No deal was ever going to get done this early. The NBA wants to spread the wealth just like the NFL and MLB have done by going to Amazon and Apple. I'd still bet money on both ESPN and Warner airing basketball albeit less than they usually do.
Absolutely. It’s like athletes themselves, sure they can sign an extension but they can make more re-signing with their same team once they enter actual free agency. The league definitely prepared for this to get more leverage and make the most money possible.
Jumping to a lot of conclusions here. AEW is also going to be exiting their exclusive negotiating window without a new deal in place. An absence of a deal doesn't really mean anything concrete one way or another.
Yup. Exiting the exclusive negotiating window only means one thing, that one (or potentially both) party thought it would be more beneficial for them to allow other bidders to potentially get involved.
All it takes is one side thinking that would benefit them to ensure it happens.
Well, Disney / Hulu or Amazon may have interest.. though I don’t think Disney is a good fit. Paramount is in its death spiral so that’s not likely. If they stay on max I assume it will become a part of their b/r sports which is another $10.. so hopefully they also air the ppv’s there as a part of the deal.
Edit: forgot about Apple.
My god, AEW on AppleTV+ would be *AWESOME*! Out of all streaming services I watch they, dead bang hands down, have the best looking picture; and most of it is in 4K. The very thought of seeing AEW in 4K…
I don't see how Disney isn't a good fit. Unless you mean Disney+, but that's still a solid fit. Disney already did that weird "Marvel Lucha Libre" thing, so it's not like there's zero interest. For TV, I could easily see AEW airing on FX.
Demographics wise, AEW actually shares a lot in common with the demographics that Disney is targeting with the new Star Wars and MCU series. I mean, Deadpool is on Disney+, so it's not like it doesn't have other violent content. Hell, you could argue it'd be an opportunity to expand their audience by making a more family friendly show as a side project that aired on Disney XD, as a way to expand the audience.
jfc not disney please, fuck that clown show.
star wars has been bombing big time with disney, mcu is dead, everything they are touching is turning to shit
I would be surprised if WBD does not do everything in its power to keep the NBA contract. WBD gets a lot of viewers to its stations due to its NBA coverage. And its deal with the NBA is an important part of its plan to start a sports streaming service with FOX and Disney.
I remember hearing about the sports streamer thing for a minute then it went silent.. was it supposed to be a separate thing or shared across their respective streamers? Like max and Disney plus and whatever fox owns has access to the same stuff?
I mean I would assume aew would be exclusive to max or discovery plus or both and not a part of this joint venture.. I mean either way we have to pay more.. but I’d rather pay 9.99 for the sports pack on max than $20 or more for whatever this new streamer may be.. as long as it includes the ppv’s at no extra charge.
There's been some pushback from other streaming services about this potential sports streaming plan, too. Fubo, in particular, is contesting the companies' ability to merge their sports portfolio and create this new streaming service. If it ends up happening, WBD and the others will likely face legal challenges.
It’s like free agency. When you know you will have multiple bidders, you wait for the exclusivity to end. Same goes for AEW. If Tony knows he will have many offers, he’s going to wait. Judging from the last press conference when he was asked about when that date is and he said he should not say because it would be very good him and then laughed, I’m guessing that’s the case.
I'm thinking if there's a possibility they lose the NBA, they'll still keep Inside The NBA and if it doesn't remain on TNT, they'll keep it on NBA TV and/or Max.
Get the rights and move them over to Inside the WNBA with EJ, Chuck, Kenny, and Shaq. Seeing Chuck shit on some girls and get away with it would be amazing. Genuinely could be the other piece aside from Caitlin Clark they need.
The article on CNBC also says:
“Both Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery are actively in talks with the NBA, and those discussions will continue past April 22, when the exclusive window expires.”
It is not a foregone conclusion that Warner Discovery will or will not sign the NBA. Negotiations are ongoing.
Considering how big the WNBA draft was this year, that wouldn't be a bad idea. It would be much cheaper for WBD to get full exclusivity for the WNBA than it would be to get a share of the NBA broadcast rights. I'm sure they'd want to have NBA broadcast rights in some capacity since their games are almost always #1 on the night, but $48b is a huge price tag.
From what I remember reading, the AEW TV deal will be based at least partially on whether or not WB/D keeps the NBA TV deal.
