David Samson Argues Why TNT and David Zaslav Were Right to Not Outbid in New NBA Rights Deal

‪@NPDS‬'s David Samson joins The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz and argues why David Zaslav was right in the decision to move on from Inside the NBA amid rising NBA media rights negotiations. Why was this a smart business move? Will the show exist on a new network?
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#lebatardshow #lebatard #thepirateship #sports #live #stugotz #danlebatard #nba #nbaontnt #insidethenba #charlesbarkley #shaq #shaquilleoneal #kennysmith

[@pfpchad2747]

Barkley isn't upset about having to change networks. He's upset for all of his coworkers who are about to lose their jobs.

[@giombi15]

No he is not. He said that in a second interview which is a cover. He previously said staying at TNT if they don’t have the NBA “was not fair to him”. Did not mention anyone else originally

[@pfpchad2747]

​@@giombi15 Chuck's TNT contract has a clause that even if he gets fired, they will still pay his entire contract. Do you know why Chuck isn't on 2K? It's because he wants them to pay $1 million into the retired players' fund (not for himself, for the retired players fund who are not as well off as he is). He's financially set for life. I'll say it again, Chuck is concerned for his coworkers who he considers to be like family. They can't speak up but Chuck can say whatever the fuck he wants. Stop hating.

[@cashrulez3675]

Exactly! Chuck called those guys idiots, so he doesn't care about leaving, he is more concerned about those 200 jobs.

[@pfpchad2747]

@@cashrulez3675 FACTS!

[@willsmith4355]

He says that but he ain't paying them either. It's easy to bad mouth and tear down the hand that you know is going to stop feeding you. It's wrong of him, he and they should be greatful for all the years cashing checks

[@Stephenwhite013]

Charles didn’t care about himself he knew he was fine he cares about the people behind the scenes that are gunna lose their jobs.

[@Peter-w4s1e]

Omg stop they're all wealthy

[@JC-Utopic-Gauntlet]

@@Beezee-ph9wv working class invests.

[@kuunami]

​@user-bd3zy6wo7l behind scenes. Camera men, production assistants, the editors, set designers, catering department, wardrobe and makeup, audio engineers, the lighting crew, etc. You believe that these people are wealthy?

[@softjones3128]

@@Peter-w4s1e omg stop, please.

[@RamonChiNangWong078]

stop worrying about wealthy people. And I'm sure if Charles wanna start his own pod-cast, on his own, using his own name He'll make it and I'm sure lots of people will tune in, just to listen to him

[@titowrestling]

Problem is that Warner Bros. Discovery is $43 billion in DEBT. And that isn’t from paying $1.4 billion annually for the NBA.

[@williestyle35]

No, most of that debt is from the disastrous Discovery channel "leveraged buy out". The NBA made lots of money for Turner sports, and now it won't.

[@Imsohighrightnow2]

To be honest, as a non American who's not super familiar with US Networks etc, it seems to me that Turner has history of disastrous mergers. I can recall the Aol/time Warner merger in the early 2000s that killed off and sold WCW in a cost cutting measure after the , kinda similar to this with the nba?

[@wazzup233]

Strange, Disney also suffering a large debt just like Warner but they still get their broadcast rights and they even extend it 🙄

[@Alex-pd7tb]

@@williestyle35 it brings in a lot of revenue, not a lot of profit

[@simplymincy]

​@williestyle35 hmm not from what I remember. Warner bros was in a ton of debt prior to even the At&t merger. The At&t merger made it worst but the discovery merger was more so a "savior" to the company sadly. I am not a fan of this at all.

[@patwalsh1045]

an entertainment company keeps cutting entertainment for tax right offs for their share price. seems very sustainable

[@marcus813]

Coyote vs. Acme, anyone?

[@bryantsfx10]

sorry to disagree but maximizing shareholder value is part of what's destroying entertainment

[@eboooo]

Nothing is cheaper than doing nothing

[@marcusdunton1692]

You mean the entire country?

[@Sports_Citizen_1-1-1]

Dude is acting like that’s what all the shareholder wants. Biggest thing shareholders value is incremental sustainable growth.

[@LouSeph]

It’s what’s destroying society ☝️

[@KK-pm7ud]

No. Greedy sports players and owners are. And the NIL is destroying education.

[@eboooo]

The issue is not for Charles it's everyone else in the company

[@Subo23]

Samson doesn't care about the people, he's about the shareholders

[@rinripark]

I would not be surprised if Inside the NBA stays in it's current form, only their boss is Amazon, or the NBA itself.

[@dagobert1234321]

💯 Charles says he can have his production company take over the show

[@ryanabbeyseon]

Amazon would be best out of the current options

[@theklr]

It would be smart for the NBA to partner with them and license it to whomever. Should’ve happen a while ago.

[@gf4670]

Yeah, exactly. And even granting Ernie the right to work outside of Turner for that specific show if it goes independent.

