NBA formalizing deals with Disney, Amazon, NBC that would begin with the 2025-26 season

[soxhop411]

NEW YORK -- The NBA is formalizing written contracts with Disney, NBC and Amazon this week, with sources calling it the final stage of media rights negotiations that may inevitably lead incumbent Warner Bros. Discovery to take legal action.

Industry sources believe ESPN will ultimately pay $2.8B annually — though other industry sources insist it is still an earlier reported $2.6B — for the league's "A" package, which includes the NBA Finals, a conference final, weekly primetime games, the WNBA and likely shared international rights. NBC's proposed "B" package is believed to be now worth $2.6B annually -- up from a reported $2.5B -- and would probably include a "Basketball Night in America" on Sunday nights following the NFL season, a total of two primetime windows a week, conference semifinals and a conference final. Amazon's deal is believed to be worth between $1.8B and $2B and would likely include the Emirates In-Season Tournament, the SoFi Play-In Tournament, first-round playoff games, the WNBA and international rights.

The final tweaks -- which sources said have been fluid and changing almost every other day -- are expected to be finalized in the coming days or week, at which time sources said all three networks will go to their respective boards to have the written bids ratified. At that point, sources said the league will take NBC's contract to WBD to see if WBD CEO David Zaslav is able to match it in "total value."

Considering WBD is $40B in debt and does not have the over-the-air infrastructure of NBC, sources believe WBD would need to pay more than $2.6B to match the deal and that NBC's overall bid could be structured in a way (for example, multiple weekly over-the-air games) that makes it virtually impossible for WBD to equal. Sources said Zaslav would then essentially have three choices: pass on the NBA, drastically overpay for the "B" package or take the NBA to court over the definition of a match.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2024/05/22/nba-formalizing-media-rights-deals-disney-amazon-nbc

And YES... there are plans in the works to reboot the NBA on NBC theme song

Tesh was asked today on The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz whether NBC has contacted him about the possibility of returning the theme to its rightful place at the forefront of NBA coverage.

“They have, actually,” Tesh told Le Batard. “It’s nothing firm. But they said, ‘Hey can you stay frosty on this? — like a Navy Seals thing — because we’d love to talk to you about this.’ We’re actually talking right now about licensing it to them for the Olympics in Paris.”

The tune was used in NBC’s Summer Olympics basketball coverage in 2008, 2016 and 2020 for commercial bumpers and starting lineup announcements. It’s also been used by Fox in that network’s college basketball coverage since 2018.

“At the end of June, we’re heading to Nashville and we’ve got a full orchestra on hold and we’re going to re-record it,” Tesh said. “I think it still sounds great, but I wanted to make a few changes.”

https://deadline.com/2024/05/nbc-bringing-back-roundball-nba-theme-song-1235926568/


Of course this means that Inside the NBA will be no more once this deal kicks in

 

[Auger34]

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2024/05/22/nba-formalizing-media-rights-deals-disney-amazon-nbc

And YES... there are plans in the works to reboot the NBA on NBC theme song

https://deadline.com/2024/05/nbc-bringing-back-roundball-nba-theme-song-1235926568/


Of course this means that Inside the NBA will be no more once this deal kicks in

This is a very stupid question but I want to make sure I am reading this right. The NBA is going to get $7.4 billion annually for the tv rights?

 

[InstaFace]

This is a very stupid question but I want to make sure I am reading this right. The NBA is going to get $7.4 billion annually for the tv rights?

Yes, roughly a tripling of the previous annualized revenue from the last round of contracts. That rough figure has been rumored for several weeks, so it's in line with what's been previously (if spottily) reported.

Not a lot of ways for them to profitably spend the windfall, but I would hope league expansion would then be on the menu.

 

[DJnVa]

Of course this means that Inside the NBA will be no more once this deal kicks in

No reason NBC can't hire the same folks and do the same thing if they wanted to.

 

[Senator Donut]

ESPN, NBC, and Amazon will all be spending more on NBA rights then what they spend on the NFL if that report is true. Sounds like Silver was basically able to leverage one desperate partner (WBD) into monster deals from everyone else. Good for the league and the players who will be getting half.

 

[Mystic Merlin]

No reason NBC can't hire the same folks and do the same thing if they wanted to.

