Oceanside, NY (MPN) – A Year after the NBA inked a $76 Billion deal with NBC, ESPN, and Prime for NBA Broadcasting Rights, the League’s local television landscape is facing a crisis of its own. FanDuel Sports Network’s parent company, Main Street Sports Group, is expected to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy as soon as next week, leaving 13 NBA Teams and 16 NHL Teams in the balance.
The FanDuel Sports saga has been a persistent problem since 2019, with it’s previous owner, Sinclair, also forced to file for bankruptcy, resulting in 5 MLB Teams walking away from their deals and the league taking over their broadcasting rights. which are in the process of being moved to ESPN.
The Latest Chapter of this everlasting situation presents both a problem and an opportunity, with the chance for the NBA to reinvent its broadcasting once more.
The NBA Should Nationalize Its Broadcasts
It is difficult to ignore the direction in which broadcasts are headed, and with and the NBA is acutely aware of this. The Decision by Major League Baseball to pursue nationalization of its broadcasting rights is one driven by a desire to sell more games to National and Digital Partners, with Netflix, and NBC set to enter the fold this season.
The League does not have the same decline in viewership as baseball, but the same benefits that the MLB is expected to experience could benefit the NBA just the same.
Nationalizing FanDuel Teams
The NBA can begin by Nationalizing its broadcasting for the 13 NBA Teams affected by the FanDuel Sports Networks. These teams are,
- Detroit Pistons
- Orlando Magic
- Indiana Pacers
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Oklahoma City Thunder
- Los Angeles Clippers
- Atlanta Hawks
- Charlotte Hornets
- Memphis Grizzlies
- San Antonio Spurs
- Miami Heat
- Milwaukee Bucks
With this, the NBA can begin taking the steps towards establishing a National Platform for its broadcasts, which it would then market to a distributor, which in this case, is one that would be one most practical in handling this, the same company that just acquired NFL Network and is in the process of acquiring the distribution rights to MLB.tv, ESPN.
Why I Think ESPN Makes Sense As the NBA’s New Broadcasting Home
ESPN’s new streaming platform, which launched last year, is already building up quite the inventory, as mentioned before, and with the NBA involved, it becomes an even bigger service.
The Worldwide Leader in Sports, in this scenario, would become the home of two Major League broadcasting hubs, the rights holder to 75 Exclusive NHL Games, on top of 25 games it has the right to air on TV, and the owner of NFL Network and its whip around show, NFL RedZone.
ESPN has the infrastructure, the reach, and the ability to broadcast these NBA Games, and perhaps even the interest, but what I am proposing, entails ESPN having to give up a lot, but in the long run, it could be beneficial for them.
My Proposal: ESPN’s Existing NBA Package is Supplemented With A New Package
ESPN and ABC currently has the rights to broadcast 80 regular season games, with 1st, 2nd round, Conference Finals, and the NBA Finals, costing a total of $2.6 Billion a season.
While The Walt Disney Company is more than willing to spend this kind of money, as the wealth Disney has seems nearly endless, the company could conceivably find itself seeking a cheaper package down the line, especially with the NFL rights being up for grabs, and the price tag of that, possibly going up.
ESPN’s NBA Coverage is Generally Inferior than It’s Competitors
ESPN is spending as much as NBC is to broadcast the NBA, and is broadcasting more marquee events than NBC, including the NBA Finals, but NBC has invested heavily in its graphics and it’s talent, as well as reviving the use of “Roundball Rock”, whereas ESPN is using a blander graphics package, a generic hip-hop sounding song for its open, and is outsourcing its talent in some instances. Amazon Prime, which is spending only $1.9 Billion, is also investing heavily in graphics and talent, poaching two heavy hitters in Ian Eagle and Kevin Harlan, and collaborating with known Hip Hop Artist Common to pen it’s theme.
While ESPN’s generic, corporate feel works well for a cable setting, it becomes problematic when it comes time for ABC to step into the fold, and the discrepancy between the graphics and camera quality of the pregame, halftime, and postgame coverage, as well as the actual game itself, highlights this issue.
Proposal: ESPN Acquires NBA TV, Works to Acquire the Rights of All 30 Teams
On top of the broadcasting rights to 13 NBA Teams, ESPN could also acquire NBA TV, and with it, the broadcasting rights to 60 Regular Season Games. Though currently mere simulcasts, these games would become ESPN productions, and could even simulcast home games to the teams that it would own the rights to, in some instances.
Acquiring the rights to the remaining 17 teams however, would take some time. Right now, six teams have OTA Arrangements that could be easily be absorbed and broadcasted on local ABC affiliates.
Other teams like the Houston Rockets and the New York Knicks, have their own Television networks, or have agreements with another RSN provider like NBC Sports Network, and would need to be convinced to give up those rights. In regards to MSG Networks, this may be easier than it seems, as the network is struggling financially the last few years, and has worked to stave off bankruptcy.
Ideally, the NBA, and ESPN could have the broadcasting rights to all 30 teams by 2034, when the Kings deal with NBC Sports California expires.
While ESPN would be the distributor, each team would still be responsible for producing their own broadcasts, this would allow for teams to retain their existing play by play and color analysts, as well as their studio hosts. This would allow for home and away feeds to exist
Fate of ESPN’s “A” Package
This proposal would see ESPN’s “A” Package be split up, and sold off. The Package itself currently consists of 80 regular season games, including the Christmas Day slate, Playoff matches in the 1st and 2nd Round, Conference Finals matches, and the NBA Finals, which aires on ABC.
The NBA Finals would most likely be moved to NBC, as it has the same reach as ABC, and would be the most aggressive bidder in that scenario.
But, the fate of 80 Regular Season Games would be left in the balance, and with that, opens the door for the return of TNT
An Old Friend Returns
With Warner Bros. Discovery being divided into two companies, the cable arm of the company is being spun off. Discovery Global, which will control TNT, would be in a unique position to add to its catalog of sports rights. Such a scenario could also appeal to Paramount, should it be successful in it’s bid to acquire Warner Bros Discovery.
With TNT Sports already producing Inside the NBA, it would not be difficult for it to return to the NBA Broadcasting arena, armed with ESPN’s former “A Package”, sans the NBA Finals, as well as Christmas Day Games, a scenario that would please hard core NBA Fans.
The Nationalization of NBA Rights would be a difficult endeavor, but it is one that I think would benefit all sides involved, and help maximize the league’s potential revenue streams, as well as its audience.