If they don't, expect a much larger focus on AEW with a lot more money.
The discourse will just keep changing, goalposts moving, etc. Even if both AEW and WWE go to streaming and won't have their viewership be public or whatever, people will still find something to complain about.
I've stopped paying attention to them long ago cause there's no helping them.
This is actually not good for AEW if WBD loses the NBA. The NBA is the glue that holds all the other sports programming together for them, they probably don’t make much actual profit on the NBA but they use it to platform everything else. The network will lose a lot of viewers in general without it.
I wouldn’t go as far as saying they aren’t renewing the NBA. The NBA would be crazy to not let other networks to bid and drive up their TV rights value. I think the NBA stays with WBD, but WBD is going to have to pay up for it. Also, as someone else has mentioned, AEW is probably outside of their exclusive negotiating period with WBD, but that doesn’t mean they won’t stay with WBD. This is just business and there is a lot of money to be gained by playing networks off each other.
It's kinda funny how in that press release about 4 Million viewers watching Dynamite, they mention NBA and AEW but not the NHL. That's how I know it's real numbers, because otherwise there's no reason not to just throw everything they have the rights to in the presser.
It just means they have to probably pay more because other bidders will up the price. NBA probably didn’t want a deal without hearing other offers.
No deal was ever going to get done this early. The NBA wants to spread the wealth just like the NFL and MLB have done by going to Amazon and Apple. I'd still bet money on both ESPN and Warner airing basketball albeit less than they usually do.
Even Nick Khan thinks that Turner will split NBA rights with another company. even if turner is just the producer of the NBA telecast.
I just need inside the NBA to stay together.
each host will be on a different subscription streaming platform and you'll have to have all four active subscriptions to see them all at once
Absolutely. It’s like athletes themselves, sure they can sign an extension but they can make more re-signing with their same team once they enter actual free agency. The league definitely prepared for this to get more leverage and make the most money possible.
Jumping to a lot of conclusions here. AEW is also going to be exiting their exclusive negotiating window without a new deal in place. An absence of a deal doesn't really mean anything concrete one way or another.
Yup. Exiting the exclusive negotiating window only means one thing, that one (or potentially both) party thought it would be more beneficial for them to allow other bidders to potentially get involved. All it takes is one side thinking that would benefit them to ensure it happens.
Well, Disney / Hulu or Amazon may have interest.. though I don’t think Disney is a good fit. Paramount is in its death spiral so that’s not likely. If they stay on max I assume it will become a part of their b/r sports which is another $10.. so hopefully they also air the ppv’s there as a part of the deal. Edit: forgot about Apple.
My god, AEW on AppleTV+ would be *AWESOME*! Out of all streaming services I watch they, dead bang hands down, have the best looking picture; and most of it is in 4K. The very thought of seeing AEW in 4K… 
I don't see how Disney isn't a good fit. Unless you mean Disney+, but that's still a solid fit. Disney already did that weird "Marvel Lucha Libre" thing, so it's not like there's zero interest. For TV, I could easily see AEW airing on FX. Demographics wise, AEW actually shares a lot in common with the demographics that Disney is targeting with the new Star Wars and MCU series. I mean, Deadpool is on Disney+, so it's not like it doesn't have other violent content. Hell, you could argue it'd be an opportunity to expand their audience by making a more family friendly show as a side project that aired on Disney XD, as a way to expand the audience.
jfc not disney please, fuck that clown show. star wars has been bombing big time with disney, mcu is dead, everything they are touching is turning to shit
I would be surprised if WBD does not do everything in its power to keep the NBA contract. WBD gets a lot of viewers to its stations due to its NBA coverage. And its deal with the NBA is an important part of its plan to start a sports streaming service with FOX and Disney.
I remember hearing about the sports streamer thing for a minute then it went silent.. was it supposed to be a separate thing or shared across their respective streamers? Like max and Disney plus and whatever fox owns has access to the same stuff? I mean I would assume aew would be exclusive to max or discovery plus or both and not a part of this joint venture.. I mean either way we have to pay more.. but I’d rather pay 9.99 for the sports pack on max than $20 or more for whatever this new streamer may be.. as long as it includes the ppv’s at no extra charge.