True, but the scuttlebutt over the past month or so was that Ernie Johnson isn’t gonna leave TNT/TBS. He’s 67 years old, does other studio work for them (eg, MLB), and he lives in Atlanta, so I could understand him not wanting to jump to NBC or Amazon.

But, yeah, Barkley and Kenny Smith (and unfortunately Shaq) could jump to one of the other platforms.

 

[ThePrideofShiner]

Yes, roughly a tripling of the previous annualized revenue from the last round of contracts. That rough figure has been rumored for several weeks, so it's in line with what's been previously (if spottily) reported.

Not a lot of ways for them to profitably spend the windfall, but I would hope league expansion would then be on the menu.

Time to bring back the Sonics.

Edit: Also, it sucks that a new franchise in Seattle won't get to keep the Sonics' history.

 

[lovegtm]

JB's deal is going to quickly look great, and even Tatum's will be more manageable.

If they can get White to do the extension, suddenly the financial situation is very fine.

 

[tims4wins]

JB's deal is going to quickly look great, and even Tatum's will be more manageable.

If they can get White to do the extension, suddenly the financial situation is very fine.

That was my first thought. We kind of thought the JB contract was under water from day 1 but it really isn’t.

 

[lovegtm]

That was my first thought. We kind of thought the JB contract was under water from day 1 but it really isn’t.

I always thought it was a positive (since there will always be bad teams with space that will value contract certainty), but this makes it even better. Whether they keep or trade, it's a totally fine/good deal.

 

[cheech13]

Yes, roughly a tripling of the previous annualized revenue from the last round of contracts. That rough figure has been rumored for several weeks, so it's in line with what's been previously (if spottily) reported.

Not a lot of ways for them to profitably spend the windfall, but I would hope league expansion would then be on the menu.

Doing some very rough back of the napkin math here, does this mean that cap could go up more than $78,000,000 per year? That’s $7.4B less the $2.7B they currently get, multiplied by .5 and divided amongst 30 teams.

 

[lovegtm]

Doing some very rough back of the napkin math here, does this mean that cap could go up more than $78,000,000 per year? That’s $7.4B less the $2.7B they currently get, multiplied by .5 and divided amongst 30 teams.

The max it can go up is 10% per year. So that would be $15M in 2025-2026.

 

[slamminsammya]

The cap is also not projected to go up much next year for what it’s worth. i think this new deal wouldn’t impact the cap until the 2025-26 season.

 

[ifmanis5]

Roundball Rock is back LFG.

I wonder how many end up on Peacock?

 

[Justthetippett]

Yes, roughly a tripling of the previous annualized revenue from the last round of contracts. That rough figure has been rumored for several weeks, so it's in line with what's been previously (if spottily) reported.

Not a lot of ways for them to profitably spend the windfall, but I would hope league expansion would then be on the menu.

Vegas and Seattle?

Silver just knocked this out of the park.

 

[InstaFace]

Doing some very rough back of the napkin math here, does this mean that cap could go up more than $78,000,000 per year? That’s $7.4B less the $2.7B they currently get, multiplied by .5 and divided amongst 30 teams.

According to The Athletic, the new CBA stipulates that the maximum the NBA salary cap can rise each year is 10%. TLDR: I don't know how they'll end up distributing the extra money that the players are guaranteed to receive, over and above the players' contracted salaries and benefits.

That 10% annual rise would be about $14-15M per team per year (it's at $141M right now). The article does not explain how any of the shortfall (of salaries relative to the designated 50% share of BRI that the players get) would get escrowed and allocated in subsequent years.

I've read the relevant portions of the 2023 CBA, and the term appears to be on agreement p175 (pdf page 199):

(6) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in Sections 2(a)(1)-(5) above, in no event shall any of the Salary Cap, Minimum Team Salary, Tax Level, First Apron Level, or Second Apron Level for a Salary Cap Year (a) decrease to an amount that is less than its amount for the immediately preceding Salary Cap Year, or (b) increase to an amount that exceeds one hundred ten percent (110%) of its amount for the immediately preceding Salary Cap Year​

