2024 NBA Offseason News

[Phantom255x]

Sounds like Tirico is going to be the A team announcer for NBC. Assume Breen will remain A team for ESPN/ABC.  Hopefully, Amazon snags Harlan as their A team guy.  It'd be a real shame to have NBA telecasts without Harlan.

There's also a report that ESPN is going to make a run at the entire "Inside the NBA" crew.  Given how bad the NBA on ESPN shows have been, I'd take this in a heartbeat although it'd be weird as heck seeing that crew on ESPN/ABC.

Yeah they need the Inside the NBA crew. Sorry but no one is tuning into the pregame and halftime shows just to see Stephen A. Smith yelling and openly cheering the Knicks for NY broadcasts too. Then Myers just telling the world that the Warriors were interested in every elite player at the draft. And even those parts take a total of only 2 minutes, then it's commercials again the entire time.

[BitterJim]

Sounds like Tirico is going to be the A team announcer for NBC. Assume Breen will remain A team for ESPN/ABC.  Hopefully, Amazon snags Harlan as their A team guy.  It'd be a real shame to have NBA telecasts without Harlan.

There's also a report that ESPN is going to make a run at the entire "Inside the NBA" crew.  Given how bad the NBA on ESPN shows have been, I'd take this in a heartbeat although it'd be weird as heck seeing that crew on ESPN/ABC.

I don't look forward to 39 second clips of the Inside the NBA guys followed by 5 minutes of commercials. Nobody could succeed in the format ESPN allows (though I'm sure the Inside the NBA guys would be at least a small improvement)

I'd rather see them go to NBC or Amazon

[bdm860]

Sounds like Tirico is going to be the A team announcer for NBC. Assume Breen will remain A team for ESPN/ABC.  Hopefully, Amazon snags Harlan as their A team guy.  It'd be a real shame to have NBA telecasts without Harlan.

There's also a report that ESPN is going to make a run at the entire "Inside the NBA" crew.  Given how bad the NBA on ESPN shows have been, I'd take this in a heartbeat although it'd be weird as heck seeing that crew on ESPN/ABC.

Yeah they need the Inside the NBA crew. Sorry but no one is tuning into the pregame and halftime shows just to see Stephen A. Smith yelling and openly cheering the Knicks for NY broadcasts too. Then Myers just telling the world that the Warriors were interested in every elite player at the draft. And even those parts take a total of only 2 minutes, then it's commercials again the entire time.

I'm very skeptical that Inside the NBA would work on ESPN. Barkley has joked about working for them before: "they're not going to work me like a dog and not pay me"

What makes Inside the NBA work, is the chemistry, fun, loose guidelines, unpredictableness of it all, which I think ESPN would instantly ruin.

ESPN would either neuter the show so much: forcing in their own people like Stephen A or Perk, limiting segment times to cut to commercial, forcing certain talking points while outlawing others, etc. it would ruin it.  Or ESPN would suck the life out of Barkley, causing him to mail it in or just walk away entirely.

I'd be hopeful they could work on Amazon maybe though.

edit - BitterJim beat me to it.

[kraidstar]

And here comes the lawsuit...

https://x.com/WALLACHLEGAL/status/1816868886727266763

http://BREAKING: TBS and Warner Brothers Discovery have just filed a lawsuit against the NBA in New York County Supreme Court over the league?s rejection of WBD?s attempted match of the Amazon media rights bid

I'm a little confused on this. WBD (TNT's parent company) says they had the right to match any deal, and that they matched Amazon's offer.

Some folks online theorized that Amazon included certain perks that they are structurally unable to match.

Everyone keeps parroting that it's because TNT is on cable and not streaming, which is false. WBD owns HBO Max, which is available in 65 countries. As Moranis said above,  you can watch NBA on Max just fine.

So maybe it's about reach? According to Google, Prime  Video reaches 200 countries. So maybe it's about international reach.

