National Basketball Association commissioner Adam Silver is on the list of possible successors to The Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Iger, according to a Fox Business report.

In addition to Silver, the hist included Dana Walden, co-chair of Disney Entertainment, and former Disney executive Kevin Mayer.

Iger stepped down as CEO of Disney in 2020, naming Bob Chapek, the head of the company’s parks division as his replacement. Chapek faced the pandemic and has a number of missteps, leading Disney’s board to bring Iger back 

The board said one of Iger’s mandates was to identify a successor within two years.

Disney and the NBA are in business together, with ESPN televising regular season games and ABC broadcasting the NBA Finals. Iger is a big sports fan and was reportedly putting together a group to buy an NBA team.

Silver became commissioner of the NBA in 2014, succeeding David Stern. He spent eight years as president of NBA Entertainment. His contract with the NBA runs through 2024, according to Front Office Sports.

Walden was named one of Disney’s top executives in Iger’s reorganization of the company, which was designed to give creative executives more control. She recently named her own senior executive team. She joined Disney when it acquired 21st Century Fox.

Before leaving Disney, Mayer was a key executive in the launch of Disney Plus. Since leaving, he has been CEO of TikTok and now runs Candle Media, which has been buying up production companies.

Other Disney execs that Fox Business listed as possible internal contenders include Alan Bergman, the other co-chair of entertainment, Josh D’Amaro, chairman of parks and resorts, and Jimmy Pitaro, president of ESPN. ■

While his Major League Baseball counterpart, Rob Manfred, seems to be making contingency plans should Bally Sports regional sports networks stop paying their TV rights bills to teams, NBA commissioner Adam Silver came off a bit more sanguine regarding the potential bankruptcy disruption. 

With the pro basketball regular season winding down, Silver has that luxury. 

“Short-term, I’m not all that concerned,” Silver told reporters during league All-Star Game activities over the weekend in Salt Lake City. “It largely affects the regular season for the NBA in terms of distributing, delivering those games directly to our consumers. And if they were to indeed, you know, file for bankruptcy, there won’t be that much of the regular season left."

Diamond Sports Group, the heavily indebted subsidiary that manages 19 Bally Sports-branded channels for Sinclair Broadcast Group, skipped a $140 million all-interest debt payment on February 15, a move putting the unit on a trajectory to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in mid-March. 

if and when that were to occur, Diamond could immediately stop paying any of its pro sports franchise partners their TV rights money. 

For his part, Manfred said last week that the MLB is prepared to step in, terminate its Diamond Sports contracts, and broadcast pro baseball games locally for the 14 affected teams itself this spring and summer. 

However, the last day of the NBA regular season is April 9, with all postseason games shown nationally under contracts with Warner Bros. Discovery and The Walt Disney Co. So if Diamond stopped paying the 16 NBA teams it partners with on March 15, there’d be less than a month of games left to disrupt. 

“For that period of time, we will have in place arrangements, if necessary, to continue to distribute those games to fans,“ Silver said. ”So I think that’s what’s most important.” 

Meanwhile, speaking during his league's all-star festivities earlier this month in South Florida, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman remarked: “They are suggesting that there isn’t an imminent financial crisis, that they’re trying to reorganize their business and move forward effectively, and so that the clubs will continue to get paid and the games will continue to be distributed. But we are obviously monitoring it very closely and exploring, at least theoretically, what the options may be in the event the worst were to happen.” ■

Sinclair Broadcast Group CEO Chris Ripley tried to deflect attention away from the mastodon in the room during an earnings conference call with analysts on Wednesday, telling them that although the broadcaster has secured direct-to-consumer rights with just four Major League Baseball teams less than six months before it is supposed to launch a DTC service, it will have the necessary deals in hand in time. 

“We do think we have critical mass in terms of rights to launch a product,” Ripley said on the earnings call. “And that’s what we intend to do.”

Maybe he‘s right. Maybe Sinclair will craft renewal deals with 10 other baseball teams over the course of the next 20 weeks that include DTC, linear and authenticated rights for more money. 

Maybe the teams, anxious to keep the money spigot from the linear RSNs flowing, will work out some kind of deal for DTC rights that will be beneficial for all, instead of taking advantage of Sinclair's desperation and make them pay through the nose. Maybe the teams, which though the league has hinted that it may keep DTC rights for itself, have changed their minds.

And then again, maybe not.

After months of telling investors and analysts not to be concerned about their ability to secure the necessary rights for its 2022 direct-to-consumer service, it came as a bit of a shock when Ripley said it only had secured those rights with four baseball teams. The Sinclair CEO said that in the past the company has obtained those rights as part of larger carriage negotiations. Ripley didn’t say which 10 baseball teams it needed to obtain rights from — some outlets have speculated the teams Sinclair does have deals with are the Detroit Tigers (77-85), Kansas City Royals (74-88), Milwaukee Brewers (95-67) and Miami Marlins (67-95), all but one with losing regular season records in 2021 —  or when it expected to reach those deals. Sinclair has said it will launch the DTC service in the first half of 2022, likely around April, the start of the MLB regular season. 

The revelation also seems to contradict Ripley’s earlier comments when he said during a Q1 earnings conference call that the company had DTC deals with the “vast majority” of its teams. In hindsight, it appears that Ripley was mainly talking about linear rights with all its teams — baseball, basketball, hockey and whatnot — and not DTC rights.

LightShed Partners principal Rich Greenfield, a vocal critic of Sinclair’s RSN strategy, wasn’t amused.

“Amazing how many times Chris Ripley has misled investors publicly,” Greenfield said in a tweet Wednesday. Later, he expressed doubt that Sinclair will be able to secure DTC rights with teams as they re-up their linear deals, adding that he believes teams are “moving in a different direction.”  

Sinclair’s RSN dilemma comes a few weeks after Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred told an audience at the CAA World Congress of Sports that the broadcaster not only didn’t have sufficient rights to launch its own DTC service, it didn’t have gambling rights from the teams. And Manfred didn’t seem to want to give either of those rights up too easily.  

”We’ve been very clear with them from the beginning that we see both those sets of rights as extraordinarily valuable to baseball, and we're not just going to throw them in to help Sinclair out,” Manfred said at the conference, according to Sports Business Journal.

Gambling rights are an important component of Sinclair’s future RSN success, and maybe Manfred’s comments are merely a negotiating ploy on behalf of the league. But not everybody thinks so.

In the Q3 conference call, Ripley seemed to brush off any notion that the league may be positioning itself to launch its own direct-to-consumer product, adding that the RSNs have linear and authenticated digital deals with teams that would make such an endeavor highly unattractive. 

“What’s important to note is that we have exclusive local rights for our teams,” Ripley said on the conference call. “And those rights cannot be infringed upon by any other party to launch a direct-to-consumer product without significant ramifications. So we continue to negotiate in good faith with all interested parties to make direct-to-consumer a reality.”     

Sports consultant Lee Berke, president and CEO of LHB Sports, Entertainment & Media, said that isn’t so cut and dried because generally team deals are subject to league policies.

