NBA commissioner Adam Silver finds himself juggling one of the most complicated stretches of his tenure, reshaping how fans watch basketball in a rapidly shifting media landscape.
Silver has also been focused on what he calls the NBAs biggest transformation since cable TV the $77 billion national broadcast deal that ends the leagues decades-long partnership with TNT and introduces new partners NBC/Peacock and Amazons Prime Video.
Charles Barkley has claimed that the fragmentation of the game will be damaging.
Silvers response (via Sports Illustrated)
I accept Charless point that there will be disruption in the short term. I think, over time, technology is clearly our friend here. Just by way of example, through the NBA app, which is free to download, you will be able to have a front door into every game on any service thats carrying the NBA. We recognize the transition will be an issue and for fans who are used to finding the NBA on TNT. Obviously, we wont be there.
He added,We need to help direct them to where our games will be located. I also think theres an ongoing shakeout in the media industry. There will be, no doubt, additional aggregation of some of the streaming services now. I think its too early to conclude how easy or not itll be for consumers. My sense is that over time the consumer/fans generally win in a market economy. And the market and the media companies will respond to what the fans want. Because its of course not in our interest to create services that fans find it too difficult to subscribe to.
I dont want to be Pollyannaish, he continued. I mean, the fact that were going from one paradigm that had been in place now for two decades and are going to be adding two new partners and replacing one, were going to have to reeducate the fans on where to find the games. Also, as part of ESPNs app, they made a company decision that they wouldnt only promote their own networks. This goes to the point of a competitive marketplace and wanting to be fan friendly. They want sports fans to know if a game is on Fox or a game is on CBS.
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