[@diamondvision6477]

Ernie is not leaving Turner

[@HHHPedigrees]

Who even watches TNT when basketball is not on?

[@Polo22546]

EXACTLY!!!

[@chadmonk-po5yj]

​@@Polo22546 how about the NHL March Maddness MLB and now cfp

[@cynthiadiaz6325]

You don't enjoy watching shawshank for the 342nd time?

[@jaydell4039]

@@cynthiadiaz6325😂😂😂😂😂😂😂so true

[@copaseticguerra9646]

Planet Fitness has it on the tvs

[@moorecav213]

The problem is that without the NBA TNT has no programming to bring people in

[@greenlightprint]

Well there's always Thor The Dark World

[@Polo22546]

EXACTLY!!!

[@Arjr72]

@@greenlightprint😂😂😂

[@Drummajortsu]

They just got some playoff college football games from ESPN.

[@chadmonk-po5yj]

@@Arjr72 I guess you forgot TNT has AEW and MLB NHL March Maddness and the CFP

[@larryprice6577]

The guy who ran the Marlins into the shitter by not spending may not be the best voice

[@sgolan79]

He's the perfect voice. The NBA is not a premium asset anymore. This dude knows what it takes to keep a shit business afloat.

[@PatriarchyPatrol]

He's loan shark with ambition

[@universe-ie2mk]

​@@sgolan79not a premium asset but amazon is giving billions a year and nbc, who hasnt had the nba for 22 years, is outbidding warner to get back in to paying for the no longer premium asset.

[@MiamiCubanGuy]

He sold the “shitter” Marlins for $1.2 Billion. Billion with a capital B. Don’t underestimate a man playing chess while others play checkers.

[@derekjones5023]

@@MiamiCubanGuythat value is predetermined in American sports. It’s a closed league. Just because he made a ton of money does not mean he was a good owner. Much different than a good businessman

[@jruewiley6110]

Dan continues to say the sporting class is the best sports business podcast he’s heard. Can someone please ask him to name another that he listens to or release the chickens

[@HawgJawn]

its my favorite podcast period.

[@treyshipman3153]

@HawgJawn was that a shot at Dan’s podcast?

[@imgonnapackit]

Inside the NBA was the epicenter of the nba. Maybe not for everybody, but for me the NBA will lose its heart when that show is gone. They better start working on Ernie to keep the show going. Even if he remains a TNT guy but contracts out to another network for ITN.

[@marcus813]

EJ has been with what's now TNT Sports (FKA Turner Sports and WBD Sports) since '89 and I can't see him leaving unless he retires.

[@JK-br1mu]

It is. Inside the NBA is better than the nightly games themselves.

[@conchobar]

I agree with dude on most points. Warner can't afford to outbid Amazon or NBC for the NBA rights given the billions they lost from their most recent DC comic movies. That said, NBA fans will absolutely miss Inside the NBA regardless of the nostalgia Roundball Rock brings when NBC starts airing games. BTW, Letterman didnt gain fans with his move to CBS, he actually lost viewers.

[@marquscrews]

I'm not gonna lie hearing Roundball Rock again will cheer me up a little bit 😂

[@truthiscensored]

Yes Ratings DO MATTER in regards to Advertising. The Major Advertisers (Fortune 500 companies) is not going to advertise on shows with very little ratings/viewers. They may run TESTS Advertisements, but not a full campaign. Also the lower the ratings, the less the channel can charge for Advertising Space/time. Advertising is what pays the bills in media. Subscriptions is just icing on the cake...Advertising is the full cake and main course meal

[@mandypants226]

Who you advertising to if there are no subscribers to your network? First you need people to want watch your network and to do that you need content like the NBA. Then you get advertisers

[@Superman5000The]

Of course Samson bootlicks Zaslav. He wishes he could be in that role of cutting costs

[@theklr]

While I do an agree with the sentiment Zaslav is right given the circumstances. They have 50B to erase.

[@statman64]

​@theklr the only reason they were in that position to begin with was because of the terrible business decisions that he made in the first place lol. you don't get credit for being bad at cleaning up your own mess

[@statman64]

​@@theklrfor one thing, if zaslav really gave a shit about running the business in a financially beneficial way, he and the other useless executives would take a pay cut to prove that they're serious. he's worth over $400 million and last year his pay package rose 27% to $50 million, for what? what value is he bringing to the company to earn that money? does he get a bonus for every customer he pisses off and gets to cancel? that seems to be the only thing he's capable of doing

[@theklr]

@@statman64 oh that would make too much sense. Didn’t say it was right. Right there with you in how idiotic this is that we justify layoffs and executive pay increases

[@fullnelson9999]

I'm supposed to get over it because Roundball Rock?

[@marcus813]

As much as I love Roundball Rock returning to NBC's airwaves and streaming on Peacock, not having what's now TNT Sports (FKA Turner Sports and WBD Sports) is a huge loss for fans of the NBA.