My understanding of what happens after that, though, is a little fuzzy. The escrow system withholds 10% of player salaries into a pool, and then after the season, if net of escrowed salaries, the players were paid more than their share (~50% of BRI), the escrow is returned to owners, and if the players were paid less than their share, the escrow is distributed back to players in proportion to their salaries. This is done with an anticipation that generally, player salaries will exceed the designated 50% BRI share. If actual BRI exceeds forecasted BRI (i.e. the league's preseason financial projections), the players get 60.5% of the excess above projections, with a floor of 49% BRI. Larry Coon's CBAFAQ says,

Since individual salaries are negotiated before the season starts (in many cases years before), and BRI is not determined until the season concludes, there are mechanisms in place to adjust when salaries miss their target. If the players receive less than their guaranteed share of BRI, the league cuts a check to the players association for the difference, and this amount is distributed to the players (this happened in 2014-15, 2015-16, and 2016-17, under the 2011 CBA).​

It seems to me like this would result in staggeringly large checks being written by the league to the players association. 44% of leaguewide revenue is from broadcasting deals, so if those are tripling, you'd expect total league revenue to go up 88%, all else held equal, of which the players are entitled to half. So the salary cap would become a cute fiction, with players agreeing to deals for $X per year, subject to salary caps and tax levels under ornate rules... but then at the end of each year they'd be getting a check that may turn the actual amounts received into 1.44x, for basically the foreseeable future until the 10% annual cap raises can maybe one day start to approach the amount of revenue guaranteed to the players for their share (~50%, +/- 1%).

 

[benhogan]

Vegas and Seattle?

Silver just knocked this out of the park.

Yes to Seattle & Vegas...maybe reconsider Vancouver & San Diego

Silver has probably parlayed the Play-In games + the IST into a billion-dollar payday for the NBA. Excellent Commissioner work

Increasing WNBA exposure, reconfiguring All-Star game/weekend & developing the G-League up next.

I always thought it was a positive (since there will always be bad teams with space that will value contract certainty), but this makes it even better. Whether they keep or trade, it's a totally fine/good deal.

Yeah you were very positive about the value of a Brown 5yr Max before the ink was dry.

We also had NBA Executives weigh in during the season saying several NBA teams would offer a Durant-type haul for Jaylen Brown on that deal

 

[Smokey Joe]

Time to bring back the Sonics.

Edit: Also, it sucks that a new franchise in Seattle won't get to keep the Sonics' history.

It’s complicated. The name, logo and colors are owned by the NBA so they can grant them to a new team. The banners trophies and retired jerseys are shared between OKC and Seattle and I think are still housed in the Seattle museum of history. OKC was supposed to give the history and those items up to a new Seattle franchise if it showed up within 5 years, which obviously didn’t happen. I think all that stuff will have to be negotiated if and when a new NBA team comes to Seattle.

 

[wade boggs chicken dinner]

According to The Athletic, the new CBA stipulates that the maximum the NBA salary cap can rise each year is 10%. TLDR: I don't know how they'll end up distributing the extra money that the players are guaranteed to receive, over and above the players' contracted salaries and benefits.

That 10% annual rise would be about $14-15M per team per year (it's at $141M right now). The article does not explain how any of the shortfall (of salaries relative to the designated 50% share of BRI that the players get) would get escrowed and allocated in subsequent years.

I've read the relevant portions of the 2023 CBA, and the term appears to be on agreement p175 (pdf page 199):

(6) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in Sections 2(a)(1)-(5) above, in no event shall any of the Salary Cap, Minimum Team Salary, Tax Level, First Apron Level, or Second Apron Level for a Salary Cap Year (a) decrease to an amount that is less than its amount for the immediately preceding Salary Cap Year, or (b) increase to an amount that exceeds one hundred ten percent (110%) of its amount for the immediately preceding Salary Cap Year​

My understanding of what happens after that, though, is a little fuzzy. The escrow system withholds 10% of player salaries into a pool, and then after the season, if net of escrowed salaries, the players were paid more than their share (~50% of BRI), the escrow is returned to owners, and if the players were paid less than their share, the escrow is distributed back to players in proportion to their salaries. This is done with an anticipation that generally, player salaries will exceed the designated 50% BRI share. If actual BRI exceeds forecasted BRI (i.e. the league's preseason financial projections), the players get 60.5% of the excess above projections, with a floor of 49% BRI. Larry Coon's CBAFAQ says,

