Skilled sports activities leagues are the large winners of the streaming wars as a result of dwell sports activities appear to be the one factor that also strikes the scores needle. So long as the manufacturing worth stays intact, the “boom-goes-the-dynamite” man isn’t saying, and the stream really streams, I may care much less who will get the rights to the NBA’s subsequent deal. Effectively, that’s till I heard that NBC is in renewing its relationship with the Affiliation.

There’s just one motive for my pro-NBC lean regardless of it being unrelated to the factors I outlined above. And that motive is that this.

Are you kidding me? “Roundball Rock?” The most effective sports activities intro music within the historical past of American tv, and John Tesh’s seminal work? It’s sufficient to get me to write down unprompted, branded evaluations for any present on Peacock. I’ll voluntarily rejoin Twitter and dwell tweet Evening Courtroom if it signifies that jingle returns because the theme music to the NBA playoffs.

Can we de-age Bob Costas and let him huff Luka Dončić stepbacks till he begins seeing the Slovenian MJ? That mentioned, NBC isn’t the one service thinking about broadcasting professional hoops.

Apple and Amazon additionally present curiosity within the NBA

The 2 aspiring media giants already air MLB (Apple) and NFL (Amazon) video games, so this tracks. Even when it didn’t, they’ve sunk thousands and thousands of {dollars} into applications like The Terminal Record and The Morning Present. Stay sports activities most likely seems like a goddamn oasis after playing on action-star Chris Pratt and late-career Jennifer Aniston.

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The issue for Apple, Amazon, and NBC is the rights have to come open first, which means making it past the unique bargaining interval with the present holders, Warner (NBA on TNT) and Disney (ABC and ESPN). That mentioned, final I noticed Disney was hemorrhaging cash and staff. Adam Silver made a notice of the $1 billion deal Amazon made for NFL’s Thursday Evening Soccer, and desires a few of that web cash. Let’s see how massive Bob Iger’s line of credit score actually is.

Professional sports activities leagues actually have the streaming wars to thank for the exorbitant bounce in wage caps, and you’ll want to inform Uncle Frank that his love of Jack Reacher is why LeBron James will make $80 million per season in three years. Amazon and Apple aren’t simply lusting for our bucks, they need our tradition, our minds, our sports activities, and the rest they’ll monetize.

Nonetheless, we’ll all the time have Roundball Rock, they usually can’t take that away from us.