[@statman64]

I really love how they keep bringing the city's biggest business failure on to give the worst possible takes that no one has ever asked for or wanted

[@SirGenesis206]

The reason WWE and Fox are parting ways is because of ratings so that’s an odd flex

[@kyleharrison713]

I will be devastated if NBC doesn't bring back that classic jingle. That's the only reason I'm looking forward to this.

[@jajuangordy4394]

John Tesh came out recently and revealed that not only NBC are planning on relicensing roundball Rock, but him and NBC are currently working on a new version of roundball Rock for the Olympics basketball coverage.

[@charlesdavisaitken]

Cuban also lost a lot of money on Crypto + NFT's which contributed to him pulling out. Plus the NBA is in a decline in ratings. As the league has to adjust to the post Lebron prime era. NBA does not have a big star like Lebron and Kobe. I think the Steph era has a cap that people aren't talking about. If it didn't you wouldn't see ESPN cuts and other cuts in sports media.

[@Paul-vf2wl]

I'm baffled people still think Cuban is a financial genius

[@marcboss6]

David Zaslav is a goof. He’s bad at his job.

[@dreamcage1801]

Needs to be fired u

[@KK-pm7ud]

Coming from someone who's never run a company before

[@marcboss6]

@@KK-pm7ud He botched CNN. He’s now botching TNT. If you continue to 💩 the bed ur probably pretty bad at what you do

[@KK-pm7ud]

@@marcboss6 How did he botch CNN?

[@RJM1693]

If his job is to keep the stock up, he’s bad at his job. The share price has been gradually dropping for a while. But if sports aren’t driving Max subscriptions and cable is dying, they just can’t afford to keep the NBA.

[@charnz1]

Honestly this is such a tone deaf statement. Even if it is true from a business perspective, this is awful for the fans and we are entitled to be upset.

[@williestyle35]

Yep. Samson has never cared about fans.

[@oaktree1626]

Tone deaf? He's explaining the business decisions behind what's happening. Sheesh. 🤦🏿‍♂️

[@davidnelson4347]

Tone deaf or not he’s just taking about the reality of the situation.

[@mrt094]

@@oaktree1626 Look up the definition of tone deaf.

[@dejuans1328]

Warner Brothers Discovery stock is in the gutter

[@hamsterman844]

WB has a bigger issue than the NBA. Even if Rights fees are a losing battle. TNT has nothing to offer now except for syndication and AEW which has tanked since CM Punk left.

[@marcus813]

We'll have to see if WBD can even hang onto AEW as WBD reportedly lowballed the promotion. Losing both AEW and the NBA would send an already beleaguered WBD into even more of a tailspin.

[@kimoc.4163]

They have NHL, MLB, college Basketball, MotoGP, US Women Soccer. Nothing as big a draw as NBA but they can build on that. AEW is trash as well as Bellator.

[@oldemonteef]

i don’t know or care about media rights but let’s be honest samson would argue in favor of not feeding a child to protect shareholder interest.

[@gf4670]

I hate to agree with Samson, but I kind of agree with Samson. The NBA is a stagnating product and has been for probably close to a decade now, definitely since 2016. Silver is looking for a massive overpay and he's going to get it because NBC and the legacy broadcast networks are desperately trying to get away from scripted shows and need content. And like he said, these tv deals are likely going to lose NBC and Amazon money because of how expensive they are for such a stagnant product. Look, I love basketball and the NBA but the only way the product can improve -- and it needs real improvement here, just like MLB -- is for it to lose market value and it won't do that until the other broadcast competitors start losing a lot of money on it too and put pressure on the league and sport.

[@KK-pm7ud]

Not only did Mark Cuban sell much of his ownership stake, so did Marc Lasry. They are the smart money in the NBA. Warner Brothers Discovery is making the right call not chasing after NBA rights. It'll hurt the share price in the near term but long term it's the better decision.

[@gf4670]

@@KK-pm7ud Yeah, I mean Samson can say it's estate planning and liquidating the asset for his family all he wants, and there's likely some truth to it, but I think it's pretty clear he saw the writing on the wall that the NBA had already reached peak market value and to get the most for his family meant getting out while you're still in the bubble. If he was forecasting that the arrows would keep pointing up for the foreseeable future then it would make sense to stay in.

[@KK-pm7ud]

@@gf4670 I think Mark's perspective is a little more nuanced than that. Yes, estate planning probably comes into play. And yes the NBA growth has probably peaked or slowed. But the thinking is probably that Mark looks at the future growth of the value of NBA teams and sees the returns as not as high as they were in the past or vs other investment opportunities like technology. Especially on a risk vs return basis. Mark probably sees an opportunity to grow his Medical business significantly and influence the US health care system significantly. And he sees an opportunity to get out of an illiquid asset at a relative high point while keeping some equity and having the ability to enjoy the best parts of being an owner. Marc Lasry made his money in distressed asset sales so he has an opportunity to absolutely crush it this decade with the money he makes from his Bucks sale. I would guess probably 20% per year compounded returns with significantly lower risk.