Since individual salaries are negotiated before the season starts (in many cases years before), and BRI is not determined until the season concludes, there are mechanisms in place to adjust when salaries miss their target. If the players receive less than their guaranteed share of BRI, the league cuts a check to the players association for the difference, and this amount is distributed to the players (this happened in 2014-15, 2015-16, and 2016-17, under the 2011 CBA).​

It seems to me like this would result in staggeringly large checks being written by the league to the players association. 44% of leaguewide revenue is from broadcasting deals, so if those are tripling, you'd expect total league revenue to go up 88%, all else held equal, of which the players are entitled to half. So the salary cap would become a cute fiction, with players agreeing to deals for $X per year, subject to salary caps and tax levels under ornate rules... but then at the end of each year they'd be getting a check that may turn the actual amounts received into 1.44x, for basically the foreseeable future until the 10% annual cap raises can maybe one day start to approach the amount of revenue guaranteed to the players for their share (~50%, +/- 1%).

the extra money is tacked added to the later years. Assuming the players' union had math and lawyerly-types looking at every inch of the contract, I presume there's some calculation that makes the money added on in the later years essentially equivalent to the money that would have been added in the early years.

 

[ThePrideofShiner]

It’s complicated. The name, logo and colors are owned by the NBA so they can grant them to a new team. The banners trophies and retired jerseys are shared between OKC and Seattle and I think are still housed in the Seattle museum of history. OKC was supposed to give the history and those items up to a new Seattle franchise if it showed up within 5 years, which obviously didn’t happen. I think all that stuff will have to be negotiated if and when a new NBA team comes to Seattle.

Interesting. Obviously, all the former players and coaches identify with Seattle and are routinely in town being honored or just living life. So, it would be nice for the new franchise to get the history back.

 

[InstaFace]

the extra money is tacked added to the later years. Assuming the players' union had math and lawyerly-types looking at every inch of the contract, I presume there's some calculation that makes the money added on in the later years essentially equivalent to the money that would have been added in the early years.

Where does it say it's added on to later years? I linked to and quoted the CBA, and the only mechanisms I can find are ones that would basically pay the excess share each year out to the players' association, to be paid to players pro-rata. If you've found one that defers extra money to future years, please go ahead and quote it / reference it.

 

[scott bankheadcase]

Interesting. Obviously, all the former players and coaches identify with Seattle and are routinely in town being honored or just living life. So, it would be nice for the new franchise to get the history back.

The guideline precedent for this is the Hornets/Bobcats/Pelicans. The Hornets moved to New Orleans and kept the history. Then the Bobcats became a new franchise. Then with the switcheroo name thing around 2014, the Charlotte Hornets got their name AND history back.

It's convoluted and some of it involves IP and trademark law, but it can happen.

 

[wade boggs chicken dinner]

Where does it say it's added on to later years? I linked to and quoted the CBA, and the only mechanisms I can find are ones that would basically pay the excess share each year out to the players' association, to be paid to players pro-rata. If you've found one that defers extra money to future years, please go ahead and quote it / reference it.

I posted this in the DW thread. Am basing the statement on this article:

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/nba-cba-101-everything-to-know-about-new-agreement-from-salary-cap-to-free-agency-and-beyond/ .

I'll see if I can find anything else to verify.

 

[TomRicardo]

Vegas and Seattle?

Silver just knocked this out of the park.

2 teams once the ink dries on the deal.

Seattle and another team with Vegas as the leading contender, with Minnesota or Memphis being the most likely to move to the East. There will be a round of expansion after that with Mexico City, Kansas City, Montreal, San Diego, Louisville, and Vancouver being considered with the possibility of creating another TV set deal for Netflix, Max, and Apple being able to bid on that "D" package, Silver has floated growing to 36. Before the second expansion, the NBA is looking to create a competitor to the Euroleague similar to the BAL in Africa. Then they are looking to have an Intercontinental tourney in the preseason (Summer league rosters has been thrown about).