That could be as simple as striking a deal with teams to show 140 games on a regional basis, but a league agreement takes that down to 120 games nationally. So it is unclear whether Sinclair’s current deals would prevent teams from launching a regional DTC service but allow a national one. 

“Those are the sorts of things that do happen,” Berke said, adding the same holds true for the NHL and NBA. “It has to, because you are striking a balance between what you can sell nationally and what you can sell locally. So, for them to say, ‘We have a critical mass of rights,’ that’s subject to what the league wants you to have.”

Also read: Sinclair RSNs: Timing is Everything 

Adding to the uncertainty is the obvious animosity between MLB and Sinclair. Berke and other sports executives have said that Manfred’s scathing public criticism of the broadcaster was unprecedented and points to a relationship where the owner of the content has little incentive to help out its distributor.

Even NBA commissioner Adam Silver, who has been generally mum about rights deals in the past, seemed to lash out at Sinclair at the Oct. 12 CAA conference, telling the audience that he believed the RSNs are probably worth half of what the company paid for them two years ago.

“They paid $10 billion, it’s not clear it’s a good deal with $5 billion,” Silver said of the Sinclair RSNs at the conference, according to The Streamable. The Sinclair RSNs are also in negotiations for rights with 16 NBA teams. 

Manfred also criticized Sinclair for publicly airing its debt issues with the entity that holds its RSNs, Diamond Sports Group. Diamond Sports has been trying for months to restructure its $8 billion in debt, and in September said it was seeking another $600 million in financing from its bondholders for the DTC launch.  At the CAA World Congress of Sports, Manfred said Sinclair’s debt issues have cast a negative pall on the RSN space. 

During Wednesday’s conference call with analysts, Ripley said Diamond Sports has “ample” liquidity for the next 12 months, and that it is in “discussions with various commercial partners regarding financing.”

And when asked if MLB’s biggest concern with Diamond Sports is its debt, and could be solved by cleaning up its balance sheet, Ripley agreed. 

“I think getting additional financing would be helpful for all parties,” Ripley said. “I mean, that’s sort of undeniably true. And I think you’re spot on in that observation.” 

And then there is the question of whether Sinclair will be able to hammer out 10 rights deals with 10 different teams in time to launch the DTC network. Ripley didn’t say when those deals would come up for renewal.

According to one sports executive who asked not to be named, it is highly unlikely that renewals for all 10 remaining MLB teams were set to expire between now and April, so that means Sinclair will have to renegotiate existing pacts with the teams. 

“The teams have all the leverage,” the sports executive said, adding that clubs don’t have much incentive to open up existing agreements to negotiate DTC rights before they come due. “Why would they do that? What are they getting?”

The executive added that even if Sinclair agreed to terms that were highly favorable to the teams, the sheer number of deals to be done could pose its own problems.  

“That’s an incredibly ambitious task,” the sports executive said of trying to negotiate 10 rights deals by April 1.  

While Ripley appears confident those deals will be reached quickly, negotiations with Dish Network for Sinclair’s TV stations and RSNs continue to drag on. Dish’s carriage deal originally expired in August, was extended to September and currently is in the midst of a long line of one-week extensions as the parties have failed to reach a compromise. Many analysts believe that Dish has had the upper hand in talks since the beginning, and is in no hurry to reach a deal unless the terms are extremely favorable to the satellite TV giant. So, to believe that MLB teams that essentially hold the key to Sinclair’s DTC streaming future will rush to complete a deal to help out the broadcaster may be a bit naïve. 

But talks with Dish are apparently ongoing. Ripley said Sinclair and Dish are in “very short-term renewals at this point,” adding that the company does not comment on “live negotiations.”

Dish Network is scheduled to hold a conference call with analysts at noon Nov. 4 to discuss Q3 results. Perhaps it will add some further clarity to those negotiations.   

However, as part of its Q3 results, Sinclair reduced Diamond Sports’ full-year cash flow guidance by 12%, a move that some analysts took to mean they don’t think they’ll be able to reach a Dish agreement this year.  

And though Cahall agreed that with about $476 million in cash, Diamond Sports has enough liquidity to last 12 months, he added it is going to be a tight next few months for RSN business. 

About half of that cash will be tied up in sports rights payments, bond interest payments and distributor rebates in the first half of 2022, Cahall wrote in a research note, adding that the “real crunch” will occur in Q4 2022. In the meantime, Cahall wrote that Diamond Sports’ unsecured bonds are trading at about 26 cents on the dollar. 

The analyst wrote that investors, once most concerned about the debt restructuring, are now hyper-focused on direct-to-consumer streaming rights. 

“We think it's too close to call,” Cahall wrote, adding that without a direct-to-consumer product, “it's tough for us to see a financial future for Diamond.” 

Berke added that despite Sinclair’s RSN difficulties, the value of sports content remains high, which could raise optimism that a deal can eventually be done. But there will also have to be some changes. The sports business isn’t what it used to be. 

“This is not a crisis of the value of the content — ratings still do well,” Berke said. “But it’s a crisis of the distribution of the content. It’s a fact that the business model is outmoded. All of that needs to be addressed. The easier path is to negotiate this out. But it has been two years, and they have yet to work it out.”

The 2020 coronavirus pandemic forced the shutdown of all major pro sports this past spring, but no sport rebounded better than the National Basketball Association.

After shutting its 2019–20 season down in March, the league — under the leadership of Silver — began work on an innovative gameplan to resume the season safely within a quarantined environment in Florida that would host the league’s truncated regular and postseason schedule. 

The Los Angeles Lakers in late October emerged from the nearly three-month bubble experience with the NBA Finals trophy after defeating the Miami Heat. Ratings for the competitive, six-game championship series were subpar, but competition was extreme against the NHL’s Stanley Cup Finals, MLB’s World Series and the NFL regular season.

The “bubble” scenario at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports complex was unprecedented in its scope and operations, but achievable because of Silver’s dogged determination to see it through. Silver brought together a range of groups — including the NBA Players Association along with its television partners, as well as health officials on call to administer strict COVID-19 protocols.

“Nobody thought we were going to spend months in a [bubble],” Silver said during a recent Reuters interview prior to the league’s Nov. 19 NBA Draft. “Ultimately, we concluded that’s the best we could do under the circumstances.”

Silver’s deft work with the players union on emphasizing social justice and racial equality messages throughout league play also earned him accolades across the sports world.  

If that wasn’t enough, Silver has the league in position to start its 2020–21 season in December — the shortest period between seasons in NBA history. With the league set to play during its traditional winter/spring time period with a shortened, 72-game schedule, Silver has the league poised to continue its successful play as one of the pre-eminent pro sports leagues. 

“We feel comfortable that the protocols that we’ll have in place in our practice facilities and our arenas will keep our players safe,” Silver said to ESPN. “We’re set out on a course to open on Dec. 22, but we will undoubtedly be learning new things every day.”

The National Basketball Association  expanded its content partnership with Twitter that features live programming and more video to Twitter, Vine and Periscope, the league announced Tuesday. 

The NBA and Twitter will deliver a free live stream of a new weekly NBA pregame show with elements that were created specifically to drive Twitter conversation, said network officials.