[@gf4670]

@@KK-pm7ud Well yeah, but that's exactly what I'm saying, though. There are better investments these days besides an NBA team, and that situation is almost certainly going to get worse going forward. And really that's the story across most major league sports; it's a bad investment now because the buy-in and maintenance costs are so high and there's not enough room to grow anymore so the returns are going to be negligible when you do try to liquidate. There's no massive untapped market somewhere ready to be exploited. Unless you're trying to come in on the ground floor of something like pickleball. And that's one of the reasons we're seeing such a marketing push with things like the WNBA; the growth imperative demands it. And really that's the story of all of the entertainment business in general these days. All of the frontiers have been settled and colonized, so to speak, and the speculation got a little out of control.

[@ryanmussell739]

Mark Cuban selling should have been a huge red flag.

[@MrSpock-wc2sy]

The problem is people go to steaming so they don't have to pay for sports, then sports comes to streaming and the fees skyrocket.

[@chrisolivo6591]

I do think it will be interesting to see the NBA playoff ratings this year. This is the first year that i can remember that Lebron, Steph or Durant didn’t make the Conference finals. This year is a true passing of the torch as Tatum, Luka, SGA, Jokic. Edwards and Embiid are the face of the league. As a basketball fan, Ive enjoyed seeing new blood, but i wonder if any of these guys resonate with the casual fan? The casual/bandwagon fans are what bring big ratings.

[@MRKAOSGOTGAME]

Dan LeBatard knows better and should've gave him some push back!

[@claytonnielsen283]

like others have said Barkley was upset about others having no job to go back to. He is fine, he has millions.

[@clownkirkpatrick]

This proves it: there is not a rich person that David Samson won't get on his knees for. David Zaslav is a truly useless human who has accomplished basically nothing of note and yet gets to make a 9 figure salary and make these type of decisions. It makes literally no sense unless you just respect money making ability, which Samson does

[@statman64]

truly the ultimate bootlicker

[@MalcolmFreshKidd]

The only question I have is if they didn’t need the NBA rights because of debt, why pay for college football?

[@JB-tp6uj]

College Football's stock is rising. It is arguably the second most popular league in America after the NFL. The NBA has plateaued. That's not to say they can't rise again, but college football is more of a safe bet.

[@nolongerblocked6210]

College football is ridiculously popular all across this country

[@MalcolmFreshKidd]

I agree CFB definitely more popular and certainly not knocking them for doing so because of the new playoff rules, but how could they afford to pay for the rights to CFB games while saying they can’t afford the NBA rights? I think that’s what is confusing people since college football games cost much more.

[@JB-tp6uj]

@@MalcolmFreshKidd not all packaging rights cost the same. For example, ESPN/Disney currently pays more than Warner Bros. for NBA rights. This is broken down into packages ranked by number of games, high profile games, specials, etc. For college football, I imagine Warner Bros. is not going to pay as much for their deal as Disney, Fox, etc. as they probably won't have nearly as many games.

[@MalcolmFreshKidd]

@@JB-tp6uj Ahh okay I see I didn’t know that. Thanks for the education I appreciate that 👍🏾

[@KnataGuy]

Ernie’s not leaving. It won’t be the same

[@sp123]

the problem with NBA is that its a star based league and their aren't enough American stars to keep interest. Once LeBron, Curry, etc. retire, the ratings are going to tank.

[@digitalcommunist6335]

They have been tanking ever since MJ left. Kobe kept it for a while. League with 0 defense and spamming 3s is of no interest to old heads. And young heads n large % prefer other options. League has been , just like NFL, corporatized ( suits & all that jazz). Thats all fine ,but unlike football, its core base of fans has shrunk . A d it was way smaller to begin with. Silver has tied future to international markets but that is fools gold….

[@SirGenesis206]

I know NBA cost them $1.4 billion, but what makes more money for them?

[@marcus813]

Nothing. The Association is *by far* the biggest reason why WBD can charge MVPDs so much money for TNT.

[@torriehutchinson7790]

Cuban sold his majority shares to get in the casino business. He is about to be apart of the casino business because it will be in Dallas. He said this out of his own mouth. 👍🏽

[@SabreClaw-oq4qh]

As a WBD shareholder I love the job Zaslav has been doing. Paying down debtt and increasing cashflow dramatically. He's done an amazing job. NBA or no NBA WBD will be fine and frankly probably better off without if they have to pay such a large amount for little to no return in advertising revenue.

[@TimFrith24]

On October 7, Fox Sports and and Prime Video will outbid ESPN, NBC Sports, and TNT Sports and sign an 11-year media rights deal with the NBA.