Boston
Brooklyn
New York
Philadelphia

Chicago
Detroit
Milwaukee
Toronto/Minnesota

Memphis/Toronto
Washington
Indiana
Cleveland

Atlanta
Charlotte
Miami
Orlando

Denver
Minnesota/Memphis
OKC
Utah

Golden State
Portland
Sacramento
Seattle

LAC
LAL
Las Vegas
Phoenix

Houston
San Antonio
Dallas
New Orleans

 

[TomRicardo]

It seems to me like this would result in staggeringly large checks being written by the league to the players association. 44% of leaguewide revenue is from broadcasting deals, so if those are tripling, you'd expect total league revenue to go up 88%, all else held equal, of which the players are entitled to half. So the salary cap would become a cute fiction, with players agreeing to deals for $X per year, subject to salary caps and tax levels under ornate rules... but then at the end of each year they'd be getting a check that may turn the actual amounts received into 1.44x, for basically the foreseeable future until the 10% annual cap raises can maybe one day start to approach the amount of revenue guaranteed to the players for their share (~50%, +/- 1%).

But that doesn't make the salary cap fiction, mainly because the salary cap purpose is not to limit players overall earning but to curb [or increase] team spending. Basically it would be just like if the NBA contracts were in another currency that was settled up at the end of the year. You are still going to have proportional earning and limits to how much a team can offer. What it does mean though is Jaylen's contract is going to look really good year 4 and 5 (where he will be 6-8 million under a max player).

 

[The Social Chair]

Silver has probably parlayed the Play-In games + the IST into a billion-dollar payday for the NBA. Excellent Commissioner work

No way. The IST was a flop.

This is just the NBA having incredible timing to take advantage of the cable networks desperate to retain their carrier fees + streamers burning money. They don't get this deal 2 years ago and they don't get it 2 years from now.

Goodell had bad timing. The NBA is only getting $2B less per year than the NFL. Crazy stuff.

 

[benhogan]

No way. The IST was a flop..

Really? I thought it brought excitement to some December games.

The Laker's hanging their IST Banner was hilarious.

Looks like Amazon may pay quite a bit for it (which probably lines up with Xmas shopping)

Amazon's deal is believed to be worth between $1.8B and $2B and would likely include the Emirates In-Season Tournament, the SoFi Play-In Tournament, first-round playoff games, the WNBA and international rights.

https://www.si.com/nba/2023/12/06/nbas-in-season-tournament-unmitigated-success

Just look at the numbers. Local viewership for group-play games was up 20% from games played last November. National games shot up 26%. League Pass viewership for the seven group-play nights increased by 25%. The league’s average attendance (18,206) was the highest for November, while the NBA’s app and social channels had their best first month of the season (3.9 billion video views) ever

Players like it. LeBron James has noted the competitiveness of in-season tournament games. Draymond Green said games had a playoff-like intensity. On TNT, Stan Van Gundy—who will never be confused for a company man—said, “NBA basketball has never been more fun in November and early December.”

Silver, of course, was the driving force behind the in-season tournament. Globally, in other sports, in-season tournaments (such as the UEFA Champions League, in which the top soccer teams in Europe compete, and the various soccer domestic cups, in which teams from all levels compete in a one-and-done format) are fixtures on the calendar.

 

[TrapperAB]

Studying the impact of streaming on sports leagues is going to earn some folks their Ph.D’s.

Captain Obvious reductive analysis: the fracturing of the viewing audience (thank you social media) leads to the increasing value of live events as synchronous viewing events where viewers will watch ads. Those ads fund the TV deals that fund the leagues… and now, within the next 5-8 years, role players will be making $30-$40m a year.

 

[Auger34]

2 teams once the ink dries on the deal.

Seattle and another team with Vegas as the leading contender, with Minnesota or Memphis being the most likely to move to the East. There will be a round of expansion after that with Mexico City, Kansas City, Montreal, San Diego, Louisville, and Vancouver being considered with the possibility of creating another TV set deal for Netflix, Max, and Apple being able to bid on that "D" package, Silver has floated growing to 36. Before the second expansion, the NBA is looking to create a competitor to the Euroleague similar to the BAL in Africa. Then they are looking to have an Intercontinental tourney in the preseason (Summer league rosters has been thrown about).

Just out of curiosity, where did you get that those are the cities that will be considered? Not saying that I disagree (especially with Vancouver, I think they deserve a team) but just wondering.

Selfishly, I would love if Tampa would be considered. The Raptors played here during COVID so there's at least some precedent

 

[InstaFace]

No way. The IST was a flop.

Objection, facts not in evidence.

