[Article](https://theathletic.com/5478528/2024/05/08/nba-tnt-nbc-tv-deal-david-zaslav/?source=user_shared_article)
>Two years ago, Zaslav dunked on NBA commissioner Adam Silver’s league.
>“We don’t have to have the NBA,” said Zaslav, who is reportedly paid like an NBA star at nearly $50 million a year, during an RBC investor conference.
>Zaslav’s words zinged the ears of Silver and NBA executives. It has left Zaslav and TNT Sports fighting for their NBA lives with a Faustian choice.
>Zaslav can either show fiscal restraint and lose the NBA to NBC, puncturing TNT Sports in the process, or he can pay the reported $2.5 billion per season asking price for a lesser package than he currently owns, proving that he does need the NBA.
>Any deal for TNT or NBC is expected to include a conference final every other year, as opposed to TNT’s current setup of every season. Either network is anticipated to hold onto the yearly All-Star Game broadcast.
by lopea182
42 Comments
Oh yeah because what’ve you got late night early mornings of charmed re runs and a bunch of other crappy “original programming”? Boo Wendy. Serrrusly
If NBC gets NBA rights and they let people watch games on Peacock too, I am 100% subscribing because I watch the Premier League and I would get NBA games too, possible playoffs as well.
Zaslav is the biggest fraud out there. He’s living off the reputation of gutting historically awesome TV channels like Discovery and Animal Planet in favor of reality TV and trashy entertainment. Fuck David Zaslav’s bitch ass.
I’m sure the endless MyPillow infomercials will be just as lucrative.
>Any deal for TNT or NBC is expected to include a conference final every other year, as opposed to TNT’s current setup of every season
Boooo
Rumour has it a certain denver nuggest center said the same thing about playing defense. “You don’t need it”
Wow, the guy who was the villain in the writers and actors strikes is the villain in this too, who could have imagined?
Dude still think ppl watch cable
Who even watches TNT outside of NBA basketball. Honest question. Like all I see are Movie reruns nonstop on weekends and Supernatural reruns on Weekdays whenever I walk by a TV playing TNT at the gym
Oh nice, the guy who’s bright idea it was to rename HBO, one of the great entertainment brands, as MAX just to confuse people.
zaslav absolutely sucks. what he’s done to hbo is a crime. i’m proud to be an alum of the school that relentlessly booed and heckled that trash during his commencement speech.
I would love to see the NBA to go to a streaming service. Would make things so much easier to view. Losing the Inside the NBA crew would suck though.
I really hope that the league pass experience is improved and they don’t screw us further there. Luckily my vpn worked this year.
Man’s about to fuck around and find out
How the fuck is David Zaslav this rich powerful tv network exec when literally every decision he seems to make is awful?
Zaslav cares more about the salaries of himself and the rest of the board at Warner Brothers. Greed wins nowadays
No way TNT is gonna make more than 2.5 billion a year off NBA rights. I thought warner made like 50 million last year, the NBA rights are way to expensive considering the NBA regular season ratings continue to go down.
Is this the guy who canceled all the good shows Max had just so Velma had no competition?
I mean, I don’t need a dishwasher. But, ya know…life is undeniably better with one.
Artificial Intelligence is going to replace so many Humans and do their jobs instead.
People like Zaslav need to be the first to go. He contributes nothing and is as heartless as a machine. At least AI would be better at lying than he is.
Ego is the enemy.
The fact that you all know the names of the Charmed sisters….WITF!?
David Zaslav is not good at his job
Isn’t TNT just nba and Shawshank reruns ?
Fuck Zaslav for a number of reason but also they shuttered RoosterTeeth / Funhaus and I will never forgive them.
Also leadership has been on this trend of making full-ass movies and then…not releasing them for tax purposes?
Fucking guy is the media equivalent of a shady chop shop owner…. Strip down sell the good parts and even get tax breaks for the rest of the shit you cut bait on too…..
I don’t know if anyone caught it, but at the very start of inside last night, Chuck said “good thing we don’t have to worry about getting fired.” I’ve got a bad feeling we may only have a few weeks left of this great show.
not wrong, the NBA is trending down sadly
Elon Musk and Microsoft are already doing a great job of radicalizing the masses against capitalism rn, but if we lose Inside the NBA because of Zazlov, I will turn into the Joker.
> “We don’t have to have the NBA,” said Zaslav, who is reportedly paid like an NBA star at nearly $50 million a year, during an RBC investor conference.
This reminds me of when NBC lost the NFL and had to pay heavily to get it back, or when CBS lost the NFL and had to pay heavily to get it back, or when NBC lost the NBA and is now paying heavily to get it back.
Except at least in the previous mentions, everyone didn’t know that the cable model would become so heavily reliant on sports and other live programming.
If anything depends on Zaslav making the right call, it’s fucked.
wait Zaslav is in charge of Turner? lmao fuck him, gooooo NBC
The ONLY thing I watch on TNT or TBS is basketball. This is dumb.
$2.5 billion per year is already absolutly insane.
The whole stuff needs to be studied.
I know we were want to knock Zaslav, and he deserves it
But looking at the math on The NBA rights makes it very hard to see how TNT/WB can justify the expenditure
The existing NBA deal was loss leading for TNT, as a lot of live sports deals are.
It may cost them 2-3x to renew the deal and they’ll receive significantly less high rating playoff games if they do.
A cable network already dwindling just may not be able to cover that expenditure when the price is inflated by new streaming partners who are comfortable losing money to gain/consolidate market share.
David Asslav is more like it. Don’t fucking ruin THE greatest pre/post-game show ever.
I would never tune into TNT if they didn’t broadcast NBA games. ‘
Also throw Zazzy into a pit of fire and damnation, he’s evil.
Feels like the use of Faustian is wrong here.
They don’t need the NBA they have AEW! lol 😂
aren’t people watching less and less?
So wait? Am I gonna have to get peacock now!”?
TNT knows drama lol