2024 NBA Offseason News

[Celtics2021]

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.

Yes, just outside Boston.  It?s possible that my ISP give me an IP address that YouTune identifies as being outside Comcast NE?s service area, whereas Hulu does not.  (For a little bit Hulu thought I was in New Jersey but then corrected it).  But I will check again in a couple of months when it is basketball season again.

Anyway, getting back on topic, whether it is linear cable or streaming services like YouTube or Hulu, Warner Brothers Discovery uses sports programming on TNT to negotiate more distribution of its other channels.  I don?t really know why David Zaslav thought TNT didn?t need a sports anchor like the NBA, it does, and the company at large does.  They might still win out in court, but they were stupid to slow-roll negotiations when they had an exclusivity period and put themselves at risk.

EDIT: Prediction rescinded.  I think Warner loses.  The Amazon agreement puts three years of payments in escrow, while Warner just wants to give the NBA a letter of credit.  I originally thought the NBA would use this suit to keep both of them and get more money, but NBC can back out of its deal if any extra games are given to another broadcaster.

[No Nickname]

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.

He realized he was throwing away a lot of money! 

Most likely, without the NBA, they'll only use him for the NCAA tourney. 

That's a cushy gig!

[No Nickname]

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.

Anyway, getting back on topic, whether it is linear cable or streaming services like YouTube or Hulu, Warner Brothers Discovery uses sports programming on TNT to negotiate more distribution of its other channels.  I don?t really know why David Zaslav thought TNT didn?t need a sports anchor like the NBA, it does, and the company at large does.  They might still win out in court, but they were stupid to slow-roll negotiations when they had an exclusivity period and put themselves at risk.

The days of WBD using leverage with one of their linear channels to force carriage of other channels within "the family" are largely over.

The ad revenue on the niche channels has jut about dried up.  They're just barker channels pointing viewers towards the flagship channels (TNT, Discovery, TLC, HGTV, and Food) and/or their programming offerings on Discovery+/Max.

WBD is locked into providing services for networks like Destination America and Animal Planet until those deals expire.  And once they do, they'll shut the niches down and save the expenses.

Cable will go through a large retraction period where you might only see about 50-70 channels in the next 5-10 years.

But a large audience will still exist.  You might still have 40MM+ homes with cable subscriptions.  It won't die out completely.  At least just yet, until some service figures out a way to combine all the streamers into a seamless viewing experience with a great user interface, a LIVE TV guide, quick switching between channels/videos, and great marketing of "What to Watch."

It'll happen one day and the streamers will consolidate into just Netflix and Disney/WBD/Paramount/Peacock.  Maybe Apple will just close up shop.

[gift]

since we're on the topic of the media deals, what's the outlook for the regional sports networks, specifically NBC Sports Boston? will games continue on these networks into the future? or is that changing as well? it's hard to keep up with.

[Donoghus]

since we're on the topic of the media deals, what's the outlook for the regional sports networks, specifically NBC Sports Boston? will games continue on these networks into the future? or is that changing as well? it's hard to keep up with.

Separate from the national TV contract.  The Celtics own an equity stake in NBC Sports Boston and I believe the contract goes into the 2030s so not going anywhere any time soon despite the woes of RSNs.

[gift]

since we're on the topic of the media deals, what's the outlook for the regional sports networks, specifically NBC Sports Boston? will games continue on these networks into the future? or is that changing as well? it's hard to keep up with.

Separate from the national TV contract.  The Celtics own an equity stake in NBC Sports Boston and I believe the contract goes into the 2030s so not going anywhere any time soon despite the woes of RSNs.

thanks very much! i had vaguely heard of "the woes of RSNs" and wasn't sure what it meant or if it applied to NBCSB and the Celtics.

[Donoghus]

since we're on the topic of the media deals, what's the outlook for the regional sports networks, specifically NBC Sports Boston? will games continue on these networks into the future? or is that changing as well? it's hard to keep up with.

Separate from the national TV contract.  The Celtics own an equity stake in NBC Sports Boston and I believe the contract goes into the 2030s so not going anywhere any time soon despite the woes of RSNs.

thanks very much! i had vaguely heard of "the woes of RSNs" and wasn't sure what it meant or if it applied to NBCSB and the Celtics.

Regional sports, as a whole, isn't in a great place at the moment.  I'm not sure how healthy NBC Sports RSNs are but another regional sports company called Diamond Sports Group had a very public bankruptcy filing.  And their network includes dozens of professional sports regional TV rights.

[Celtics2021]

since we're on the topic of the media deals, what's the outlook for the regional sports networks, specifically NBC Sports Boston? will games continue on these networks into the future? or is that changing as well? it's hard to keep up with.

Separate from the national TV contract.  The Celtics own an equity stake in NBC Sports Boston and I believe the contract goes into the 2030s so not going anywhere any time soon despite the woes of RSNs.

thanks very much! i had vaguely heard of "the woes of RSNs" and wasn't sure what it meant or if it applied to NBCSB and the Celtics.

Regional sports, as a whole, isn't in a great place at the moment.  I'm not sure how healthy NBC Sports RSNs are but another regional sports company called Diamond Sports Group had a very public bankruptcy filing.  And their network includes dozens of professional sports regional TV rights.

The problem with Diamond was relatively unique.  They bought a bunch of stations that were divested as part of some merger (I forget which, but I want to say they were Fox RSNs) in 2018 or 2019.  It was a pretty leveraged deal, and then Covid hit so no live sports meant no advertising money early on.  Then they couldn?t refinance loans to get more funding due to interest rates increasing rapidly.

