Happy New Year to all sports media lovers!
The interesting thing about media and sports is that you never know what will happen. This is especially true of the turmoil that the digital age has created.
This affects networks, big companies and athletes. The world of sports media continues to evolve. What we’re talking about by the end of this year may not even be on your radar at first.
With that said, here are five of the top stories I’m interested in in 2023.
1. Will Tom Brady attend Fox Sports?
It’s a $375 million issue with more money coming in, but not this year. Brady was able to continue playing. Gisele BundchenHe also decides that he just wants to retire and take a year off, and can notify Fox Sports to hold the number one spot for Top Crew for a while. There are some pretty important people (who don’t know) who believe they’ll never be in the booth. These people’s theory is that Fox Sports’ money got so high that Brady could do other things after he stopped playing, so he took it as a hedge.
No matter what Brady does, it’s going to be a big story just because he’s Brady. Kevin Burkhardt.
2. How will the NBA move forward?
The next NBA rights deal probably won’t be decided in 2023, but by the time it’s over what the NBA will do when its deals with ABC/ESPN and TNT expire after 2024-25 may give you a clearer vision of season.
It’s clear the new deal will be different, as streamers like Amazon and Apple and Google/YouTube are likely to be involved.Although ABC/ESPN wants to keep The Finals and The Biggest Games , due to the low tonnage, a small price increase would not be a problem. Meanwhile, Warner Bros. Turner’s future under his Discovery is an interesting story in and of itself. David Zaslavthe WBD president says his company only wants to do future deals, not past deals.
There’s also the possibility that someone else will be in the game — NBC. With telecasts back, could NBC and Peacock find something in the NBA? There is a possibility.
3. What are Apple’s plans for sports?
We don’t like the half-measures that Apple has provided so far. It’s still in the early stages of sports broadcasting, so it wouldn’t be fair to fully judge until it has time to do more moves, so this is just an observation, not a criticism.
The MLB deal for last year’s Friday Night doubleheader wasn’t a big deal in Apple’s world.
Most recently, they said no to NFL Sunday tickets. This was our entry into the premier sports entertainment program. So maybe Apple was wise to pass.
This year begins a 10-year, $2.5 billion deal with MLS that could change sports media. Some business people think this will be a disaster, but for a league with global goals, subscriptions around the world might make sense. It could be a template that many games can be landed on.
However, rights deals occur sporadically. For example, Apple could get involved in the NBA, but it’s almost certainly impossible to replicate a subscription platform that offers all games 1:1 like MLS.
4. When will ESPN bring all programming directly to consumers?
This is an incident. It’s not a question of if, it’s a question of when. If it is 2023, it will be the end of the year. I would be really surprised if this is not done by the end of 2024.
What does this mean? ESPN will continue to air on cable, but will be delivered directly to consumers without cable. A service that allows you to receive not only ESPN+ but also a huge number of ESPN programs
ESPN DTC prices may initially range from $19.99 to $29.99. And here’s the kicker: It opens the door to a bigger move to recreate its own bundles with news, sports and entertainment using all of Disney’s assets.
5. What is the future of Turner Sports?
I think the answer for now is: Who the hell knows?From Zaslav, the head of parent company Warner Bros. Discovery, to Turner, the head of his sport, new bosses are everywhere. Louis SilverwasserSo it’s too much of an assumption at this point to act as if this new Turner management will run business as usual. will you do? Along with the NBA, MLB, NHL, March Madness, and Golf, he will be a big player for years to come. But it is unclear how it will form in the future as the contract needs to be renewed?
Can CBS team up with CBS in the NBA like they did in college hoops? Will there be any chance of pulling out of the new deal, starting with the NBA? He made it clear that he could live without it. Adam Silver.
I have a question. Turner hasn’t always caught the attention of the sports media. It may not be so soon.