 Ahead of the 2016-17 season, the NBA will announce an additional to-be-determined show that will also stream exclusively on Twitter.

“We’re excited about bringing live content to Twitter, which has proven to be an ideal destination for real-time sports conversations,” said NBA commissioner Adam Silver in a statement.  “We’ve seen technology bring fans closer to our game, teams and players in ways we could have only imagined a decade ago. This expanded partnership will help feed our fans’ growing demand for the NBA by more deeply integrating the league across Twitter’s many platforms.”

When it comes to sports, if Thanksgiving is the NFL’s day, then Christmas is all about roundball.

For the 67th year overall and the first under Santa Silver, here’s a spirit-of-the-season Dec. 25 programming guide for the NBA.

Jimmy Dolan’s Madison Square Garden manger may need Phil Jackson’s Zen more than frankincense and myrrh, but the gold will be in the house as the New York Knicks mark their 50th Christmas appearance, dating all the way back to 1947 against the Providence Steamrollers.  This year’s noon (ET) encounter on ESPN may take Clement Moore to the top of the porch, to the top of (John) Wall, where the Washington Wizards look to dash away, dash away, dash away all from Carmelo Anthony’s struggling crew.

ABC at 2:30 may summon the ghosts of NBA future with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka, as the Oklahoma City visit the ghosts of NBA championship present, the San Antonio Spurs, and Gregg Popovich’s three wise men, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker.

For those who prefer their Christmas in more Frosty climes say like in Akron, Ohio, South Beach may not necessarily be the place to celebrate. Still, at 5 p.m. on the broadcaster LeBron James will bring his new Cleveland Cavalier courtiers Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love to the place where he hung his stocking the last four seasons: Miami’s American Airlines Arena. Hopefully, a nagging calf injury won’t throw coal on former Big Three running mate Chris Bosh, or The King only will be left to engage season’s greetings with Dwayne Wade and Heat coach Erik Spoelstra.

At 8 p.m., TNT showcases the Los Angeles Lakers and their “Father Christmas,” Kobe Bryant, who will play for a league record 16th time on the holiday. Holly may be the flower of the season, but there is no better gift for Chicago Bulls fans than having a (Derek) Rose in bloom at the United Center.

The 10:30 nightcap on TNT may be the top matchup on the Christmas list with the league-leading Golden State Warriors invading the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples. But given their dustup last Christmas and animus after the Clippers edged the Warriors in Game 7 of opening round of the 2014 playoffs, there may not be glad tidings as this could turn out to the Grinch game.

Ho, ho, ho.

Expanding NBC Sports’ drive into the TV Everywhere arena, the programmer’s regional sports networks are live-streaming NBA games in-market.

Six of the Comcast SportsNet regionals that have rights to NBA teams have been quietly streaming simulcasts of the clubs’ games, as well as pre- and post-game programming, to authenticated viewers across computers, desktops, tablets and cellphones since the start of the 2014-15 NBA season. The live-streams include their own sets of ads as NBC Sports is monetizing the new platform.

The regionals – CSN New England, CSN Philadelphia, CSN Mid-Atlantic, CSN Chicago, CSN Bay Area and CSN California – join the SportsNet LA, home of the Los Angeles Lakers, as well as almost all of the 17 Fox Sports-owned regionals in streaming NBA contests to verified viewers within their respective TV markets.

“We have successfully launched TV Everywhere in many of our markets, initially featuring live NBA game coverage of the Celtics, 76ers, Wizards, Bulls, Warriors and Kings,” said Jon Litner, group president of the NBC Sports Group.  “Through a growing list of participating providers, Comcast SportsNet subscribers are gaining access to our award-winning coverage no matter where they are, and on whichever device they choose.”  

CSN Northwest is not engaging in the practice, as Portland Trail Blazers games are streamed on a pay-per-view basis where the RSN doesn't have carriage. CSN Houston, which has been the home of the Houston Rockets, will become Root Sports Southwest.

Currently, the Comcast RSNs have distribution deals for NBA in-market live streaming with their parent company, which is the top provider in the attendant markets, Time Warner Cable, and AT&T U-verse.

The programmer, which is making the streams available to all distributors at no extra charge, said it is working toward inking TVE carriage contracts for NBA local streaming with other providers.

While the streamed contests are value-added at no extra cost for authenticated subscribers, NBC Sports is looking to monetize this nascent platform, building a separate schedule of ads within the simulcasts.  Calling it “a brand new sales initiative,” an NBC Sports spokesman said the company is dedicating personnel to selling the spots and dynamically inserting them within the streams.

At launch this season, the Fox regionals simulcasting NBA games in-market included “slates,” rather than commercials within the streams.

The CSN streaming effort soft-launched in late October with the start of the NBA campaign to make sure the technology was functioning properly. A spokesman for NBC Sports said it is “very pleased with the rollout,” noting there have very few glitches.

The service is now being supported by on-air reads, messaging on the RSNs' websites, and promos during shoulder and news programming, raising awareness and usage.

Users can access the NBA streaming content via NBC Sports or the RSNs' websites, or by downloading the NBC Sports Live Extra app for use on smartphones and tablets. The platform’s geolocator points the user to the appropriate RSN and log-in process.

NBC Sports Live Extra enables authenticated and multiplatform viewing for most of the programmer’s national portfolio, including the Olympics, National Hockey League, Barclays Premier League, Sunday Night Football, Notre Dame football and Triple Crown thoroughbred racing. Golf Channel – and its coverage of the PGA Tour and other circuits – has been live-streamed via Golf Live Extra since April 2013.

The company recently launched its first ad campaign touting the NBC Sports Live Extra service.

The wide-scale rollout of NBA in-market streaming  -- NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a recent interview said that it’s important that the league fans can view the RSN games on multiple devices -- by the Comcast and Fox-owned regionals, as well as TWC’s Lakers networks, and MSG, which is putting the New York Knicks in streaming play come December, may put pressure on Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League to open up in-market TVE for the RSNs that televise their teams' contests.

While New York Yankees games via YES Network, and San Diego Padres action had been made available in the fashion in the past, fans of the Toronto Blue Jays and subscribers to Rogers SportNet were the only ones to have access to in-market live streaming of MLB contests during the 2014 campaign.

The NHL has yet to skate with the practice.

After 22 years with the National Basketball Association in five different positions, Adam Silver assumed the role of the league’s commissioner on Feb. 1, succeeding David Stern. Over the course of his tenure, including eight-year stints as deputy commissioner and chief operating officer and as president of NBA Entertainment, Silver played an integral role in growing pro basketball’s worldwide presence and in negotiating the league’s last three collective bargaining agreements with the NBA Players Association, as well as its last two TV pacts. He also helped with the development and launch of the WNBA and the NBA Development League, the creation of NBA China and the partnership with Turner Broadcasting System to jointly manage the league’s myriad digital assets.

Silver began his time atop the league presiding over February’s All-Star Game festivities in New Orleans. In April, as the playoffs tipped off, he was thrust into the thicket of controversy emanating from racial remarks by Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling. His decisive leadership defused the highly charged situation that ultimately resulted in the sale of the team to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer for a record $2 billion.

