Should the Nba get rid of espn?

[TheGOATWill]

In a perfect world where TV deals don't exist, how well would an NBA streaming service work?

$10-15/month for:

- every game every night regardless of market (no blackouts)
- historic playoff games and iconic regular season games (Kobe 81, etc.)
- documentaries like The Last Dance and other 30 for 30 style programs
- ESPN-esque talking heads shows because some people still enjoy those
- other misc (dunk contests, international games if they could get the rights)

I don't watch as much basketball as I used to but a few years ago I probably would've pulled the trigger on something like that. Would never work now with the logistics of TV deals and market blah blah blah but idk I think it could pull some serious money in for the league.

Sounds terrific. We'd need a company with strong financial backing. I'm talking global media giant with years of experience. And existing broadcast television infrastructure in 26 US cities plus Toronto. And relationships with TV providers and streaming services. Oh crap, I just described ESPN. Let me think about this some more and get back to you.

[predators]

Not sure what this is in reference too
Fox does a tremendous job with their mlb and nfl games

The league politically is very leftist, and is very open about it, it's really a bad fit with Fox, this isn't the case with the NFL or MLB.

FoxNews and Fox are pretty separate despite being owned by same parent company. There is basically zero National political/news crossover between the two channels outside of really major breaking news. Unless you consider the Simpson’s and Bob’s Burgers conservative propaganda and an assault on democracy.

Realistically it’s going to be ABC/ESPN or Fox/FS1. Fox has less non sports programming than ABC, so if you want more broadcast television games (That’s free so very leftist) then Fox is who you should cheer to win the contract.

FOX also airs MLS/International soccer who’s US fan base are full on Stalin apologists compared to NBA stans.

[Mob Byers]

NBA needs Disney for China so I doubt that they will part ways. With that being said, ESPN is the CNN of sports networks at this point. Agenda matters more than the actual sports

Yeah, all the crap they've been pooping out the past few months makes this clear. Their biggest headlines of late are all race baiting stories to divide people. Nothing about sports, really.

Jalen Rose "KLove on the team bc he's white"
Jay Williams "Congrats Udoka, being the first black to coach Celtics"
Nichols vs Taylor drama/"leak "
Scottie Pippen "Phil was a racist bc he played Kukoc instead of me"

But, the NBA is extremely "woke" so I don't expect them to care that much. My personal opinion is they should get rid of ESPN but ESPN/Disney/ABC is pretty powerful. I'm not sure if they even have competition.

I was at the DMV earlier today and a white female customer said something to the hispanic intake lady that was so wildly racist that I can't even type it here. She said it so casually too. There was something really old school in her word choice. Anyways, my point is I'm not sure ESPN or their employees are dividing anyone. We do that pretty well ourselves. Also, if either of you wouldn't mind, what is ESPN's agenda? And how do race baiting stories that divide people solve it?

Poor wording on my part. They are pushing stories that fit a certain narrative which ends up dividing people.

It's not "ESPN's agenda".

Watch on YouTube

[SparksAC]

Getting rid of ESPN does nothing. Something else will pop up and the cycle begins again. This is just human nature sadly.

[rockmanslim]

Absolutely. ESPN is riding on its own legacy, instead of being the best. When a league has to address scandal on the network that covers them, you know the wheels are already turning.

Everything about ESPN is terrible. Horrible presentation, camera angles, commentary is lackluster, halftime show is brutal, interviews while the game is going on is the absolute worst, the list is endless.

Athletic competition is all about how its presented, and ESPN is horrendous. I also loathe how they quite the crowd at times ruining the atmosphere of the actual game.

I hate that shyte too, but IIRC TNT does it too, don't they? I could be wrong.

[Mephariel]

NBA needs Disney for China so I doubt that they will part ways. With that being said, ESPN is the CNN of sports networks at this point. Agenda matters more than the actual sports

Agenda matters more for the NBA than ratings too. Disney has so much money where they can afford to pay ESPN whatever it wants to just push an agenda. These mega-corps do not care about ratings. Lebron etc are just ambassadors for the narrative they want to push. The league itself is an afterthought.

LOL can't believe you actually believe that. Disney cares about ratings. They are a business. They push agendas that they think they can capitalize in the future.

[Mephariel]

Yeah, all the crap they've been pooping out the past few months makes this clear. Their biggest headlines of late are all race baiting stories to divide people. Nothing about sports, really.

Jalen Rose "KLove on the team bc he's white"
Jay Williams "Congrats Udoka, being the first black to coach Celtics"
Nichols vs Taylor drama/"leak "
Scottie Pippen "Phil was a racist bc he played Kukoc instead of me"

But, the NBA is extremely "woke" so I don't expect them to care that much. My personal opinion is they should get rid of ESPN but ESPN/Disney/ABC is pretty powerful. I'm not sure if they even have competition.

I was at the DMV earlier today and a white female customer said something to the hispanic intake lady that was so wildly racist that I can't even type it here. She said it so casually too. There was something really old school in her word choice. Anyways, my point is I'm not sure ESPN or their employees are dividing anyone. We do that pretty well ourselves. Also, if either of you wouldn't mind, what is ESPN's agenda? And how do race baiting stories that divide people solve it?

Poor wording on my part. They are pushing stories that fit a certain narrative which ends up dividing people.

It's not "ESPN's agenda".

Watch on YouTube

LOL. People in America want to be divided. You think someone living in rural Arkansas has the same beliefs as someone in silicon valley? Did the media divide the Roman empire? Did the media create slavery? Or WWII? People in history have always been divided. Not sure why you think the media is what divides people. People divide people. Kind of like how Republicans love to say guns don't kill people, people kill people.

[mack2354]

The NBA won't leave ESPN overnight. I think Disney+ and Amazon Prime will slowly steal some games away from ESPN in the near future. Amazon Prime has already started dabbling with streaming NFL games. This is a huge shift and I think everyone is wary of jumping into the deep end without dipping their toes in first. Streaming games is the future though.