Oh ****, as sh!tty as the premier league coverage has been on peacock I didn't even think about that. I guess the hope would be, because of league pass, nba games on peacock becomes an impossibility
LOL @ the hate on Costas, that man alone is better than anything TNT, ABC, ESPN or whoever has produced to introduce a Finals game.
Agree that generally speaking nobody is watching. So it won't bring viewers. While Football has been good, this is not football. NBC needs help, but the world has changed. If NBC drops out which would be the intelligent move, as TNT knows, then they have to go to the Amazon's of the world who can lay down the money without thinking. Even with a superstar, which is missing, that won't be enough to keep the pot pouring unless they think outside the box on how to generate more revenue from the telecast.
Discovery sold all their aluminum cans to buy WB and they have been pinching pennies and cutting projects since the sale went public. There are also rumors out there and them selling WB to Universal in a couple years too.
When its next cycle of long-term media rights begins with the 2025-26 season, the NBA will seek a combined $50 billion to $75 billion. During an exclusive negotiating period next year, the Walt Disney Co.’s ESPN and Warner Bros. Discovery Sports’ TNT will defend their rights that go back to 2002 and 1984, respectively. But a familiar heavyweight could step in later — and a decades-long feud between executives could be central to the battle. The Peacock has a deep connection to the $10 billion league. Its 12-year run with “The NBA on NBC” from 1990-2002 is fondly remembered as a golden age for basketball broadcasting. Iconic announcers like Bob Costas and Ahmad Rashad brought Michael Jordan and the late Kobe Bryant into millions of homes. Games were introduced to the pounding score of John Tesh’s “Roundball Rock,” one of the most popular sports themes ever. Now, Comcast’s NBCUniversal wants an NBA package including playoff games for its broadcast network and regular-season games for its Peacock streaming platform, according to CNBC. That means the stars could align for a WWE-like rematch between Comcast chairman/CEO Brian Roberts and his nemesis, Disney CEO Bob Iger — who has won most of their battles. But if NBC snatches the NBA from ESPN, Roberts could win the war. “Brian Roberts and Bob Iger are personal rivals — as well as business rivals,” noted Matthew Belloni, former editor of The Hollywood Reporter turned co-founder of Puck News. “If they can make a smart choice for their own company — and screw over the other guy — they are going to do it.” The interest is likely mutual between the NBA and NBC. Consumers are turning away from pay cable networks like ESPN and TNT, which makes free, over-the-air broadcast channels like NBC increasingly attractive to sports leagues looking for the broadest footprint. NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” — distributed in virtually every U.S. TV home — has reigned as the No. 1 show in prime time for a record 12 straight years. Don’t think the NBA doesn’t know it, said media consultant John Kosner. “NBC was a terrific and transformative broadcast partner for the NBA from 1990 to 2002. They have prime-time windows Saturday nights after their new Big Ten package kicks in. And they have Sunday night windows after the NFL season,” said the former ESPN executive. “So they make a ton of sense. I don’t think the NBA is at all dissatisfied with the partners they have. But competition is always a good thing if you’re a rights-holder.” Under their current rights deals, incumbents ESPN and TNT pay a combined $24 billion, or $2.6 billion annually. Both ESPN and NBC declined to comment for this story, but ESPN’s Pitaro previously told The Athletic he wants to retain the NBA. “It’s an incredibly important property for us,” he said. NBC is just one of several options for the NBA, which is expected to sell multiple rights packages — including one to a giant streamer such as Amazon Prime Video (which has a deal with the NBA in Brazil). Other bidders could include Apple, Google/YouTube, CBS Sports, and Fox Sports. The NBA could simply re-up with ESPN and TNT for higher fees like it did in 2014, when it signed nine-year extensions with the duo beginning in the 2016-17 season. Other companies never got to bid. But economic headwinds could redraw the competitive map for leagues and media companies alike. Cost-cutting WBD Sports boss David Zaslavsent shockwaves through Wall Street in November when he declared, “We don’t have to have the NBA.” Iger has ordered Disney to slash 3% of its global workforce, which would mean 7,000 lost jobs and $5.5 billion in cost savings. The layoffs could come down any moment at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut. With cord-cutting hammering their bottom lines, will ESPN and TNT pay what it takes to retain the NBA? One sports TV executive thinks they will: “When companies are hemorrhaging money, they cut costs to afford the stuff they want to keep. I have no doubt they want to keep the NBA.” Meanwhile, cash-rich Comcast and Roberts could be waiting in the wings to write a big check and get payback on a vulnerable Disney and Iger. When Comcast’s NBCUniversal bought DreamWorks for $3.8 billion in 2016, Roberts admitted to “Disney envy,” according to the Wall Street Journal. But Iger may be the one who turns green if Comcast can steal the NBA from Disney and ESPN. “That would be a coup if NBC could get those rights back. But it’s all about price,” Belloni said.
Use to love the TNT show but last couple years, it’s been unbearable. Jokes are tired, politics are becoming heavily involved, just bad. Would love to hear that NBA on NBC theme again if TNT isn’t renewed. Whatever I don’t have to pay extra for works.
Unfortunately, I think you would have to pay extra for Peacock streaming service per this article for certain regular season games. I hate that we have to sign up for extra services to watch sports. Baseball did it with Apple TV, football did it with Amazon and now NBA potentially with Peacock. Smh...
Big fan of the NBA on NBC during its run, the whole presentation was great. If they are selling packages why not include them? If the NBA wants to continue to grow in global popularity it should also be on additional free broadcasting networks to showcase the games in more homes and countries.
I've never used Peacock but it's cheap as hell, so that's nice. There are sales occasionally where you can get it for 12 months for a one time payment of $20.
While NBA is supposedly growing, traditional TV ratings have been dipping. Even sports is not entirely immune. I wouldn't mind seeing NBC get it for the national games. Be it NBC, ABC, ESPN or TNT, NBA keeps thinking they can raise their rates, while the tv ratings and ad revenue, might not necessarily justify it. Bally's and At&T SportsNet are having problems covering NBA's licensing fee. Some of the regional local stations like Portland might also go away. If NBA gets less from TV money, they'll likely raise the prices on current/future replacement steaming platforms. That and continue to lean into sponsors from gambling/betting companies. This assumption that NBA (player salary/team revenue) will just continue to grow, but the sources of those money have been changing / evolving. The revenue source pit is not bottomless.
Interesting point about gambling and betting companies. I would assume that if they go full force in the direction for their money no one will be able to believe what they see anymore. It will just turn into another scripted performance like pro-wrestling.
Please let it be so! TNT and ESPN in particular can piss off with their fake, woke, dumb, racist and divisive agenda. I’ll take NBA on YouTube with guys from The Starters as commentary with just guys talking over arena footage as a half-time show over the current drag.