Earlier this month, Silver secured the league’s national media rights into the middle of the next decade via extensions with Disney’s ESPN and Time Warner Inc.’s Turner Sports. Not only do the deals expand linear game and digital rights for the partners, but the $24 billion pacts represent the largest rate of increase for any of the major North American sports leagues.

As part of the deal with ESPN, the NBA, long at the forefront of technological and digital development, will hold an equity stake in an over-the-top service melding pro basketball and other properties.

And as the NBA tips off its 2014-15 campaign this week, it is poised to become the first league in which regional sports networks will live-stream in-market games on a widescale basis.

For these and other reasons, Silver is the Multichannel News sports executive of the year. He touched on these and other subjects during a recent interview with online news editor Mike Reynolds and programming editor R. Thomas Umstead. An edited transcript follows.

MCN: You’ve been with the league a long time and with [former commissioner] David [Stern] for many years. The incident with Donald Sterling aside, are there things you can only realize by having the job?

Adam Silver: In addition to some of those particular instances that you just referenced, like Donald Sterling, like the situation we had in Atlanta, I'd say just day to day there is a huge difference between being the number one and the number two guy.

I think someone in basketball once said the longest distance in sports is the distance between the coach and the assistant coach. I worked for David in five different jobs before I became commissioner.

MCN:  Became the sixth man, in a manner of speaking.

AS:  Precisely. I'm the sixth man and the fifth commissioner of the NBA. And I think it’s just very different at the end of the day when you are the one making the ultimate decisions -- big decisions and small decisions -- most of which never become public but in terms of dealing with 30 disparate teams and 30 independent owners, many of whom have a different point of view from other owners on certain issues, that it's a constant balancing of priorities and. I would just say being the CEO of the organization poses very different challenges than in my five prior positions.

MCN: Do you speak to David often? Can he stay away from things?

AS: David (laughter) he remains a consultant to the League and a very close personal friend. We talk now and again and in fact, David came to Berlin last week where the San Antonio Spurs played Alba Berlin.

MCN: And lost in the final moments…

AS: And lost in the final moments. But I don't think it was because David was there.  And it was great to spend time with him and his wife, Diane. David caught up with a lot of old friends there, including [San Antonio Spurs general manager R.C. Buford and his favorite coach, Gregg Popovich of the Spurs. So it was nice to have David there.

David has an office down the street from the NBA's offices in New York and he's doing some consulting and some speaking and is doing very well. And for me, obviously in a new role and it's been a really exciting first few… I guess nine months now.

MCN:  We’ll go a little international since you just came back from Berlin, other stops and China. You've just announced a new curriculum program, with the Ministry of Education there.  Obviously China's the biggest country in the world.  Does it still represent the largest opportunity for the league? Is India coming up on its heels?

AS: Let's start with China, which is our biggest market outside of the United States right now. And having just finished the 10th anniversary of the first set of preseason games we played in China, what we now brand the Global Games, the growth has exceeded expectations in terms of basketball in China.

We now have, it's now estimated that over 300 million people playing basketball in China, more people than live in the United States. It's a sport that's being embraced by the Chinese government. You just referenced the announcement we made the other day with the Ministry of Education in China, where basketball is going to become part of the school curriculum.

I believe the reason for that is that it is a game that's easy to learn. It can be played by both boys and girls and it doesn't require much space and can be played practically anywhere. And even more important in China, the core values of the game are in line with the principles that are being taught to their children, including hard work, teamwork  and discipline. And lastly, it's fun. And I think that makes a big difference as well.

And we're beginning to see a similar pattern in India. We have a program in place with Mukesh Ambani, a leading industrialist in India, who runs the Reliance Corporation.  And we're working with his foundation on a program to get 3 million boys and girls, bouncing basketballs.

In fact, we have an owner now, Vivek Ranadive of the Sacramento Kings, who was born in Mumbai, India. Vivek and I are traveling there at the end of November, when we’re going to meet with the Prime Minister and Mr. Ambani to continue to build the NBA and basketball infrastructure in India. So while China is way ahead of India in terms of basketball development, we are seeing similar patterns emerging in India.

Lastly, we're seeing a tremendous growth of basketball in Africa as well. I was in Johannesburg last summer for our Basketball Without Borders program. Basketball has become so popular that we are going to stage our first ever summer All-Star game in Johannesburg next August. There is a long list of NBA players, who have volunteered to be part of that trip because it was so important to them to be part of the program. We'll be releasing those names later, but it's truly an All-Star list of players who are going to be playing in this game next summer.

MCN: The league has presence in Europe as well.  [National Football League commissioner] Roger Goodell has talked a lot about London. Do you want to expand there, or will you go stateside first?

AS: There are no plans to expand anywhere at this time. Europe expansion is something we'll continue to look at.  It's a long-term project, but we're seeing the emergence of true state-of-the-art facilities in Europe. Under the leadership of Phil Anschutz at AEG, there is now a state-of-the-art facility in London, the 02 Arena, where once again this year we're going to play a regular season game in January, with the Milwaukee Bucks against the New York Knicks.

The arena I was just in last week in Berlin, 02 World, also an AEG facility, is another state-of-the-art facility in Europe. And there are now plans on the table for new arenas in Madrid and Barcelona and in addition, the long- time arena in Paris, the Bercy Arena, is in the process of being renovated. So the necessary first step is happening. We're seeing the infrastructure being put in place for state-of-the-art arenas in Europe. But there are still economic issues in southern Europe that are an impediment to expanding in Europe.

The league right now, we're in the process of sort of solidifying the 30 franchises that we have in the U.S.; we're seeing the benefits of the new collective bargaining agreement, plus revenue sharing, kick in where we're moving to the point where every franchise is in a position where it can compete for championships and hopefully run profitable franchises. Expansion is not on the front burner right now. It's something we'll continue to look at both in Europe and domestically, but there’s nothing imminent.

MCN: How do you see the season going this year?

AS: The state of the league is terrific. I can't remember a time when there were more interesting and exciting franchises that fans were hotly anticipating watching. I mean I can't wait to see the new Cleveland Cavaliers, the new Chicago Bulls, Phil Jackson's New York Knicks, the impact that Luol Deng will have on Miami. What's Kobe [Bryant] got left in the tank. The Clippers under Steve Ballmer.

The Spurs, let's not count them out. I don't want to sell them short. They brought that same team back so we'll be watching to see whether they can repeat as champions, see if Tim Duncan can get his sixth ring before he retires.

We have a really healthy combination of young stars coming in, experienced all-stars.

What we're seeing too, as part of the new collective bargaining agreement, it's not just financial. It's not just creating a better financial environment in the league, but also we're seeing greater parity and we're seeing every team, regardless of market size, in a position to potentially compete and I think that's really healthy for the league.

MCN: Does that translate into higher ratings.

AS: Absolutely. I know ESPN and Turner are anticipating ratings growth this year. Again, I think it's a function of more so-called national teams, more exciting teams that people throughout the country are interested in watching. I mean even a team like the Minnesota Timberwolves, I think everyone's anxious to see how Andrew Wiggins will play with Anthony Bennett.

