The NBA is “looking at” game availability; Mark Shapiro mentions the involvement of Netflix in UFC rights negotiations; and Paramount has reportedly created a sports entertainment division. Plus news on Dave Portnoy, Pat McAfee, John Kelly and Mark Sanchez.
Silver: NBA ‘looking at’ game availability
NBA commissioner Adam Silver said following an NBA Board of Governors meeting Wednesday that the league is “continuing to look at” issues related to the availability of local and national games and does not want to partner with companies who are pricing fans out of watching games.
Silver: “We know where we have mass appeal. On a global basis, we’re literally reaching billions of people. We don’t want to disenfranchise people by working with partners that are creating price points that make it inaccessible to them.”
Silver said that ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro, NBC Sports president Rick Cordella and Amazon Prime Video global head of sports Jay Marine spoke to owners at the BOG meeting about the upcoming season, streaming issues and local television. In addition, the group discussed the discoverability of NBA games amid a fragmented media landscape with a variety of platforms and alterations to the longstanding structure.
Entering the 2025-26 season of play, the NBA will have its games spread across broadcast, cable and streaming television platforms while content will remain available on digital outlets and other social media verticals.
Shapiro: Netflix-UFC deal would have been for global rights
TKO Group Holdings COO Mark Shapiro said Wednesday that the company held talks with Netflix about a global UFC rights deal. TKO ultimately reached a seven-year, $7.7 billion agreement with Paramount that did not include global rights, a decision Shapiro attributed to the company’s prior relationship with IMG.
“The idea of keeping [IMG] in the fold to continue really monetizing, selling media rights on the UFC globally was in our best interest,” Shapiro said on Wednesday at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia and Technology Conference. “Frankly, we thought they would do it better than Netflix, and so our goal was to retain the international rights. … IMG will be selling those.”
Along with its ongoing 10-year deal for the media rights to WWE “Raw,” which is televised on Monday nights, Netflix also holds international rights for WWE premium live events. Rather than expanding their partnership to include UFC through the global rights, TKO has opted to utilize IMG in this regard. Shapiro articulated that about a third of these rights come up per year and that IMG will also package it when the opportunities arise.
Shapiro also stated that there is “tremendous upside” in the deal it made with Paramount, highlighting that the company retained its international rights and does not have to spend as much on ancillary programming as it did previously.
Paramount reportedly creating sports entertainment division
Paramount is creating a sports entertainment division that will be led by former Skydance Media president and COO Jesse Sisgold, according to a report from Alex Weprin of The Hollywood Reporter.
The venture, Paramount Sports Entertainment, will produce scripted and unscripted programming for its proprietary verticals, along with third-party media companies and streaming platforms. In addition, the new division will include Skydance Sports, the joint venture created with the NFL through which the league holds a stake in the Paramount company itself. CBS Sports president and CEO David Berson had previously said the stake is “significantly less” than the proposed nonbinding agreement to obtain 10% ownership of ESPN.
The new division is going to be working with sports leagues and brands in addition to athletes and creators on its content. It will also be working on sports-focused interactive games and experiences. It will complement CBS Sports, and the two divisions are also expected to work together on several projects.
Plus: Dave Portnoy, Pat McAfee, John Kelly, Mark Sanchez
Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy referred to the early ratings of “Wake Up Barstool” on FS1 as being “awful” while appearing on “The Unnamed Show” Thursday. Even so, he expressed that he is working on improving his Monday appearances and acknowledged that there was not much promotion around the start of the morning program.
Pat McAfee is launching a new weekly podcast with Steve Coughlin that will be titled, “The Pat McAfee Show Presents: Anudder College Football Convo with Stanford Steve.” The premiere episode features Coughlin with the cast of McAfee’s program where they discuss storylines and upcoming games.
The Los Angeles Kings have named John Kelly as the team’s new television play-by-play announcer, calling local games throughout the regular season on FanDuel Sports Network. Kelly moves into the role held by Nick Nickson, who retired after last season following 44 years on the airwaves.
FOX Sports has launched a new digital show with NFL analyst Mark Sanchez where he will speak with athletes and coaches around the NFL from their cars. The venture, titled “Rearview,” premiered this week with Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert.