Pro sports leagues are the big winners in the streaming war as live sports seem to be the only thing still moving the viewership needle. As long as the production value remains intact, “boom-goes-the-dynamite” type he doesn’t announce, and the stream is actually broadcast, I don’t care who gets the rights to the next NBA contract. Well, that is until I heard it NBC is interested in the renewal of relations with the Association.
There is only one reason for my stance on NBC despite it being unrelated to the criteria I listed above. And that reason is this.
are you kidding me? “Roundball Rock?” The best sports intro music in American television history and John Tesh’s seminal work? It’s enough to make me want to write no-nonsense, branded reviews for any show on the Peacock. I will volunteer to rejoin Twitter and live tweet Bedpan if that means the jingle returns as the theme song to the NBA playoffs.
Can we make Bob Costas old and let him resent Luka Doncic’s moves until he starts seeing Slovenia’s MJ? NBC isn’t the only service interested in broadcasting pro hoops, though.
Apple and Amazon are also showing interest in the NBA
The two aspiring media giants already broadcast MLB (Apple) and NFL (Amazon) games, so this follows. Even if it wasn’t, they invested millions of dollars in programs like List of terminals and Morning show. Live sports probably seem like a cursed oasis after gambling with action star Chris Pratt and late-career Jennifer Aniston.
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The problem for Apple, Amazon and NBC is that the rights have to be opened first, which means it needs to be done exclusive negotiation period with current holders Warner (NBA on TNT) and Disney (ABC and ESPN). However, the last I saw Disney was losing money and employees. You know that Adam Silver has noted Amazon’s $1 billion deal for the NFL’s Thursday Night Football and he wants some of that Internet money. Let’s see how big Bob Iger’s credit line actually is.
Pro sports leagues can indeed thank the streaming wars for the excessive salary cap jump, and be sure to tell Uncle Frank that his love for Jack Reacher is why LeBron James will be making $80 million per season in three years. Amazon and Apple don’t just want our dollars, they want our culture, our minds, our sports and anything else they can cash in on.
Howeverwe’ll always have Roundball Rock and they can’t take that away from us.