I think to me, just as I look at the schedule, I can't tell you how excited I am to see these new matchups. And you can go right down the list. I can't wait to see that new combination of players and see new coaches in the league.  And there is new ownership in Milwaukee, two hard-charging guys trying to turn around the culture of that team. What are we going to see there? So I'm very excited.

MCN: How important is the NBA's move into more digital technology in terms of getting games and content to the consumer?

AS: I think it's really important. We're seeing now, with the announcements of HBO and CBS going over the top…I think we were early adopters in that we recognized we had to take the games to whatever platform our fans wanted to consume them on.

Some of the [regional sports networks] have been experimenting with authenticated subscribers. And so, if somebody is already paying their distributor for the games and wants to watch those games on his or her tablet or whatever mobile device, we think it makes a lot of sense to deliver them the games in that fashion.

So if you're not able to be home in front of your large screen HDTV, but you're on the go or at a friend's house, you're able to just take out your mobile device and watch the game. So we think that's critical important for our fans.

MCN: Can you give us a sense for the OTT service ESPN is going to launch with the league?

AS: It’s early stages. It's going to be a 24/7 streamed service to mobile devices. It will contain a full package of NBA games, and will likely include other lives sports as well. It'll be a package that is going to be made available directly to the consumer and possibly paid through their mobile provider, with potentially some sort of surcharge on top of whatever their monthly fee is in order to get that additional programming.

Depending on the technology, it may be an always-on service based on the new technology we hear is coming to cellphones.  There potentially will be a surcharge for the content, but there won't be an additional charge for the additional bandwidth that that service is using on a monthly basis, making it more affordable.

We think it'll be a very attractive offering and we see ESPN sort of dipping their toes into the over-the-top waters and at the same time balancing that against the fact that they are very much part of the traditional bundle of sports, traditional bundle of channels being sold to consumers.

MCN: You mentioned the HBO and CBS announcements. [Both programmers conveyed plays for OTT TV services earlier this month.] Can the service launch earlier than 2016-17?

AS: I think there's a possibility. We wanted to get our core television agreement done and then we agreed we'd quickly turn back to the OTT service. So we have an agreement in principle with ESPN, but in fact I just spoke to [ESPN president] John Skipper earlier today about continuing our discussions so we can firm up exactly how we're going to launch this OTT service. There is certainly no reason that we're going to wait two years in order to do something.

MCN: Given the expansion again of the RSNs and the OTT service, won’t they compete head-to-head with [out-of-market] NBA League Pass service?

AS: No, I don't think it will compete head-to-head with the League Pass service because these likely will be games that are included in both the League Pass service and the over the top service. I think for those fans, customers, that want League Pass, I think it's a different customer that wants a larger selection of games, or wants to get all of the games of a particular team, or get the full complement of games every night that aren't offered on a national service. So I think the services will be complementary.

MCN: How is NBA TV performing?

AS: We're very happy with NBA TV. We love the production being supplied by Turner and the use of their talent down in Atlanta. And in fact, as part of our new television relationships, Turner has agreed to now take on the affiliate sales for NBA TV as well. So rather than the league office selling NBA TV to the distributors as a one-off, we'll now be part of the sales team that's providing TNT, TBS, Cartoon [Network], CNN and other networks, which we think will give us a much stronger position in the marketplace. We're very excited about that development as well.

MCN: The new deal is $24 billion over nine seasons, with the highest rate of increase among the major sports leagues in the states. Is that a function of you guys being the last to the table, the league is in a great position or you guys are the best negotiators?

AS: (Laughter) I think it’s a testament to the fantastic long-term partnerships we've had with Disney and Time Warner.

MCN: During the press conference you said you held discussions, but not negotiations with Fox and Comcast/NBCUniversal. Were you and the media committee unanimous in this decision? You also said you didn’t leave any money on the table…

AS: Yes, we were unanimous in this was the way to go. I will say that we have very close relationships with Comcast and Fox. Fox has 17 of our team's RSN deals and Comcast has eight.

MCN: That may be seven shortly, but that’s another story...[CSN Houston, home to the Rockets, is nearing the end of Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.]

AS: That’s true. We have very strong relationships up and down in those organizations. So we're far from strangers to each other. So it's fair to say while we did not leave the exclusive negotiating period, certainly I have close business and personal relationships with the leaders of those organizations and we did talk to them.

As to whether we could've gotten more had we went to market, I guess, we'll never know. But we feel very good about the deals we did.

MCN: Two other points about the new deal. There will be a 12-game package that Turner will have in addition to its Thursday night doubleheaders. [Turner Broadcasting System president] David Levy said he was looking at Sunday or Monday. Do you have a preference?

AS:  No, I don't have a preference right now. That's something that goes to how strong our relationships are with Turner and with David Levy. That's something we'll sit down and discuss together and see where we can optimize the schedule. It would be dependent sometimes on the matchups and building availabilities and those kinds of issues. I know those are things that we'll work out together.

MCN: Was Turner ever in the mix for The finals in some capacity, on a shared, or an alternating year basis?

AS: I can say that over the course of many months of negotiations we discussed several different permutations in terms of The Finals and All-Star and the other marquee properties. But where we ultimately landed was the status quo. I think all sides agreed that in order to get these deals done on the timeframe that we had set out, that we weren't going to be able to do it if we rejuggled where all the properties went. Ultimately, it made sense to keep The Finals where they are on ABC.

MCN: In hindsight, how do you view the Clippers and the Donald Sterling situation?

AS: In the moment, I didn't have the luxury of thinking long-term. But now to me what that incident represents is the NBA’s ability to defend the values we share as a league and as a community member of a larger sports community. For me, it was enormously impactful as an early experience in learning how to be a leader. Again, I can only say that I did the best I could under what was a very, very trying circumstance at the time.

MCN: Most of us think you did extraordinarily well and we applaud you for that.

AS:  Thank you.

MCN: The [Atlanta] Hawks situation [Principal team owner Bruce Levenson has voluntarily agreed to sell his stake in the Hawks after the leak of an email that urged club officials to make changes to attract more white fans to games]. Did the league get a bit of pass because when the news surfaced the media was focused on the NFL’s Ray Rice problem? Could new ownership be in place by year-end?

AS:  To your first question I’d say I don't think we got a pass on Atlanta and I credit Bruce Levinson for the way he handled the situation. His situation was completely different than the situation we had in Los Angeles. Mr. Levinson self-reported that he made that mistake to the league office and he decided completely on his own to sell his stake in the team. So I think all the credit goes to him for the way it was handled and why it wasn't necessary for it to be an ongoing story. He brought closure to it almost immediately.

And in terms of the time line for sale, you know, Bruce Levinson remains the owner of that franchise. It's his process that he's running to sell the team. I know that [Hawks president and former Turner executive] Steve Koonin said he was hopeful that the team gets sold by the end of the year. I'm not sure how realistic that timeline is…And while there's not a set timeframe, I know on the other hand they're moving as quickly as they can.

MCN: Did you speak to Roger Goodell about the Ray Rice incident? Did he or you reach out?

AS: Roger and I did speak and it would not be appropriate for me to comment on those conversations.