I do have some concern about sports viewership getting split across so many platforms. It's already a pain to watch the Celtics, Sox, Bruins etc due to the dearth of affordable options. For example, YoutubeTV, which is a superior streaming surrogate for cable TV, does not offer NESN or NBC Sports Boston.

Younger viewers are already rejecting the cable model. At some point viewers just aren't going to watch. What if I'm watching NBA on Prime but i want to switch channels to watch NFL or NHL or whatever during commercials? It's clunky AF. And it's getting expensive.

Domestic viewership has been slipping over the decades since Jordan retired. Playoff ratings this pst season were poor.

I worry American Sports are going to go the way of boxing. The average joe can't watch enough to get invested without emptying his wallet. Boxing committed suicide domestically by switching to the pay-per-view model.

You can't have a successful sport if you don't make your product accessible enough to bring in new fans.

[Roy H.]

Here's the contract that provides matching rights:

https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef/ViewDocument?docIndex=b2GWo0nn6GUkpkMSy7I/Kw==

The relevant language begins on page 81, labeled as Exhibit C.

[Who]

The Golden State Warriors are still unwilling to part ways with Brandin Podziemski in a deal for Lauri Markkanen, according to Marc Stein of The Stein Line.

The Warriors have yet to include either Podziemski or Jonathan Kuminga in any deal for Markkanen. The team's rumored trade packages have included Moses Moody and draft compensation.

Markannen is eligible to renegotiate his contract on Tuesday.

Warriors front office are so stupid.

They continue to waste the final years of Steph's career and do so in order to protect middling young talent like Podz or Kuminga. Awful.

[Roy H.]

The Golden State Warriors are still unwilling to part ways with Brandin Podziemski in a deal for Lauri Markkanen, according to Marc Stein of The Stein Line.

The Warriors have yet to include either Podziemski or Jonathan Kuminga in any deal for Markkanen. The team's rumored trade packages have included Moses Moody and draft compensation.

Markannen is eligible to renegotiate his contract on Tuesday.

Warriors front office are so stupid.

They continue to waste the final years of Steph's career and do so in order to protect middling young talent like Podz or Kuminga. Awful.

Yep.  So many teams go through something like this.  I remember when Rodrigue Beaubois was considered essentially untouchable by the Mavs; Hinrich by the Bulls; Livingston by the Clippers, etc.

[Donoghus]

Shams Charania
@ShamsCharania
JUST IN: NBA All-Star Lauri Markkanen and the Utah Jazz are expected to agree to a massive long-term contract extension and sign Wednesday or later, making him untradeable for entire 2024-25, sources tell me,
@Tjonesonthenba
,
@anthonyVslater
.

[Vermont Green]

Pat McAfee: ?The Jazz and Lauri Markkanen are in deep discussions today to finalize this massive extension.. This is gonna be the biggest contract in Jazz franchise history.. I?m told it?s gonna be in the 5-year $200M plus range? ~ @ShamsCharania #PMSLive 2 mins ago ? via x.com

The Jazz have Kessler, Collins, and Markkanen.  They should not play all 3 at the same time.  They need to dump Collins or have him play off the bench.  Play Markkanen and Kessler with actual wings and guards.  CLE tried to play Markkanen as a wing also.  Makes no sense.  He is a prototypical NBA shooting big.

Amazing that Collins is only 26 (27 in Sept).  Seems like he has been around forever.

[Kernewek]

And here comes the lawsuit...

https://x.com/WALLACHLEGAL/status/1816868886727266763

http://BREAKING: TBS and Warner Brothers Discovery have just filed a lawsuit against the NBA in New York County Supreme Court over the league?s rejection of WBD?s attempted match of the Amazon media rights bid

I'm a little confused on this. WBD (TNT's parent company) says they had the right to match any deal, and that they matched Amazon's offer.

Some folks online theorized that Amazon included certain perks that they are structurally unable to match.

Everyone keeps parroting that it's because TNT is on cable and not streaming, which is false. WBD owns HBO Max, which is available in 65 countries. As Moranis said above,  you can watch NBA on Max just fine.