[@byrond2184]

The only person I could see as a filling for Ernie that might work would be Ahmad Rashad (former host of NBA Inside Stuff). But Ernie is critical to the show.

[@Paul-vf2wl]

It'll be Tirico

[@Paul-vf2wl]

@@Mirror_of_the_Soul00 I'm sure they said that about Ernie before he joined up with those guys

[@JCic22]

Samson was shown on tv right after the Panthers score the 3rd Goal

[@memonomoto7419]

Clearly this guy is clueless. Ernie Johnson is not gonna leave Turner, he's a lifer. And if Ernie, Shaq, Kenny, and Chuck aren't all there, it's NOT Inside the NBA. The Finals coverage right now includes Shaq and Kenny with Grant Hill and it's pretty good, but still not the same. We need all four, anything less is subpar.

[@marcbrooks1]

It’s one show. There will be another. People have to watch something. The game is the focus.

[@dmichael100]

It always has been for me. I don't even watch the Inside the NBA much of the time because frankly, I know Charles Barkley is popular and I loved him as a player and he will be on my top 10 list of guys to go to a game with or have a beer with...BUT, he often has ridiculous takes- he makes wild predictions that often turn out to be wrong (like Minnesota was going to blow out Dallas in Game 5!)- his sentences often don't make sense...on and on I could go. The fact that Barkley is popular AS AN ANALYST just shows the deterioration of taste and knowledge of the American sporting public. Obviously the actual CONTENT of what an analyst is saying means little anymore.

[@King_Grizzly]

I "GUARANTEEE" that NBA ratings will plummet even more than they do once Inside The NBA is off the air. Once Kobe was almost about to retire in 2014, I was already fading the NBA and Lakers. Now my favorite show is about to dip. I hope the loss of the greatest sports show ever was worth it, Asslav .

[@bigjigg5672]

PURE FACTS

[@IDontBuyIt50]

why would a used car salesman have an opinion on the TNT bid

[@user-EB2016]

I've been in a few of these types of meetings/negotiations for several large networks. What Mr. Sampson is stating about ratings coming up is misleading. The word may not come up but ratings are DEFINITELY about of negotiations.

[@NickPR87]

Afaik Chuck is not a free agent. He resigned with Turner for a massive amount because they wanted him in the fold for when they went through this negotiation.

[@HeartBreakInGotham]

He has a clause that he can go if TNT doesn’t retain the rights.

[@bartphlegar8212]

I think the thing bugging the Inside the NBA guys - well, two things, but interrelated - is that one, they're losing Ernie Johnson. Done deal. He won't move. He's a cancer survivor, he's got his priorities straight, and he won't be chasing dollars. The second reason (and probably the reason why one is true) is that TNT is Atlanta-based. They all live there and don't want to leave. For how many years now? It's understandable. If NBC picks the show up, NBC will want them in New York. Four Letter, they end up in Connecticut. Unless the assumptive network makes arrangements to studio them in Atlanta, and EJ has already said point blank he's not leaving TNT, I don't see this show surviving. Without it, we will see a noticeable ratings dip. Nothing that ESPN does interests me anymore, and when NBC brings back that obnoxious galloping horse theme music, I'll turn that off too...I'm an old guy, but I've been a cordcutter for years. Both the NBA and NHL need to adopt a sharpshooting, a la carte strategy. Provide service at a reduced rate for one, or better, a basket of maybe a half dozen teams. Charge me an unrestricted, affordable fee to subscribe. Not these overblown, expensive packages like League Pass, or Center Ice where there are way too many teams and games to watch, and I'm paying for Penguins, Bruins, Blackhawks, and a whole gaggle of other teams I don't want to see...It may not pay out like the old system, but a fan with a smaller revenue stream is way better than a fan that is gone completely. Oh, yeah. And get ESPN away from hockey. They suck at it, and they don't apologize for it...

[@Paul-vf2wl]

Other than Ernie none of them live in Atlanta

[@bartphlegar8212]

@@Paul-vf2wl Well, they all have homes all over - Shaq in Florida, Chuck in Alabama, etc. - but businesswise they are based in the ATL. My point was, they don't want to be based in the Northeast Corridor, spending the winter months up there and being separated from their families - or worse boomeranging around on NetJets all the time. It gets old. Fast...

[@Paul-vf2wl]

@@bartphlegar8212 Shaq owns a Bombardier Challenger 650 but sure flying on private jets is a fate worse than death

[@bartphlegar8212]

@@Paul-vf2wl Well, I'm sure Robin Leach would be impressed. And I'm sure Shaq enjoys his jet. But that doesn't mean he wants to spend six hours a day on it back and forth, and do three hours in a studio, under contract, for six or seven months out of the year. Especially the worst flying months of the year. And yes, I'm sure he could afford, and may already have, a nice penthouse in Manhattan. Now you may be impressed with and enjoy the Teterboro Shuffle, but I can reasonably assure you that Shaq, or Chuck, or Kenny, are not. They did it as players. They do enough location work and interviews and such that they still travel. I myself was a professional traveler. There comes a point where travel becomes a necessary evil. Just because you can do it - even "in style" with champagne and lobster Newburg catered to your Challenger - doesn't mean you want to. And these guys have life figured out. This gang doesn't need the work, and they surely don't need the aggravation of having to kiss the ring of a soulless network like Disney or NBCUniversal...