MCN: We wanted to wind down with a little bit of fun here. We’re fantasy players: Any inside scoop from the commissioner about when Kevin Durant comes back?

AS: I don't have any inside scoop. I mean he is a wonderful young man and the league is going to miss him almost as much as OKC will when he's out. And I just wish him all the best and I hope he's back on the court as soon as possible.

MCN:  You tested a Brooklyn-Boston preseason game with 11-minute quarters. All these years of history with 12-minute quarters? Why are you doing this?

AS: It's an experiment. What I like about it is that when we try an experiment like this we get a lot of free advice over the transit.

MCN: Sure.

AS: So, we play one 44-minute game and I get a lifetime of very thoughtful proposals from the media, from fans, from every one I can possibly think of as to what changes we should potentially be making to our format.

And in all seriousness, this came about as a result of the coaches being intrigued in looking at the international format at potentially playing fewer minutes. I'm not sure an 11-minute quarter is the answer. I do think it's important that we try new things, especially when we have a preseason and we can try some different things that may attract some attention. There's always unintended effects from…

For example, some coaches are saying that if you shorten the game the stars will play the exact same number of minutes because they can be that much more impactful. Others are saying they'll play fewer minutes. Others are saying that if you shorten the games they will become more competitive because it will increase randomness…It's the difference between one and done and a seven-game series in the extreme.

MCN: Huh…

AS: But so again this was…We're not ready to change the game we know and love. I liked what [Dallas Mavericks owner]Mark Cuban said the other day, which was, ‘I love this game so much I want to see the teams play more minutes.’

MCN: That's what we're thinking. The All Star Game is at MSG. The Saturday night festivities are at Barclays Center.  Was this a Solominic or Silver-esque compromise?

AS: Yes. It's Friday and Saturday in Barclays. We've got the rookie/sophomore game Friday night and All-Star Saturday Night events. And this was something [Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov and [Knicks owner James] Dolan came to an agreement that it made sense. I think they both wanted the All-Star Game for this season and both, in essence, had a claim to it. You had a new building in Brooklyn and you had a transformed, as they call it, building in Manhattan. Given that it's already such an incredible basketball Mecca, let's make it the center of the world for basketball, so that we can amplify that impact by using two arenas instead of one. And I think they both thought it was a great idea and are working together very cooperatively.

MCN: So when New York comes up in the rotation next time it changes?

AS: We'll see for next time. I mean I think it's a good question. We'll see how it works using two buildings. I know that with The Garden getting the game on Sunday, we told the Nets that they would remain in line to get an All-Star Game themselves and then it would be up to The Garden to see whether they wanted to reverse positions. But it's not necessary. I mean certainly we'll be coming back to New York to play an All-Star Game in Brooklyn in the not-so-distant future.

MCN: Phil Jackson and Derek Fisher are here with The Triangle. Is Carmelo Anthony going to work this? Are the Knicks making the playoffs? Or you can't comment because you're a neutral guy now?

AS:  You know, I am a neutral guy. You know I grew up a Knick fan, but I had to park that fandom when I came to the league office in 1992. So it's been a while since I've been able to cheer for the Knicks. But I'm excited. I think this is my season to once and for all understand the triangle, after all these years at the league.

MCN: You dunking the ball or getting out of Shaq's grip, what's more realistic?  [Silver was hoisted at the NBA Legends Brunch during All-Star weekend in New Orleans]. The big Aristotle/Cactus/Shamrock, that must have been something…

AS: He kept coming closer and he kept coming closer and I thought he was about to whisper to me and all the sudden I was being levitated. And the only way I'm going to dunk, frankly, is if Shaq picks me up. I have no hops these days.

MCN: You mentioned earlier you're off to Mumbai at the end of November. What's your roadie to start the season?

AS: I know I'm starting on Tuesday night the 28th. I'll be in San Antonio where I'll be giving out the rings. Wednesday night, the 29th, I'm going to Utah and then Thursday of opening week I'm going to the Clippers. And then I'm going to hit Knicks and Nets games when I get home. So I'm getting to five games in the first week and then I'm sure I'll be doing a lot of traveling beyond that, but one week at a time. But it's one of the real perks of this job that I get to travel around and see fantastic basketball.

NBA China and the Ministry of Education of China are teaming on a multyear parternship to incorporate a fitness and basketball development curriculum in elementary, middle and high schools across the world's most populous nation.

The partnership, the first ever between an American pro sports league and China's Ministry of Education, will focus on basketball participation in elementary, middle and high schools across China and aims to provide enhanced basketball training to at least 3 million students by 2017.

As part of the curriculum, NBA players, legends and coaches will visit Chinese schools to conduct basketball clinics and provide specialized instruction to the nation's coaches and physical education teachers.  Chinese coaches and physical education teachers selected by the Ministry of Education will also have the chance to observe and participate in coaching activities organized by the NBA.

“The Chinese government attaches great importance to sports education.  We highly appreciate the NBA’s efforts to promote basketball and improve the basketball education in Chinese schools,” said China's vice minister of education Hao Ping. “I am fully convinced that with the joint efforts of the NBA and China’s Ministry of Education, great success will be achieved in the cooperation of basketball education between the two sides, which will surely contribute to the development of China’s basketball education and China-U.S. people-to-people exchange.”

“Under the guidance and expertise of China’s Vice Premier Liu Yandong and the Ministry of Education, we look forward to reaching millions of Chinese students through our joint fitness and basketball development curriculum,” said NBA commissioner Adam Silver. “This partnership complements our long-standing commitment with the Chinese Basketball Association to grow the game in China.”

NBA China formally tipped off in January 2008, after the league opened its first office in Hong Kong back in 1992. The NBA has interacted with Chinese basketball for decades, including first hosting the Chinese National Team in 1985.  The NBA currently has relationships with a number of TV and digital media outlets in the country, including a partnership of more than 25 years with national broadcaster CCTV.

There are a number of knowns with the NBA's lucrative renewal announced last week, Incumbents ESPN and TNT will be presenting games and related content on myriad platforms into the middle of the next decade.

By paying a combined $24 billion, starting with the 2016-17 season and continuing through the 2024-25 campaign, The Walt Disney Co. and Time Warner have kept Fox and Comcast/NBCU out of the national media rights for pro hoops.  ABC will remain the home of The NBA Finals, which have surpassed the World Series in ratings in recent years, while TNT will continue to host the most playoff games.

There are also plenty of unknowns most notably the over-the-top service that ESPN will launch and in which the league will hold an equity stake. The service will not require a subscription to a cable, satellite or telco video subscription.

Commissioner Adam Silver at the Oct. 6 press conference in New York said the “new service is designed to reach mobile consumers with NBA content and potentially other sports properties, as well.”

ESPN president and John Skipper, noting only that a framework has been established, pointed out that “the preponderance of our deal is to invest in new product that goes on pay television…There is no contradiction in continuing to enhance and buttress the current system while building new businesses and new ways to reach fans. We think they are complementary. We applaud the NBA for being a very forward‑thinking league and helping us do that across all of our platforms."