SI: unqualified success
Forbes: accomplished its mission and then some, league is thrilled
Sports Business Journal: success, could use some tweaks
The Athletic: big success, author was wrong to be skeptical, players were into it
CBS: tournament really took off, author was wrong to be skeptical, ratings are way up
Quora thread: mixed opinions, but several in depth answer cover the extent to which ratings were up (20-26%).
Houston Press: five reasons it was a success

Contrary opinions I can find are mostly random cranks with a substack, or reddit comments.

I dunno man, it looks to me like we can score one for innovation and not being complacent.

 

[Spelunker]

Interesting. Obviously, all the former players and coaches identify with Seattle and are routinely in town being honored or just living life. So, it would be nice for the new franchise to get the history back.

Also, in real ways it doesn't matter: people in Seattle are likely going to treat the Sonics as is it's their history, no matter what corporations say.

 

[Justthetippett]

Objection, facts not in evidence.

SI: unqualified success
Forbes: accomplished its mission and then some, league is thrilled
Sports Business Journal: success, could use some tweaks
The Athletic: big success, author was wrong to be skeptical, players were into it
CBS: tournament really took off, author was wrong to be skeptical, ratings are way up
Quora thread: mixed opinions, but several in depth answer cover the extent to which ratings were up (20-26%).
Houston Press: five reasons it was a success

Contrary opinions I can find are mostly random cranks with a substack, or reddit comments.

I dunno man, it looks to me like we can score one for innovation and not being complacent.

The IST was fun as a novelty but I'll be interested to see if it has any staying power. These other options, like an interleague tourney, seem more likely to be sustainable. But I do credit Silver for looking for ways to innovate the league.

 

[TomRicardo]

Just out of curiosity, where did you get that those are the cities that will be considered? Not saying that I disagree (especially with Vancouver, I think they deserve a team) but just wondering.

Selfishly, I would love if Tampa would be considered. The Raptors played here during COVID so there's at least some precedent

Silver has thrown them out in different interviews, I also missed Nashville and Tampa. My guess would be three west coast and one east coast team in the second expansion.

Mexico City, Vancouver, Kansas City, and Montreal would be my guess though KC is the one I am the least certain on.

 

[TomRicardo]

ESPN, NBC, and Amazon will all be spending more on NBA rights then what they spend on the NFL if that report is true. Sounds like Silver was basically able to leverage one desperate partner (WBD) into monster deals from everyone else. Good for the league and the players who will be getting half.

Well yea because it is 6x times the content heavily weighted to playoffs.

 

[HomeRunBaker]

Not a lot of ways for them to profitably spend the windfall, but I would hope league expansion would then be on the menu.

Just another $10-14B to add to the coffers. This league Freakin prints money!

 

[Senator Donut]

Well yea because it is 6x times the content heavily weighted to playoffs.

ESPN's NFL deal is for 25 games and the new NBA package will be for about 80 games, so I think your math is off. Regardless, the NFL did not quite double its television revenue during its last negotiation, while the NBA is potentially tripling it. That has to be exceeding expectations by any measuring stick.

 

[astrozombie]

Different times, but the influx of money reminds me of 2016 when the cap went up significantly and while the league and owners wanted to smooth that increase out, the players wanted it to happen all at once. That's how Evan Turner got 70 mil, Chandler Parsons 94 mil, etc. Crazy.
I am going to miss the TNT broadcasts and the Inside the NBA crew. Even if they bring the other 3 over with someone else filling Ernie's spot it just won't be the same vibe.

 

[88 MVP]

I will miss the TNT studio crew, but I also preferred the overall TNT production and announcing crews as compared to ESPN/ABC. That will be a loss. I hope Ian Eagle and Kevin Harlan wind up calling games somewhere after the new TV deals kick in.

 

[j-man]

that wont happen but the NBA wouild be better off going to 24 teams and adding vegas seattle the 6 teams i wouild cut are
1 tornto
2 brookland
3 memphis
4 new orlans or i wouild move them to vegas
5 charottle
move portland to seattle
and DC
i couild be talked into just cutting memphis and no

 

[PC Drunken Friar]

that wont happen but the NBA wouild be better off going to 24 teams and adding vegas seattle the 6 teams i wouild cut are
1 tornto
2 brookland
3 memphis
4 new orlans or i wouild move them to vegas
5 charottle
move portland to seattle
and DC
i couild be talked into just cutting memphis and no

Why would it be better off? The young talent in this league is maybe at at all-time high. Portland has some of the most loyal fans in the league and they have little competition for eyeballs (MLS doesn’t take away from them).