[@Paul-vf2wl]

@@bartphlegar8212 Still have no idea wtf your point is. They didn't live in Atlanta and traffic is horrible there as well.

[@Juan-gu1lf]

From a business standpoint this doesn’t make sense either in the slightest. I think Sampson is either being this from a surface level perspective or spending it as a devils advocate because in reality, what is happened is Turner has essentially said we’re out of our biggest market share in the sports sector. When he talks about not making money, that’s on Turner to figure out how to structure their advertising costs accordingly in order to make money because the reality of it is is that the biggest viewership those and specifically TNT receives from the NBA. Not to mention the loss of Goodwill that you’re creating by doing something like this people surprisingly will hold grudges when you put sour cases in their mouth in the entertainment industry because let’s be honest the NBA is the second most popular sports league in the country and growing worldwide you could absolutely anchor yourself to that it’s on you to figure out how to make it profitable but once you acquire the asset, you should never let something like that go. Contraction if not done strategically is always a mistake. It’s clear to me. This was not done strategically meaning what is going to replace and supplement viewership whatever it is it better at least be the second most popular Program in its sector with equivalent viewership to the NBA. Good luck with that.

[@raulrosado7916]

So basically the nba doesn’t make money so why have them on

[@jolenew9595]

If I can not watch Inside the NBA after this next year, I will be so sad!

[@kernmatthews2370]

sometimes it's good to listen to someone who is not emotional and go off on the masses is saying listening to this man talk I finally understand why tnt couldn't compete with the new NBA package just well miss inside the NBA say what we still have dem for one more season

[@TonyStarks1986]

This guy don’t understand at all. He’s saying David Letterman switched networks. So what?! The theme didn’t change, his band didn’t change. Inside the NBA won’t be anymore. No more Ernie, the intro music won’t be anymore, people working behind the scenes will lose their jobs. It’s culture for us to tune into TNT during the basketball season.

[@PhoenixRising82672]

NBA ratings can't be evaluated the same as before

[@daveclark8337]

I love the Show but it didn't make any Business sense for TNT to pay that much money to keep the NBA. And it wasn't TNT's decision, Zaslav made that call because Warner Bros is in Massive debt. They need money Makers, not money Losers.

[@blablablaa14]

Why are they acting like the NBA isn't signing a great deal? They will now be in 3 places that have more exposure than TNT and will get over 8 billion deal in total. This is a wonderful development for NBA teams/owners. NBA teams are now worth more than ever, Cuban was an idiot for selling right before winning a title. His team was gonna be worth more if they win a title in 3 weeks

[@DarrellFBG]

So what will happen to NBA TV? .... that's also Turner's sports, right?

[@luddite4change449]

This guy doesn't understand why Charles is upset. Charles will be fine, and I wouldn't be surprised if Inside the NBA gets franchised to someone else. Charles is upset because he thinks TNT picking up some college football (at great expense) isn't worth losing the NBA deal. I tend to agree with him on that. TNT won't be putting out as good a college football product for a limited number of end of season games as they have been doing for the NBA.

[@Playerz714]

Dude ran the Marlins what the fk does the dude know lmao

[@mbrownie22]

Obviously more than you since he’s where he is and you’re where you are.

[@universe-ie2mk]

​@@mbrownie22well where is he? No sports team listens to him. And even tho he is knowledgeable, he is more of a pessimist with a cynical point of view of sports.

[@dmichael100]

@@universe-ie2mk All I heard was actual financial data- not projections or opinions on whether he likes sports. Did you know that these networks, were in fact, losing money on the NBA? Since rights fees were going up you might have assumed they were making all kinds of money. Where you sitting in on television negotiations and knew that ratings never came up? You might not LIKE what Samson had to say; but sounds like from here, he does have some knowledge that not just anyone has. If not, it would be easy to get a television executive to come on and say "We are making good money with the NBA product" or "We looked at ratings very closely during negotiations"

[@dmichael100]

He at least was in the room during television negotiations for the team and knows that ratings never came up in negotiations. Sounds like actual knowledge that not everyone has to me. Sounds like has enough information to know that the networks are losing money on the NBA. Did you have that data/information? I didn't. Just because you don't like what he had to say doesn't mean he's not accurate.

[@intheshell35ify]

The guest whose name I will not utter looks like a bobble head and had just as much insight.

[@LCraw007]

NBA is making a mistake with this one due to greed. Time will come to show this.