With Washington Wizards owner and NBA media committee chairman Ted Leonisis talking about the surge in worldwide mobility and 2.5 billion Internet connections, some were left with the impression that the OTT could be a global gambit.

ESPN officials later in the week said the OTT service would be a U.S. play only, but there were no further details -- as to whether it would function as an out-of-market service or otherwise. It remains unclear if the content would encompass only ESPN’s NBA action -- and how many other pro hoops games from across the league's slate -- or extend to the full gamut of the worldwide leader's portfolio.

What seems likely: Pay-tv distributors, who currently pay almost $6 in monthly subscriber fees for ESPN, will be angry if there are mass defections to the OTT service, especially in light of the supposition that while viewers can get access to most movies, dramas and comedies elsewhere, live sports have been the province of an ecosystem involving broadcast and to an ever increasing degree, pay-TV programmers.

The following is a scorecard touching on a number of other deal points, outlining what's known and what remains uncertain at this juncture.

More games: ESPN and ABC will add 10 contests, lifting their combined regular-season roster to 100, with most likely slated on the cable side. That means regional sports networks shouldn’t have to worry about losing full-telecast rights. The worldwide leader will also add D-League and summer league action and extended its WNBA pact to be co-terminus with the broader NBA pact.

TNT, retaining its exclusive Thursday night doubleheaders, will after the All-Star break add another dozen games with significant playoff implications on a new night. Turner Broadcasting System Inc. president David Levy told Multichannel News after the press conference that it was looking at Sunday or Monday.

License fees:  ESPN and TNT’s (around $1.40) monthly license fees will continue to rise under the new deal. Just as ESPN executives have always maintained that one property doesn’t determine the rate, Levy, noting this deal would not trigger a surcharge, said TNT’s current license fee reflects the value of the NBA and that would be the case going forward.  His boss Time Warner chairman Jeff Bewkes has talked up securing higher fees for the Turner portfolio of networks and retaining the ratings-ascendant pro hoops league should help accomplish that.

NBA TV: NBA TV will add a handful of games, lifting its schedule to 100 regular-season contests annually. Under the new deal,Turner also willserve as the principal affiliate negotiatior. While Silver is confident that NBA TV will benefit, it's way too early to determine how much the network will grow beyond its current 60-million base via its inclusion within the Turner portfolio of services. As Levy said, it's, in part, a function of opportunities synching up with contract lengths

Digital: The programmers retain their TVE rights across their myriad platforms.  ESPN is slated to add some 750 hours of linear/digital content that will make the NBA --- like the NFL -- a year-round business in Bristol and beyond.

Turner, which will continue to manage NBA Digital, including NBA TV, NBA.com, NBA Mobile, NBA League Pass, WNBA.com and NBADLeague.com., can add more video-focused content to its Bleacher Report online service. It’s unclear if that will manifest as NBA game streaming.

Labor: What’s known is that Cleveland’s LeBron James and Brookyn’s  Deon Williams are already beating the owners-can’t-cry-poverty-anymore, and the- players-need-a-higher-percentage-of basketball- related- income drum.  What’s unknown is the exact minute in 2017 when the players will opt of the current collective bargaining agreement and another NBA work stoppage/ lockout/strike will ensue.

New York -- There will be a lot more NBA games and content in play under the rights extensions the league has inked with ESPN and Turner Broadcasting System.

And rightfully so, considering that the pro hoops league media partners are almost trebling the combined $920 million in annual outlays under their current contracts that run through the 2015-16 season. Together, the parties will pay some $24 billion over a nine-year term that will conclude with the 2024-25 season. Reports indicate that ESPN, whose current contract averages $480 million, will pay about $1.4 billion for each year of the new deal, which includes the launch of an over-the-top systems outside of the pay-TV ecosystem.

For its part, Turner will allocate some $1.2 billion per season, which features a new 12-game slate in the second half of the seasons, and more content for its Bleacher Report digital property.  TNT spends some $440 miillion per season under its present contract.

During the press conference announcing the deal at the Saint Regis Hotel on Monday morning, both ESPN president John Skipper and Turner Broadcasting president David Levy said the deals made financial sense for their respective parents The Walt Disney Co. and Time Warner.

“Sports rights are more and more valuable," said Skipper. “It continues ESPN’s long-stated strategy to invest in a portfolio of live rights. This is a key property for us given the ascendant nature of the league.”

Levy stated that the deal was a priority for Turner's parent. “Each year the playoffs help TNT win nights of television during the all-important May sweeps. We look forward to that tradition continuing,” he said  "It will be meaningfully valuable to our company at the end of this deal and we'll have a strong R.O.I. when the end of this deal happens."

Asked afterward, if that meant TNT affiliates should expect a meaningful increase in their monthly license fees accordingly, Levy said: “The value of TNT programming is reflected in its license fee and that includes the NBA.”

He said there would be no TNT surcharge tied to the NBA renewal, and that affiliate pacts “have to run their course. Going forward, the value of NBA will be reflected in Turner’s enhanced set of assets" with the league.

TNT, in addition to retaining its exclusive Thursday night doubleheaders, will tip off a dozen more live games on another night of the week during the second half of the season. The programmer will have NBA Opening Night, exclusive coverage of most of NBA All-Star Weekend, including the game itself and more playoff contests than ESPN/ABC.  Turner will also create a new NBA awards show and proffer additional programming around the beginning of the season and the start of the playoffs.

Turner Sports will also retain TV Everywhere rights that allows for all NBA content airing across Turner Broadcasting networks to be streamed live across the company's multiple digital platforms. Additionally, Turner will have enhanced digital rights to serve NBA content across its Bleacher Report online service.

Turner Sports will also continue to manage NBA Digital, including NBA TV, NBA.com, NBA Mobile, NBA League Pass, WNBA.com and NBADLeague.com.

Levy said Turner is eyeing Sunday and Monday nights as potential landing spots for the additional 12-game package that will begin after the All-Star break and be centered on delivering matchups with significant playoff implications.

Under its deal, ESPN and broadcast brethren ABC, which remains the home of The Finals, gain 10 additional games (plus 10 additional exclusive windows) raising their combined regular-season total to 100 (85 on the cable network, 15 on the broadcaster). The new agreements also give ESPN significant increases in their radio and international rights, as well as extend its agreement with the WNBA through 2025. ESPN will add about 750 hours per year of linear/digital content, and televise D-League and NBA Summer League games, giving pro hoops a year-round presence on the worldwide leader.

As to the planned OTT service, Skipper said it wouldn’t upset the current pay-TV system.

“There is no contradiction in continuing to enhance and buttress the current system by building new business and new way to reach fans,” said Skipper. “We think they are complementary.”

Skipper said the OTT service was in its incipient stages, but the plan calls for the inclusion of some live games, as well as studio programming, highlight and analysis. It also may include content beyond pro basketball. Whatever the ultimate content, it will reflect ESPN’s quality of production.

All that being said, Skipper emphasized this was merely a “framework” for the service. “We have a lot of work to do,” he told MCN after the press conference. 

The league’s partners also paid a premium to keep others from getting a chance to play in the NBA’s growing arena.

