Tonight in Unpacks: With the downfall of Diamond Sports Group, NBA teams are looking to a national media rights deal for security, as SBJ’s Terry Lefton reports in an Early Access look at next week’s magazine.
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NBA teams eye alternative local revenue options
You might think the NBA cognoscenti gathered in frigid Indianapolis for the recent All-Star festivities had basketball on their minds. Actually, a different contest was paramount for those many marketers camped out at the JW Marriott: the waiting game for the league’s new media deal, after which teams could pick up the pieces of their regional TV deals, many scattered like popcorn on the floor of a theater after a movie and seemingly headed for the same level of value.
“There’s a lot of thinking around the league that the magic bullet is the new national media deal that will make everyone quiet down,” said Bucks President Peter Feigin. “A lot of teams aren’t better than a year ago, and many are worse. So much revenue is disappearing from those 15 Diamond [RSN] teams that it feels like we are kicking the can down the road before a lot of teams will start to recoup in local media.”
The Hawks, one of the 15 NBA teams affected by the Diamond Sports Group bankruptcy, in January moved 10 games to over-the-air TV for the first time in 30 years. All the affected teams will wait until at least March for clarity on the bankruptcy.
What was once reliably a top revenue stream for teams has become reliably uncertain for the future, as SBJ's Terry Lefton reports in this Early Access look at next week's magazine.