You want to take away a team from NYC?

J-man, this is crazy talk!

 

[The Social Chair]

Objection, facts not in evidence.

SI: unqualified success
Forbes: accomplished its mission and then some, league is thrilled
Sports Business Journal: success, could use some tweaks
The Athletic: big success, author was wrong to be skeptical, players were into it
CBS: tournament really took off, author was wrong to be skeptical, ratings are way up
Quora thread: mixed opinions, but several in depth answer cover the extent to which ratings were up (20-26%).
Houston Press: five reasons it was a success

Contrary opinions I can find are mostly random cranks with a substack, or reddit comments.

I dunno man, it looks to me like we can score one for innovation and not being complacent.

I think it was a moderate success for fans who already watch the games. But it didn't move the needle with casual fans or create a significant ratings spike.

Games without the Lakers were flat or down compared to the previous year in those windows. The NBA spent a lot of money and resources, and the ratings were slightly up at best. It's not hard to hit a 25% year-over-year increase when the ratings are already small.

I don't think Amazon pays a dollar less if the IST doesn't happen. They are paying for the entire slate of regional games, plus the playoffs and conference finals.

 

[slamminsammya]

I think it was a moderate success for fans who already watch the games. But it didn't move the needle with casual fans or create a significant ratings spike.

Games without the Lakers were flat or down compared to the previous year in those windows. The NBA spent a lot of money and resources, and the ratings were slightly up at best. It's not hard to hit a 25% year-over-year increase when the ratings are already small.

I don't think Amazon pays a dollar less if the IST doesn't happen. They are paying for the entire slate of regional games, plus the playoffs and conference finals.

“games without the lakers” can you justify this cherry picking?

 

[Ale Xander]

Montreal really makes sense with all the new French players coming into the league.

 

[InstaFace]

Edit: nevermind

 

[j-man]

Why would it be better off? The young talent in this league is maybe at at all-time high. Portland has some of the most loyal fans in the league and they have little competition for eyeballs (MLS doesn’t take away from them).

You want to take away a team from NYC?

J-man, this is crazy talk!

Brooklyn is the nets they are really still jersey team good point on Portland i could move the clips but they have a cool new stadium i couild move oriendo and DC but after that nothing works

 

[PC Drunken Friar]

Brooklyn is the nets they are really still jersey team good point on Portland i could move the clips but they have a cool new stadium i couild move oriendo and DC but after that nothing works

But I have to ask, WHY do you think they should contract? And move a team out of LA is a possibility in your head (or was?)?

 

[j-man]

Why would it be better off? The young talent in this league is maybe at at all-time high. Portland has some of the most loyal fans in the league and they have little competition for eyeballs (MLS doesn’t take away from them).

You want to take away a team from NYC?

J-man, this is crazy talk!

Brooklyn is the nets they are really still jersey team good point on Portland i could move the clips but they have a cool new stadium i couild move oriendo and DC but after that nothing works

 

[j-man]

But I have to ask, WHY do you think they should contract? And move a team out of LA is a possibility in your head (or was?)?

the leauge would be stronger at 24 or 26 teams

 

[PC Drunken Friar]

the leauge would be stronger at 24 or 26 teams

Stronger talent wise, that’s a given. But financially? That would be maybe the biggest blunder in sports history. But the talent is there to support all these teams (plus expansion). And the NIL and transfer rules in the NCAA will just make the league richer in talent.

 

[RSN Diaspora]

Brooklyn is the nets they are really still jersey team good point on Portland i could move the clips but they have a cool new stadium i couild move oriendo and DC but after that nothing works

I can be sure of three things: that the league isn’t folding any franchises, as every one of them is profitable—even the least valuable franchise (Pelicans) is worth $1.6b; that they are not moving Brooklyn out of the country’s #1 media market, and; three, they also aren’t moving the Wizards out of the 9th largest market.

Expansion is inevitable, IMO. Seattle and Vegas are probably near the top—I think the league would love to make Mexico City work, but the economy isn’t strong enough.