Charles Barkley has been on something of a media tour sharing his displeasure with how things have gone when it comes to the state of Turner Sports’ relationship with the NBA.
Charles Barkley says morale sucks amid the uncertainty of “Inside the NBA” moving forward. And discusses the possibility of hiring the crew to his production company, continuing to do the show, and selling it. pic.twitter.com/gLoiKm7SM3
— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) May 23, 2024
With Turner Sports, and really its parent company Warner Bros. Discovery, looking likely to lose its NBA package after next season, many have said WBD CEO David Zaslav badly screwed this situation up, whether it be underestimating how much NBC would be willing to pay to get back in the game or his infamous comments about not “needing” the NBA.
You know who hasn’t said that Zaslav screwed up, however? David Samson. The former Marlins president and host of Nothing Personal, which airs at 10 a.m. ET on DraftKings Network, joined The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz on Thursday to explain his thoughts.
Dan asks David what has been botched the most and whether he’s surprised that the NBA, with its ratings supposedly in decline, is about to get PAID. Well, David says that he actually DOESN’T think Zaslav and WBD has botched this at all! He thinks Zaslav was serious when he told investors that they didn’t need basketball rights and he was … wait for it … RIGHT! Huh?
David goes on to say that he thinks Adam Silver has played this round of media negotiations fine, with plenty of bidders, and moreover Charles Barkley will be just fine as well. After all, he reportedly could become a free agent if WBD loses its NBA package. So David belives that, ultimately, all the negativity about the NBA leaving Turner Sports after being on its airwaves since 1989 will disappear within moments of Roundball Rock playing through our collective speakers.
Dan seems incredulous that there was truly nothing botched in WBD’s losing of basketball and that this is, as David puts it, much ado about nothing. David reminds Dan and the audience that Zaslav answers to investors and WBD is a company with a HUGE amount of debt. Furthermore, David says we’re talking about a rights package which might not actually turn a profit. It might not actually make money. GASP! So David reiterates that Zaslav is the chairman of all of WBD, not just Turner Sports.
David teases that all of this is discussed at length in the next installment of Meadowlark’s The Sporting Class featuring himself, Pablo Torre and John Skipper, set to drop on Friday. He says on The Sporting Class they discussed ratings while trying to uncover the truth — no one truly cares about them when they’re about to write a check. David claims ratings never come up in these type of negotiations. David says that when companies are acquiring content they’re really trying to justify subscription revenue. For instance, when he was with the Marlins no one ever talked about ratings when it came time to negotiate. He says the regional sports network would go to him and say they were willing to pay X number of dollars based on the number of subscribers to the network because they needed content on that network. Meanwhile, once people began cutting the cord and only paid for what they truly wanted, the regional sports networks started going bankrupt. The irony, he says, is now as the TV landscape changes all the streaming services are bundling back together again. Time is truly a flat circle.
He says the reason why this has become such a hot topic is Inside the NBA. David says he tries to remind people that David Letterman once moved from NBC to CBS and people were shocked. But, he kept on going at CBS for many years and everything was fine. People will get used to finding the games on NBC, they’ll get used to the new announcers, so he really doesn’t think Adam Silver even gave this a thought. The idea that Silver was angry about Zaslav’s comments about not needing the NBA? Horse hockey!
Check out the full Best Of video above, and tune into The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz Monday-Friday at 11 a.m. ET on DraftKings Network!
SHOW BREAKDOWN
Local Hour: The Sun Will Come Up Tomorrow…If The Sky Doesn’t Fall
- Today’s cast: Dan, Amin, Charlotte, Billy, Jeremy, and Tony. It’s time to head back to WFAT to celebrate the total disaster around the New York Mets including Jorge Lopez (maybe) calling them the worst f****** team in baseball, the highest payroll in baseball, and some hijinks from the 1993 Mets. Is it okay to spray a water gun of bleach at media? Is there a difference between a firecracker and an explosive? Plus, Dan was blown away by the outpouring of love toward Bill Walton when he passed away, not just as the athlete but the human being he was off the court. We discuss Walton’s impact and how he was able to overcome depression and physical pain to bring sunshine to others’ lives.
Big Suey: Sanibel is GONE?!?!
Is Bad Boys 4 the Will Smith comeback tour? Have you seen a Fast & Furious movie? Did you ever confuse Mr. Bean with Gollum? Then, we have to get from Climate Change to Jimmy Butler, but the crew finds a path. Izzy Gutierrez is here with us to discuss a potential Jimmy Butler extension coming from someone other than the Miami Heat, living near Lionel Messi, and owning a boat. Plus, Charlotte is having a DAY.
Hour 1: Short and Old
- David Samson joins the show to share a bit of what you’ll get on tomorrow’s Sporting Class regarding the debate around TNT and NBA TV rights. He also shares some insight on Steve Cohen and the Mets falling apart, his reaction after sex, his movie review, and his Top 5 Laws That Cease To Exist in a Dystopian Society in a Civil War. Plus, Amin and Izzy lead the crew to a groundbreaking experiment regarding Uber Eats pricing after a dinner debacle last night.
Hour 2: Getting Caught In the Rain
- Charlotte got caught in the rain yesterday. Is that something you, the listener, enjoys? Or is it just the weird guy from The Pina Colada Song? Then, Mina Kimes is here to deliver her Top 5 Things She Is Surprised Haven’t Been Improved Upon. Plus, she sticks around to provide her top tier NFL analysis on Jordan Love, Jaylen Waddle, C.J. Stroud, Tua Tagovailoa, Jalen Hurts, and Aaron Rodgers.
Postgame Show: Spliff Notes
- JuJu the ombudsman is here to discuss his feud with Izzy, update the polls, take down Amin, and tell us everything we missed on today’s show.
VIDEO:
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