So maybe it's about reach? According to Google, Prime  Video reaches 200 countries. So maybe it's about international reach.

I do have some concern about sports viewership getting split across so many platforms. It's already a pain to watch the Celtics, Sox, Bruins etc due to the dearth of affordable options. For example, YoutubeTV, which is a superior streaming surrogate for cable TV, does not offer NESN or NBC Sports Boston.

Younger viewers are already rejecting the cable model. At some point viewers just aren't going to watch. What if I'm watching NBA on Prime but i want to switch channels to watch NFL or NHL or whatever during commercials? It's clunky AF. And it's getting expensive.

Domestic viewership has been slipping over the decades since Jordan retired. Playoff ratings this pst season were poor.

I worry American Sports are going to go the way of boxing. The average joe can't watch enough to get invested without emptying his wallet. Boxing committed suicide domestically by switching to the pay-per-view model.

You can't have a successful sport if you don't make your product accessible enough to bring in new fans.

The problem (for broadcast outlets) is that the only reason traditional broadcast television is still floating at all is live sport, so WBD is going to fight this as hard as they can.

Also, even in the face of ratings being down, I'd wager you have more people following the playoffs than ever before around the world - take it from someone who doesn't have the opportunity to watch many of the games, you can still follow the season and the teams just fine on a game-by-game basis (and it's easier than it ever was before). That is becoming increasingly decoupled from the Sports Entertainment Industry, hence the thrashing.

[CptZoogs]

And here comes the lawsuit...

https://x.com/WALLACHLEGAL/status/1816868886727266763

http://BREAKING: TBS and Warner Brothers Discovery have just filed a lawsuit against the NBA in New York County Supreme Court over the league?s rejection of WBD?s attempted match of the Amazon media rights bid

I'm a little confused on this. WBD (TNT's parent company) says they had the right to match any deal, and that they matched Amazon's offer.

Some folks online theorized that Amazon included certain perks that they are structurally unable to match.

Everyone keeps parroting that it's because TNT is on cable and not streaming, which is false. WBD owns HBO Max, which is available in 65 countries. As Moranis said above,  you can watch NBA on Max just fine.

So maybe it's about reach? According to Google, Prime  Video reaches 200 countries. So maybe it's about international reach.

I do have some concern about sports viewership getting split across so many platforms. It's already a pain to watch the Celtics, Sox, Bruins etc due to the dearth of affordable options. For example, YoutubeTV, which is a superior streaming surrogate for cable TV, does not offer NESN or NBC Sports Boston.

Younger viewers are already rejecting the cable model. At some point viewers just aren't going to watch. What if I'm watching NBA on Prime but i want to switch channels to watch NFL or NHL or whatever during commercials? It's clunky AF. And it's getting expensive.

Domestic viewership has been slipping over the decades since Jordan retired. Playoff ratings this pst season were poor.

I worry American Sports are going to go the way of boxing. The average joe can't watch enough to get invested without emptying his wallet. Boxing committed suicide domestically by switching to the pay-per-view model.

You can't have a successful sport if you don't make your product accessible enough to bring in new fans.

Minor correction that is really more of an FYI.  I am a YouTubeTV customer and I get NBC sports Boston.  Never would have signed up if I couldn?t get live Celtics games.  I resigned myself to box score watching for Red Sox though.

[SparzWizard]

Charles Barkley makes u-turn on retirement, says he is going to resume with TNT sports broadcasting with his colleagues and for many years to come, according to him.

[Celtics2021]

And here comes the lawsuit...

https://x.com/WALLACHLEGAL/status/1816868886727266763

http://BREAKING: TBS and Warner Brothers Discovery have just filed a lawsuit against the NBA in New York County Supreme Court over the league?s rejection of WBD?s attempted match of the Amazon media rights bid

I'm a little confused on this. WBD (TNT's parent company) says they had the right to match any deal, and that they matched Amazon's offer.