[@marcus813]

I'm not buying everything Samson is selling. WBD won't be able to charge MVPDs as much money for TNT without the NBA. I don't think that Samson gets what Charles Barkley is truly upset about. I think Samson's argument about David Letterman moving from NBC to CBS is false equivalence.

[@chadmonk-po5yj]

Well that not true mlb nhl march maddness french open college football playoffs big east basketball nascar and maybe a smaller nba package .

[@marcus813]

@@chadmonk-po5yj It's not gonna be quite the same without an NBA package. That's the main driver of TNT's high price for MVPDs.

[@chadmonk-po5yj]

@@marcus813 college football playoffs will have better ratings and TNT might get a smaller package but also NBA ratings have been down even during the playoffs

[@chadmonk-po5yj]

@@marcus813 they have march maddness those rating go throught the roof they may get a smaller package but I agree with them why pay over 2.5 billion for a package when the ratings are down when college football and basketball they are up

[@fencejumpa2365]

Is David Samson high? TNT is dead and Warner Brothers will continue to canabalize itself. I agree, that 10 years from now Amazon will have actual hard data on what streaming looks like... but being able to have players wear Nike shoes and then sell them those shoes on the same website is nuts.

[@TylerDurden-ww3yg]

I hope they bring back the college graduate sportscaster that looks great on TV and radio, not ex-nba players with silly insights into the game. I want serious NBA insights, not goofy and, often times easily get insulted Richard Jefferson, Shaq, barkley.

[@JonPaul404]

If we can keep barkley and kenny and get rid of shaq and now draymond by going to nbc, i think its a win for everyone

[@jmills5420]

Considering people still buy NBA Inc.'s current product and how many guys suddenly love Caitlin Clark and discuss a league that couldn't even win against decent middle school boys, they know that people will watch anything regardless of quality so they will tune into the scripted ramblings of a female-led panel of 'experts' on NBC and won't care that the show that had 4 genuine men, with a genuine relationship, and saying genuine things is no longer around. Like baby birds with gaping mouths the 'fans' will tune in to the next marketing narrative and the 55% ad/game ratio of flops, falls, injuries, bench-riding, whining, and referee-managed 3 point contests where a guy is chosen to be the 'star' for each team and do the commercials even if someone else on the team could get help get them to the Finals (like A. Gordon) and the 'star' can't. Having said that I enjoyed game 1 of Wolves vs. Nuggets where real bball was played and the 'star' had a complete and total meltdown becayse of it but they stopped that kind of ball real quick. So the money situation will be just fine and they can also get rid of a show of only men. American guys will tune into whatever corruption they're offered.

[@PAnthersKing824]

Wasn’t tnt superstation or was tbs? I was born in 95

[@bryan_turner]

Without the NBA would anyone have a reason to ever watch TNT?

[@blablablaa14]

This is going to age terribly for TNT/WBD. Sports is the only thing people tune into tv for now. And I use league pass just so I strictly support the NBA

[@francisdelacruz6439]

The current stars of the NBA not as charismatic as previous legends. The Joker, Giannis, Luka, ANT…compared to Lebron, MJ, Kobie, Shaq, Bird, Magic, the bad boys…

[@tjadenekan]

Ant is 1000% as charismatic

[@francisdelacruz6439]

@@tjadenekan If your right the viewership shouldn’t be down and it is down. Last time rating were good was when Lebron or Steph is in the Finals. And they’re retiring with no one yet getting viewership numbers like before.

[@tjadenekan]

@@francisdelacruz6439 this was Ant’s breakout year and he hasn’t been maketed as much until recently (particularly after Ja Morant squandered his “face of the league” potential). Ant is up next. Watch how the league markets him going forward. They will put a lot of energy into him. That ties into your viewership point. Minnesota games weren’t on TV as much this year. I guarantee you it’ll be different on next year’s schedule.

[@francisdelacruz6439]

@@tjadenekan I hope you’re right.

[@tjadenekan]

@@francisdelacruz6439 just watch bro. Next year Ant will be EVERYWHERE marketing EVERYTHING.

[@ohno22446]

samson is insufferable

[@cliptomaniac2562]

He’s also very insightful

[@JK-br1mu]

Hogwash and happy talk..........busting up the TNT NBA show is a huge loss for the league.........the NBA isn't that exciting in the 2020s, and those guys make it more interesting. It doesn't matter if Charles Barkley is "fine", he won't be as good without Ernie and Co.

[@IamDaShiznit]

Definitely botched. There is no guarantee they can keep inside together especially the behind the scenes people

[@ektran4205]

blatant activism and esg = major monetary losses

[@freddiecarr7602]

Hey Charles---simple fix--JAY LENO faced this when they went to cut half his staff--he simply kept them by paying them by paying them with half his salary ----fact check this as my numbers are skewed---but the point is--dont talk shit----you made coin--now pay your people or shut up!