The rest of the RSNs are doing fine in aggregate (some suffer woes if the team is playing poorly or is generally not popular, but that is a specific problem not something general).  Live sports are still the most reliable place for TV advertisements.  That said, there are concerns with NBA RSNs that the new national deal is creating too many national games and there won?t be enough games for local broadcasters.  Dolan of the Knicks particularly hates it as a cable guy, but some others seem to more quietly share his opinions. 

[Celtics2021]

Didn?t see it posted yesterday that the Jazz used their cap space to renegotiate and extend Markkanen.  5 year, $238 million.  Since they signed it yesterday rather than Tuesday, he is ineligible to be traded this season.

[bdm860]

since we're on the topic of the media deals, what's the outlook for the regional sports networks, specifically NBC Sports Boston? will games continue on these networks into the future? or is that changing as well? it's hard to keep up with.

Separate from the national TV contract.  The Celtics own an equity stake in NBC Sports Boston and I believe the contract goes into the 2030s so not going anywhere any time soon despite the woes of RSNs.

thanks very much! i had vaguely heard of "the woes of RSNs" and wasn't sure what it meant or if it applied to NBCSB and the Celtics.

Regional sports, as a whole, isn't in a great place at the moment.  I'm not sure how healthy NBC Sports RSNs are but another regional sports company called Diamond Sports Group had a very public bankruptcy filing.  And their network includes dozens of professional sports regional TV rights.

The problem with Diamond was relatively unique.  They bought a bunch of stations that were divested as part of some merger (I forget which, but I want to say they were Fox RSNs) in 2018 or 2019.  It was a pretty leveraged deal, and then Covid hit so no live sports meant no advertising money early on.  Then they couldn?t refinance loans to get more funding due to interest rates increasing rapidly.

The rest of the RSNs are doing fine in aggregate (some suffer woes if the team is playing poorly or is generally not popular, but that is a specific problem not something general).  Live sports are still the most reliable place for TV advertisements.  That said, there are concerns with NBA RSNs that the new national deal is creating too many national games and there won?t be enough games for local broadcasters.  Dolan of the Knicks particularly hates it as a cable guy, but some others seem to more quietly share his opinions.

Could there be a domino effect though?

Phoenix, Utah, and the Clippers have all moved off of RSNs within the last couple of years (I think Clippers are still on a RSN, but offer a non-RSN option too).

Suns viewership was up 94% year over year (in February) since moving off an RSN (but that's also comparing a pre-Durant, pre-Beal team to one with them).  But Jazz viewership was also up 50% when moving off an RSN.

Pelicans just announced they're off an RSN, and 4 more teams might be forced off an RSN this year too, Thunder, Grizzlies, Mavericks, Pistons (but these are all related to the Diamond bankruptcy).

Bucks, Hawks, Cavs have also moved some games off an RSN (also Diamond related).

So a lot of Diamond related stuff, but could also help set the new precedent for other teams if they all see success (in terms of fan engagement/viewership).

Now the Celtics deal, signed in 2011, went into effect in 2018, and runs through 2038, but likely has a "re-set" option for the Celtics after 10 years (so 2028?), so I wonder what's allowed to be adjusted there.  Celtics also have a 20% equity stake in their RSN so they want it to succeed, but wonder if we're looking at a rapidly changing landscape here.  Most of the impacted teams are smaller markets, or 2nd class citizens in their own markets, so will be interesting to see if any the larger teams/market makes a move away from RSN-only system.

[Vermont Green]

Didn?t see it posted yesterday that the Jazz used their cap space to renegotiate and extend Markkanen.  5 year, $238 million.  Since they signed it yesterday rather than Tuesday, he is ineligible to be traded this season.

So Markkanen will make $42.2 this season and $46.4M in 2025-26?  So if traded this season, he would count as $42.2M in terms of matching?

[Celtics2021]

Didn?t see it posted yesterday that the Jazz used their cap space to renegotiate and extend Markkanen.  5 year, $238 million.  Since they signed it yesterday rather than Tuesday, he is ineligible to be traded this season.

So Markkanen will make $42.2 this season and $46.4M in 2025-26?  So if traded this season, he would count as $42.2M in terms of matching?

Not quite.  There is a 6-month restriction on him being traded because he renegotiated.  That restriction lifts the day after the trade deadline, meaning he is ineligible to be traded.

[Who]

Jeremy Lamb has retired. He has been out of the NBA for 2yrs. He is only 32yrs old.

573 career games. About 10ppg so just under 6,000 career points, 2k rebounds and just under 1k assists. Solid career but a bit disappointing. Size, athleticism, some skill. I think many will feel like he could have been more.

[perks-a-beast]

Jeremy Lamb has retired. He has been out of the NBA for 2yrs. He is only 32yrs old.

573 career games. About 10ppg so just under 6,000 career points, 2k rebounds and just under 1k assists. Solid career but a bit disappointing. Size, athleticism, some skill. I think many will feel like he could have been more.

I was pretty high on him back in the day. His upside was a big reason why I liked the James Harden trade for the Thunder (at the time), thought he would end up being a big time contributor for them next to Westbrook and Durant.

[Vermont Green]

$54,392,500 career earnings or about $5.4M average per season.  Even with taxes and agent fees, you expect he has $25+ in the bank.  Not bad.