Is the NBA's TV Deal a Bubble About To Burst?
EPISODE 24: A business-minded Share & Tell with John Skipper and David Samson (or: Rich Guys OnlyFans).
For this week’s Share & Tell — with the NBA regular season now officially underway — I wanted to turn to two people with unrivaled expertise on the subjects of a) sports business and b) What Rich Guys Are Really Up To.
John Skipper, of course, is the former president of ESPN. Which, in his tenure, became the single greatest business in the history of media — not just sports media, but literally all of media, ever — thanks to its dominion over the institution of linear cable television. An institution I love which is now, sadly, shrinking (as you may have noticed).
David Samson, of course, is the former president of the Florida Marlins. Which, in his tenure, won a World Series; designed and built a whole new stadium in Miami; negotiated all manner of contracts, with players and corporations; and infuriated many people in the process (as you may have noticed).
Together, they’ve presided over some of the most powerful backrooms in professional sports. And they are now uniquely and almost dangerously candid about what they learned there (as anyone who listens to the show the three of us semi-regularly do together, The Sporting Class, may have noticed).
The topics we discuss aren’t all business, mind you. But they include…
Is the NBA due for a severe financial reckoning, now that the multi-year, multibillion-dollar deal John brokered at ESPN is expiring? And tech companies seem unwilling to pay the prices that cable TV once enabled?
Who’s to blame for the minefield of misinformation that is reading news online? (And is it too late to save it?)
America is a gerontocracy. What the hell happened to retirement?
DKN/YOUTUBE SPOILER ALERT:
Your fellow jamoke,
Pablo