But one topic drew four questions: the state of the NBA media rights deal.
Rightfully so, too. Fans are curious how and where they will be watching the NBA when the current rights deal expires after next season. And they’re worried that an enormously popular element of national coverage will not be part of the new agreement.
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The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that the league is closing in on an 11-year, $76 billion deal with NBCUniversal, Disney (which owns ESPN and ABC), and Amazon for broadcast rights.
Such a deal would most likely exclude current rights-holder Warner Brothers Discovery, which has a relationship with the NBA (under its previous Turner umbrella) going back to the mid-1980s.
That would mean that its “Inside The NBA” studio show — the best of its genre in any sport, ever — would end up on another network in an altered form, or cease to exist altogether, which would be a shame.
Silver, who for a commissioner of a major professional sport possesses the uncommon attribute of actually coming across as a true fan, said he understands why fans are concerned about what becomes of “Inside the NBA,” which features Turner Sports/WBD lifer Ernie Johnson and analysts Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Shaquille O’Neal.
“It has been difficult. That show in particular is special,” Silver said. “I have a close relationship with everyone who’s on that show, from the time they played in the league, as well, and Ernie and I have been friends forever.
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“At the same time, it’s not just the talent, of course. There’s hundreds of longtime people who have been involved with what I still refer to as Turner Sports, who have been longtime friends and colleagues, and no different at the other networks.
“On one hand, from the league standpoint, it’s fantastic to be liked and to be wanted and to have multiple suitors. At the same time, it makes me uncomfortable that it’s zero sum, that at the end of the day there’s only going to be so many television packages, there’s only so many Finals games and playoff games and regular-season games to distribute.”
Silver evaded a question regarding whether WBD has the right to match a deal agreed upon by another network or streaming service in the negotiations, saying it was a “complex legal issue.”
He did not address whether the rights package could expand to four partners in order to keep WBD involved in a smaller deal, even just a game per week. But Silver did express the utmost confidence that this is the ideal time to connect with a streaming service such as Amazon, even as sports fans become more disenchanted as their favorite team’s games are spread out across the television and streaming landscape.
“If you watch where the eyeballs are going . . . we’re all moving into watching premium programming on streaming services,” said Silver.
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“Trying to predict how fast this will move is I think what’s so difficult. I think there’s been a faster decline in cable viewership, cable usage and viewership than people were predicting even only two years ago, and the move is happening fast to streaming services.
“Traditional cable, it’s not going away, but it’s continuing to decrease. And then streaming platforms are seeing accelerated growth, particularly around premium live sports. We’re sort of trying to put foot, hand, finger in sort of every one of those buckets.”
Waiting to hear
The past few days haven’t brought the best news for those thinking big about NESN’s Bruins play-by-play opening.
Dave Goucher, who called Bruins games on the radio for 17 years before leaving to become the Vegas Golden Knights’ TV voice in their inaugural 2017-18 season, told me Wednesday that he is remaining in his current gig. The Bruins had reached out to Goucher about the NESN position, and he said he was “flattered” by the consideration, but he and his wife have decided to remain in Las Vegas.
John Forslund is another name high on many Bruins fans’ wish lists as a successor to Jack Edwards. Forslund, the television play-by-play voice of the Seattle Kraken, is a Springfield native whose many ties to this region include calling Hartford Whalers games on SportsChannel New England in the 1990s. He also has an extensive national profile, including play-by-play work for TNT since 2022.
Forslund told me Friday that he has not heard from NESN about the opening.
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“Any time an NHL team wants your services it’s quite a compliment,” he said. “With that being said, NESN has not reached out. I’m currently under contract with Seattle and enjoying my time with the Kraken.”
Chad Finn can be reached at chad.finn@globe.com. Follow him @GlobeChadFinn.