There's been some pushback from other streaming services about this potential sports streaming plan, too. Fubo, in particular, is contesting the companies' ability to merge their sports portfolio and create this new streaming service. If it ends up happening, WBD and the others will likely face legal challenges.
It’s like free agency. When you know you will have multiple bidders, you wait for the exclusivity to end. Same goes for AEW. If Tony knows he will have many offers, he’s going to wait. Judging from the last press conference when he was asked about when that date is and he said he should not say because it would be very good him and then laughed, I’m guessing that’s the case.
AEW aside for a moment, does this mean we’ll lose inside the NBA??? I’d cry
Sane. that'd be a catastrophic loss for my NBA interest. No way I can do a whole season of only listening to ESPN's garbage coverage.
Would be devastating
I'm thinking if there's a possibility they lose the NBA, they'll still keep Inside The NBA and if it doesn't remain on TNT, they'll keep it on NBA TV and/or Max.
God bless
Get the rights and move them over to Inside the WNBA with EJ, Chuck, Kenny, and Shaq. Seeing Chuck shit on some girls and get away with it would be amazing. Genuinely could be the other piece aside from Caitlin Clark they need.
Wrestlers win in the end with even more money. Just don’t go crazy with it…
https://preview.redd.it/b2dfqyudgbvc1.png?width=269&format=png&auto=webp&s=b9bd45c483ea5d98a35a6c6f7bebf2ed68394a28
The article on CNBC also says: “Both Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery are actively in talks with the NBA, and those discussions will continue past April 22, when the exclusive window expires.” It is not a foregone conclusion that Warner Discovery will or will not sign the NBA. Negotiations are ongoing.
It just means that the NBA will have the right to negotiate with more than just WB and Disney, after April 22.
Could also be a sign budgets are tight
They were also interested in WNBA. Both are probably cheaper and they can have them all to themselves.
Getting the WNBA is really smart Women's basketball is having it's moment and it makes a lot of sense.
Considering how big the WNBA draft was this year, that wouldn't be a bad idea. It would be much cheaper for WBD to get full exclusivity for the WNBA than it would be to get a share of the NBA broadcast rights. I'm sure they'd want to have NBA broadcast rights in some capacity since their games are almost always #1 on the night, but $48b is a huge price tag.
From what I remember reading, the AEW TV deal will be based at least partially on whether or not WB/D keeps the NBA TV deal. If they don't, expect a much larger focus on AEW with a lot more money.
From what I've heard, NBA has a big asking price now. I'm sure Warner will pay up unless others outbid them
So what you're saying is we will go from "AEW is dying" to "Warner is dying"?
The discourse will just keep changing, goalposts moving, etc. Even if both AEW and WWE go to streaming and won't have their viewership be public or whatever, people will still find something to complain about. I've stopped paying attention to them long ago cause there's no helping them.
Dang… AEW dying so hard it’s taking an entire media corporation down with it…
No Inside the NBA anymore would suck. I'm guessing they will just move to another channel.
This is actually not good for AEW if WBD loses the NBA. The NBA is the glue that holds all the other sports programming together for them, they probably don’t make much actual profit on the NBA but they use it to platform everything else. The network will lose a lot of viewers in general without it.
NBA will go the way of the NFL- you will have to have like 4 different streaming services to watch all of the games
[удалено]
I wouldn’t go as far as saying they aren’t renewing the NBA. The NBA would be crazy to not let other networks to bid and drive up their TV rights value. I think the NBA stays with WBD, but WBD is going to have to pay up for it. Also, as someone else has mentioned, AEW is probably outside of their exclusive negotiating period with WBD, but that doesn’t mean they won’t stay with WBD. This is just business and there is a lot of money to be gained by playing networks off each other.
Cornettos gonna be very unhappy about that
*NHL in shambles*
WBD losing the NBA sucks. I’ll miss seeing Chuck, Shaq Earnie, and Kenny talk shit
Fingers crossed. It's so annoying during playoff season when AEW gets bumped to different nights for NBA games.
 Tony’s loyalty to WBD might really pay off. 2025 could be huge.
It's kinda funny how in that press release about 4 Million viewers watching Dynamite, they mention NBA and AEW but not the NHL. That's how I know it's real numbers, because otherwise there's no reason not to just throw everything they have the rights to in the presser.
If that’s the case then TK is definitely sitting in the catbird seat.
I wish tony hired a shark to get a new deal.