertaining

Bill Simmons smug as hell but he clearly has connections so you can deal with it

These guys are smug with little real basketball experience,boring and just know a little bit of math .

Yeah, I just don't find Bomani or Bill Simmons redeemable. Well, Bomani is good in small doses. I haven't found Hollinger to be too smug but you can tell he has no plans on working in the NBA again. Bobby Marks is fairly humble.

I don't believe the barrier to entry to cover the NBA should be previous experience. Perk is one of the worst, the inside the NBA guys are pretty bad. I like Legler but he's kind of an anomaly.

I wonder if Rachel Nichols gets another shot.

 

[Saysumthinfunnymike]

We will see if they can match, but this really feels like a ploy for a financial settlement by Warner.

It likely is that. I don't think this goes the distance. But I don't think some people understand exactly what's going on here with WBD. AT&T was a disaster of a merger and Warner/Discovery was left with somewhere around $40B in debt which Zaslav has been shedding the past couple years. That's what the shareholders wanted him to do by any means necessary. Problem is the NBA is something he really needed to secure at least in the short term. It just got too expensive for them. They "matched" the offer because it's worth it to them to do so (Disney is also deep in debt themselves and they weren't going to let NBA slip away) just based on how much they bring in for advertising but down the road these contracts will not add up, advertising dollars are not going to cover what these contracts have become.

So WBD was either going to lose money now or fall deeper into debt later. I've felt since day one of Zaslav taking over that they are selling. Warner/Discovery was never going to be the longterm solution.

With the NBA, they never really wanted to stay on TNT. They want Amazon not because of "global reach". They want it because Amazon and Apple and Netflix are the only companies that will continue to pay these types of media rights down the road.

 

[No1]

There best argument is the approval process though. Them getting it approved prior to presenting it WB does give WB an argument the NBA wasn’t moving in good faith. Unless The NBA can show this was part of their normal business practices prior to this deal or a industry norm I think WB might win on that.

I don’t think the court will allow them to argue global customer base should be a factor. It might not have been said, but the very nature of a matching provision is usually based around cash, and maybe format. Factoring in reach in their argument lowkey shows gives a reason to argue that the NBA were not acting in good faith. They wanted to partner with more customers, not just an online portal. It looks like WB is arguing they can stream on their app and put the show on TV and that their service model is no different than Amazon except how plan to put more shows.

If WB wins they will be forced to play the NBA on MAX.

The NBA is governed by 30 governors, the argument that TNT has a right to match a proposal, as opposed to a bonafide offer doesn’t make sense. One could argue that the proposal should have been brought to them but from all public information they just stopped negotiating. Nowhere on that complaint does it say the NBA told them to leave the negotiating table or started ignoring them.

TNT themselves kept saying we have not seen an offer yet. They basically sat back after telling the NBA that they wouldn’t match NBC and tried to low ball them. The NBA then negotiated a new deal and TNT came back like aight we are matching that. Again, TNT had an exclusive negotiating window where nothing got done. They knew exactly what the NBA was doing.

FYI, Weil is one of the most elite firms in the country - true white shoe firm. Look at that complaint, there’s not much substance there because all the circumstances surrounding the negotiations don’t favor WB. They’re trying to limit it to narrow contract interpretation and are hoping that the courts side with them on that basis alone. It’s unlikely. Once you start introducing exhibits and attaching it the complaint, you give the NBA the greenlight to insert other information that paint the full picture.

The idea that the “NBA” sat on this for months to come up with a way to stop them from matching is convoluted. It doesn’t take that long to have a bunch of us research (attorneys) research the issue and write a memo. The NBA didn’t announce deals with ANY of its partners until just now. They presented all of the deals at the same time. The NBA can simply say that they had a framework and were working out details.

Not quite sure how you’re arguing that reach doesn’t factor into the argument. TNT themselves is literally trying to argue that putting it on Amazon limits the reach to consumers. The NBA’s deal with Amazon is not just to stream games during the season, Amazon will be handling the NBA’s production overseas. In other words, Amazon is bringing the NBA to a wider audience, is willing to pay an upfront premium and is handling international distribution rights.

WB would have to argue that merely matching the yearly cash average (with credit) and not matching Amazon’s structure is not required and that audience and international broadcasting are irrelevant.

 

[Left.A1]

The NBA is right to move on from it. Chuck, Kenny and Ernie are all in their 60s and nearing retirement. They were already grooming the likes of Draymond amongst others to takeover the role and they all stunk.

NBA legends trashing the quality of the League, bemoaning how much the game sucked and even telling fans to avoid certain games was bad for business anyway.

If the League starts getting quality coverage like the NFL or the English Premier League does then it'll be better for basketball in the long term. Hopefully we get less loudmouths, hot take artists and buffoons. And more of the Ryan Clark, Dan Orlovsky, Tim Legler type.