[@akvalues]

The people crying don’t understand economics!!

[@sambrown8878]

It’s funny they listen to a guy who wasn’t necessarily great at that job in sports business talk so much about sports business .

[@Dc9127-d9d]

Nba rating just aren’t that good

[@sonofsarek]

Sports and sports valuation have peaked. Just look at the decrease in child sports participation and viewership. Also, by showing all these games late in the evening, you’ve alienated the youth fanbase. The fan experience has dropped off a lot too. I haven’t watched a full baseball game in years.

[@Jippa_33]

Cuban divested from the majority position and gave a bonus to Mavs employees, all this after a comprehensive report was released detailing dog shit working conditions under his leadership. Silver might actually care about how people r treated and discreetly called for the divestment.

[@carlmathews5778]

Nah the opposite is documented that he treats his people well

[@roenlezma9361]

Don't worry dude, we all know Sir Charles ain't looking for his "job security". What a buffoon😂. His concerns go to all the people that make inside the nba what it is, because beyond them 4 the whole creative idea behind the show involves many others who have crafted the essence of the inside the nba for many years.

[@mattstopa9436]

Estate planning? That doesn't sound good

[@dmichael100]

It just means Cuban is getting older and its wise, when you're dealing in the numbers that Cuban is and so much is tied into a professional sports team with long contract and television projections, at a certain age its best to make some plans and get finances in order and simplify your portfolio...even if you're likely to live another 20 years.

[@DanialFiasco]

We love inside the nba n ill miss it but fair play to tnt.. Why bid on product whose viewership numbers either decrease , stagnates or slightly increases that just shows the product has no value.. When a womens college basketball game is able to eclipse ur game u know u done fuct up.. N the mentality of the current crop of players along with their fanbase who refuse to see they are only hurting the product does not help.. Now unless something changes like bringing back physical defense to a certain extent, abolishing the 3 second rule.. maybe extending the 3 point line so teams can maybe start running plays again oh n not over paying for players who have done absolutely nothing to deserve it.. All this things need to change if not the nba just swindled the nbc.. But then again maybe not they both woke so might be a perfect marriage before the drop

[@Forevermade32]

I’ve never once heard a good take come from this guys mouth

[@Anthonycheesman33]

How much cocaine did Samson do before this segment lol.

[@PatSplatt99]

Only people that care about that bum ass nbc theme are the old heads that’s hardly watching basketball they gonna be upset to see how many people won’t subscribe to no damn peacock to watch basketball

[@domino2009ful]

This man talks nonsense…he said AROD didn’t have money to buy the wolves …

[@shaneknight44]

I need a shower after watching that!

[@henrybraxton217]

Nobody will watch TNT any longer 😂😂

[@El_Remolino19]

what sorta drugs is this guy on

[@veenom1979]

Cuban is a smart dude, sell the NBA

[@assassssasa]

if Zaslav ends up losing both NBA & AEW because stingy with negotiations there's no other options he needs to be fired immediately

[@SamuelEmanuel13]

who the hell is gonna outbid them for AEW? 😂 I don’t think they want AEW, they probably just spent too much money on that crap so they didn’t have it for the NBA

[@TerryAlan-bh8bc]

@@SamuelEmanuel13awwww, a grown man who watches wwe , hilarious.

[@xelaander8429]

​@@TerryAlan-bh8bc You watch the NBA, calm your man tits down. People watch entertainment that they like, if it's not to your liking move on

[@philabul]

just a couple baseball guys who dont like basketball....nothing to see here

[@bonillam1]

They got outbid get over it.Barkley needs to stop

[@davidnelson4347]

Folks are going to lose their jobs. He doesn’t have to stop anything..

[@Joey_Headset]

So the smart play is to buy the rights to every single sports league on earth, and then refuse to broadcast any of the games? Because tax write-offs FTW.? David Sampson's greatest personal achievement is taking over his rich wife's dad's team and running it into the ground. Sampson has no observable track record of knowing literally anything about anything. But... rich dude gonna rich dude.

[@veenom1979]

Haven't watched the nba since the whole woke nonsense. Its a game not a bunch of one year dropouts that studied TV to tell me about how the world works. Give me a break.

[@PatriarchyPatrol]

Dan is stuck in 2014

[@arielguzman4484]

@bryantfx10 and all of you self important "fans", what You are not getting is that a CEO of a large company does not answer to or care about what fans like, want or keeps them entertained. That's not how business works, or why they're in business. They are in business for one reason and one reason only, TO MAKE MONEY!!!

[@untchableninja]

Inside the NBA is the reason i got back into watching the NBA as an adult. The NBA is gona loose even more viewers with this change

[@thisizcle140]

O well....prolly should be watchin somethin educational anyway instead of scripted rigged sports

[@nysguy07]

Dan hasn’t heard that this is about the big picture at Warner? Way to stay informed Dan.