Some folks online theorized that Amazon included certain perks that they are structurally unable to match.

Everyone keeps parroting that it's because TNT is on cable and not streaming, which is false. WBD owns HBO Max, which is available in 65 countries. As Moranis said above,  you can watch NBA on Max just fine.

So maybe it's about reach? According to Google, Prime  Video reaches 200 countries. So maybe it's about international reach.

I do have some concern about sports viewership getting split across so many platforms. It's already a pain to watch the Celtics, Sox, Bruins etc due to the dearth of affordable options. For example, YoutubeTV, which is a superior streaming surrogate for cable TV, does not offer NESN or NBC Sports Boston.

Younger viewers are already rejecting the cable model. At some point viewers just aren't going to watch. What if I'm watching NBA on Prime but i want to switch channels to watch NFL or NHL or whatever during commercials? It's clunky AF. And it's getting expensive.

Domestic viewership has been slipping over the decades since Jordan retired. Playoff ratings this pst season were poor.

I worry American Sports are going to go the way of boxing. The average joe can't watch enough to get invested without emptying his wallet. Boxing committed suicide domestically by switching to the pay-per-view model.

You can't have a successful sport if you don't make your product accessible enough to bring in new fans.

Minor correction that is really more of an FYI.  I am a YouTubeTV customer and I get NBC sports Boston.  Never would have signed up if I couldn?t get live Celtics games.  I resigned myself to box score watching for Red Sox though.

Do you live in Boston or the immediate area?  Last fall when I was choosing streamers my only NBC Sports Boston was Hulu Live. 

[kraidstar]

And here comes the lawsuit...

https://x.com/WALLACHLEGAL/status/1816868886727266763

http://BREAKING: TBS and Warner Brothers Discovery have just filed a lawsuit against the NBA in New York County Supreme Court over the league?s rejection of WBD?s attempted match of the Amazon media rights bid

I'm a little confused on this. WBD (TNT's parent company) says they had the right to match any deal, and that they matched Amazon's offer.

Some folks online theorized that Amazon included certain perks that they are structurally unable to match.

Everyone keeps parroting that it's because TNT is on cable and not streaming, which is false. WBD owns HBO Max, which is available in 65 countries. As Moranis said above,  you can watch NBA on Max just fine.

So maybe it's about reach? According to Google, Prime  Video reaches 200 countries. So maybe it's about international reach.

I do have some concern about sports viewership getting split across so many platforms. It's already a pain to watch the Celtics, Sox, Bruins etc due to the dearth of affordable options. For example, YoutubeTV, which is a superior streaming surrogate for cable TV, does not offer NESN or NBC Sports Boston.

Younger viewers are already rejecting the cable model. At some point viewers just aren't going to watch. What if I'm watching NBA on Prime but i want to switch channels to watch NFL or NHL or whatever during commercials? It's clunky AF. And it's getting expensive.

Domestic viewership has been slipping over the decades since Jordan retired. Playoff ratings this pst season were poor.

I worry American Sports are going to go the way of boxing. The average joe can't watch enough to get invested without emptying his wallet. Boxing committed suicide domestically by switching to the pay-per-view model.

You can't have a successful sport if you don't make your product accessible enough to bring in new fans.

Minor correction that is really more of an FYI.  I am a YouTubeTV customer and I get NBC sports Boston.  Never would have signed up if I couldn?t get live Celtics games.  I resigned myself to box score watching for Red Sox though.

Do you live in Boston or the immediate area?  Last fall when I was choosing streamers my only NBC Sports Boston was Hulu Live.

No, Zoogs is correct. I misspoke, i live in Maine and have YoutubeTV and it definitely has NBC Sports Boston. Pretty much all of new england should be the same

[CptZoogs]

I?m in southern Maine and have had YouTube tv for maybe 3 years now.  Celtics2021, are you in Boston?  I thought the same as kraidstar that anywhere in New England would have the same access.