Exactly that shyt show was embarrassing...

Barkley was gonna be paid 210 million over 10 years to talk shyt about the league he barely watched..

I see why he would be pissed....that was the easiest money being made in professional broadcasting.

yet you got his groupies in here thinking that he’s a freedom fighter for the will of the people

 

[Left.A1]

I don’t doubt that - they wanted a streaming partner with reach (Netflix, Amazon, etc.). But TNT/WB being out of it was a result of them not thinking the NBA would get that NBC bag. Note they kept saying that NBC overpaid - NBC has their old package. The package Amazon has is basically brand new and is a result of the NBA wanting to expand further. The second NBC came through and ABC reupped - they were done.

I would argue that they came to the negotiating table in bad faith. Their chief executive even tried to bury the value of their partner by saying how much they “didn’t need” them to the public …. That feels like he was trying to manipulate would be partners from dealing with the NBA for the price they wanted …. They are were they are right now by choice

 

[Left.A1]

Inside the NBA always interviews Adam Silver on opening night. Can’t wait to see him squirm or if he just backs out altogether because Chuck will have zero filter the last year on TNT.

It doesn’t really matter it won’t change the fact that the show is dead

 

[Skooby]

How old are you? Regardless, you will get all the ABC, NBC and ESPN games.

The homey @Skooby a healthy 37

I'm 47.

Not you too Skooby. What happened

The game isn't what it used to be. The product is worse. Who's calling the game and talking at halftime keeps me engaged. TNT does it better than anybody else when it comes to NBA. ESPN and ABC is straight garbage.

 

[Left.A1]

Yall putting gas on this Barkley shyt .

All of the big NBA media names do an extremely poor job at putting the game in the best light . Barkley ,Stephen A Smith ,Skip,Perk,Gilbert all have done and said extremely goofy shyt . Even guys that were once legit like Zach Lowe and Givony (draft shyt) have fell off .


Y’all sit up and act like yall want NBA coverage to be 30 minutes of “Thinking Basketball” type coverage ..yall don’t even watch that shyt now . The Starters were doing non-controversial nba coverage and we called em corny .


I hope Guys like Teague,Kenny Beecham and Melo get a shot somewhere in the new landscape .

You like that clown ass shyt good for you, the league obviously is ready to move on and that’s all that matters.

 

[Left.A1]

People say this but ratings for serious sports talk is in the basement.

Something isn’t adding up.

Ratings for shytty hot take shows are in the basement …that’s why Skip Bayless just got fired

 

[Bryan Danielson]

I'm 47.

That’s what I meant

 

[FakeNews]

Fans already love Noah Eagle-Dwyane Wade broadcast combo at the Olympics

Noah Eagle and Dwyane Wade debuted to rave reviews at the Olympics on Saturday, perhaps providing a preview of the NBA on NBC in 2025.

awfulannouncing.com

NBC is celebrating the coming return of the NBA beginning in 2025, but fans may be getting a bit of a preview of what’s to come at the 2024 Summer Olympics, namely in the top broadcast booth of Dwyane Wade and Noah Eagle.

Fans have been introduced to Noah Eagle over the last year as the son of Ian has burst onto the scene as probably the brightest young star in the sports broadcasting industry. Noah Eagle was the lead voice of Notre Dame football and even called an NFL playoff game with Todd Blackledge last year. But much like his father, he’s just as good at basketball and was named as the top play-by-play voice of Olympic play in Paris.

Joining him is Dwyane Wade, who left TNT in 2022 after a few years working for the network, mostly in a supporting studio role. Wade’s work at TNT was solid, but flew largely under the radar.

However, in Paris, fans are already taking note of the Wade-Eagle pairing and how well the two worked together while calling the France-Brazil game on SaturdayIn fact, the praise for Wade and Eagle had many fans looking forward to them potentially calling games for the NBA on NBC when the new media rights deals kick in for the 2025 season.







We already know that Mike Tirico is slotted in as the #1 play-by-play announcer for NBC when it takes over the NBA, but Noah Eagle and Dwyane Wade would be a fantastic second team… if NBC doesn’t want Wade at the top of their ticket.

However, even after one game it’s clear that Eagle and Wade have terrific chemistry and sound like they’ve been calling basketball together for years. Eagle’s work speaks for itself ever since he came onto the national scene. But Dwyane Wade was a revelation on Saturday. The Heat legend is a natural in the broadcast booth, mixing in great insights and humor with an incredibly smooth delivery. In fact, after hearing him alongside Eagle, it’s puzzling why TNT didn’t give Wade an extended run in that role.

Even though fans are mourning the potential loss of the NBA on TNT, it’s clear from these Olympics and the rave reviews for Noah Eagle and Dwyane Wade that the league’s game broadcasts are in good hands.

 

[Klawstrider]

Amazon gotta sign Harlan. He's the best play-by-play analyst.