Warner Bros Needs To Not Be Poor And Pay The Supposed $300M Difference To Get Their Bid Up To $2.8B So We Can Keep Inside The NBA Alive
RealGM - Sources say Warner Bros. Discovery, parent company of TNT, would have to increase its bid to as much as $2.8 billion per season to retain rights unless they attempt to settle the matter with litigation.
WBD exited its exclusive negotiating window with the NBA with the expectation they could match any bid from a rival company on a dollar-for-dollar basis.
Sources reiterated Wednesday that the NBA believes a dollar-for-dollar match is not enough because NBC is an over-the-air network with multiple broadcast windows and an RSN infrastructure that WBD cannot replicate.
“NBC has made their bid, and they're not budging,’’ a media industry source said. “So it's over, right? And Warner Bros. is saying, ‘We'll match it,’ and (Commissioner Adam Silver) is probably saying: ‘It's not matched.’ ’’
Sources say Adam Silver is trying to figure out a way to sever the relationship with TNT in a "gentle way."
“There's no mystery to this," the source said. “It's pretty blatant what's happening. David Zaslav realizes he has to have this and doesn't want to pay more than $2.5B. And Adam's saying, honestly, it's not matched at $2.5. And [Zaslav] goes, ‘Yes, it is,’ and they're going back and forth.’ And so that's where we are. How do you let [WBD] down? Is there a way? Or does Zaslav come up with more money? Because then it doesn't have to be matching because David's paid more.
Listen, I don't know dick about negotiating for TV rights, or really any sort of high level business negotiation. I imagine it's pretty complicated and that there are numerous factors to consider when talking about something that's going to cost billions of dollars.
But here's what I do know. As I said when this story first broke, we as a society cannot lose Inside The NBA. Whatever you have to do to figure out a way to keep this show alive and have it remain a constant in our lives. Basically,
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Now I'm being told the way to end all of this is for Warner Bros to simply pay an additional $300M? Am I understanding this correctly? Admittedly, I am a moron, so there's a chance I am misreading what this report is saying.
NBC put up $2.5B, Adam Silver is saying just matching it won't cut it, but $2.8B would most likely be enough.
OK, so pay the $2.8B. Shit, make it $3B just for good measure. While I don't have access to Warner Bros books, I feel like they have a spare $300M laying around when it comes to the potential loss of the greatest show on television. Sometimes in life, you have to overpay to keep an asset when you have ZERO way of replacing it. We see it all the time in the NBA!
If I could relate this to my beloved Boston Celtics (who could see that coming!), do I think Wyc Grousbeck wanted to pay Jrue Holiday a 4/134M extension at age 34? Probably not! But you know what he realized?
A) The Celts are building something special which is worth investing in
B) With no way to replace the asset should Holiday leave in free agency, it requires somewhat of an overpay to keep him
That's Warner Bros/TNT right now. Is $2.8B or more an overpay to keep NBA TV rights? Probably. Should that matter? Hell no! Don't be poor and pay the market price, even overpaying if you have to. Something tells me it's not going to crater their business to up their offer, so just do it. I feel like this should be the easiest negotiation of all time.
Adam Silver: "NBC is willing to give $2.5B, but a match won't work, we need $2.8B)
Warner Bros: "OK, here's the check"
What's so difficult about that? A quick Google search told me that Warner Bros posted revenue of $41B in 2023 with a gross profit of $16.7B. You can't break off a measly $300M? I know these negotiations tend to be a dick measuring contest between CEOs or whatever, but cut the shit and give the people what they want.
If they lose the NBA rights, which means losing 3 of the 4 guys from Inside The NBA (Ernie reportedly said he'd stay), how is that better for business than upping your bid by $300M and keeping things the way they are? Someone who is smart and knows business please explain that to me in the comments.
Again, if I am misunderstanding all this, someone please correct me. But if Inside The NBA gets taken away from us over a $300M difference, that would be catastrophic. Hell, I'm pretty sure if Warner Bros just set up a GoFundMe for the $300M they could get it in a blink of an eye.
So please, don't be poor and just pay the difference. You have the cash.