The NBA and the media companies, which were in the midst of their exclusive negotiating windows that wouldn’t have closed until next year, began their negotiations in earnest during February, which Silver said escalated to “around the clock” talks over the last 10 days or so. Skipper said he didn’t know what it might have cost ESPN had competitive bids were entered.

“We clearly made the calculation that we were uninterested in exploring that possibility,” Skipper said.

In announcing the first national rights deal under his watch, Silver said:  “We decided to renew our agreements with Turner and Disney two years early, because they have been terrific partners and they each share responsibility for the tremendous growth and popularity of our game.”

Silver said the league had engaged in “discussions, but not negotiations," with Comcast and Fox, both of which are deeply rooted with the league via their regional sports networks’ coverage of NBA clubs. "I don't think we left any money on the table."

After the presser, Silver said that NBA TV was also adding 10 games to its schedule, pushing its lineup of regular-season telecasts to 100. He believes that the league’s in-house service will grow beyond its current 60 million subscriber roster as Turner assumes primary distribution responsibilities.

Levy said “Turner will take more of a lead role in affiliate negotiations, but we will continue to work with Bill Koenig," the NBA’s president of global media distribution.

Although Levy acknowledged NBA TV will be rolled into Turner portfolio, he cautioned that buttressing its sub base will depend on “how it lines up” with other networks and their affiliate deal lengths.

The National Basketball Association set its media roster into the next decade on Monday, with the first rights deal under new commissioner Adam Silver delivering plenty of green.  

The pro basketball league announced the renewals at Saint Regis Hotel in Manhattan at 10 a.m. on Oct. 6, with Silver joined by ESPN president and Disney Media Networks co-chairman John Skipper, Turner Broadcasting System president David Levy and Ted Leonsis, owner of the Washington Wizards and chairman of the NBA's media committee.

Incumbents ESPN and Turner Broadcasting System, both within their exclusive negotiating windows, retained their rights with increases that more than doubled their current annual outlays. Under the eight-year pacts that run through the end of the 2015-16 season, ESPN has paid an average of $485 million per season, about $40 million more than Turner’s $445 million.

Turner announced its new nine-year extension, adding 12 regular-season contests per season to 64 games and enhancing digital rights. ESPN did likewise, saying its new nine-year NBA deal enhanced ESPN's rights and added 10 more regular-season games per season to ESPN or ABC, to a total of 100. The worlwide leader will also steer an over-the-top service in which the leage will retain an equity position.

Given the scarcity of major properties and the value of live sports from a Nielsen perspective, the NBA fetched a steep renewal increase. Reports had suggested the new deal will cost each player some $1 billion annually over a new eight- or nine-year term. On Sunday night, The New York Times reported the deal was worth $24 billion over a nine-year term.

With DirecTV and the NFL extending their Sunday Ticket out of market package on Oct. 1, the NBA deal will wrap up media rights for all of the major pro sports leagues for some time. The only other significant package that may become open: the Big Ten Network, whose first tier rights expire after the 2016-17 academic year.

There have been reports that there could be a sharing of the NBA Finals, which have been airing on ABC since 2003, with TNT getting into the mix. The championship round will continue to air on ABC under the new pact.

Another point of schedule interest could be Thursday nights. Long the home of a doubleheader, TNT's exclusive NBA telecasts could encounter early-season ratings softness should the NFL elect to extend its Thursday Night Football package to a broadcast partner for a full season.

In addition to its Thursday doubleheaders, TNT has been airing much of the All-Star Weekend festivities including the game itself, plus the majority of the playoff action, highlighted by a conference final 

ESPN’s package encompasses Wednesday and Friday night action, playoffs, alternating the conference finals with TNT, and The Finals, which run on broadcaster, ABC.

Sports fans, in this case pro hoops devotees, live for the competition and unpredictability of a Game 7.

Amazingly, the opening round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs, the first under new commissioner Adam Silver, who certainly stepped to the line this week, will conclude with five of the dramatic affairs. That matches the most for any NBA playoff season in its entirety.

Saturday May 3 was hailed as the first time three NBA series would be decided in the ultimate game battle on the same day, with all airing on TNT. Well on Friday, the Brooklyn Nets and Dallas Mavericks and matched the Thursday feat of the Indiana Pacers, Oklahoma City Thunder and Golden State Warriors in fighting off elimination in Game 6 of their respective series.

A six-pack of Sevens was in the cards until Damian Lillard’s three at the buzzer overcame Chandler Parsons’ reverse put-back with 0.9 seconds left to prevent the Houston Rockets from regaining home court for a final showdown against Paul Allen’s Portland Trail Blazers.  Perhaps the spirit of the late Dr. Jack Ramsay guided Lillard's long-range shot and Portland to its first series win since 2000.

As such, the NBA will have to settle for pair of Game 7s on Sunday – Brooklyn will visit the Air Canada Centre and the Toronto Raptors, while San Antonio’s Big Three will entertain Dirk’s Mavericks on May 4 on ABC. 

But the excitement and ratings ascension tied to Game 7 doesn’t necessarily mean the most attractive TV team will advance. An Atlanta win over the top-seeded Pacers on Saturday would mark an historic late-season collapse for the East’s top-seed, which would hold homecourt advantage in a potential conference finals rematch against defending champion Miami (the Heat beat Indy at American Airlines in Game 7 last year).  It also would result in the Hawks playing Washington. Even, though, the Wizards are ascendant that doesn’t exactly make for a compelling second-round matchup.

Given the popularity of potential league MVP Kevin Durant and his sidekick Russell Westbrook, OKC can’t get grisly against Memphis. Unlike the Pacers, which saw its top gun Paul George avoid suspension for stepping on the court during a last-second altercation, the Grizzlies’ Zach Randolph will miss Game 7 after punching Steven Adams. With Mike Conley hurting, it’s going to be tough road for my beloved Grizzle (DMA No. 50) – but that’s a good thing for the league and the much higher-profile Thunder (never mind that Oklahoma City is only nine rungs higher on the Nielsen market scale).

The Saturday nightcap features two of the league’s most fun teams to watch. The sordid Donald Sterling affair might lose some of its news cycle currency if the Clippers fell to the Warriors at Staples.  But then, the league would be missing LA, as well as Chicago following the Bulls’ goring at the hands of John Wall, Bradley Beal, Trevor Ariza and the rest of the Wizards.  A Golden State win keeps the Bay Area’s ardent fans and market No. 6 in the action and smooth as silk shooter Steph Curry on our screens.

The TV rooting interests is far more clear-cut in the Sunday opener: The Nets are the obvious choice over Nielsen-free Toronto, even if much of the top-rated New York DMA still prefers Carmelo Anthony and Phil Jackson.  Besides, Brooklyn doused LeBron James’s two-time defending championship squad four for four during the regular season. The Raptors don’t have the veteran and diverse roster to make the Heat sweat.

Sunday's second game 7 could mark the last rodeo for San Antonio stars Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobli and Tony Parker.  Calling DMA 36 their home, the Spurs are the small market team that continues to make good – and should be defending a championship from last year.  Dallas is market No. 5 and Nowitizki is one of the league’s all-time greats. But Mark Cuban’s team is probably not capable of escaping the rest of the West, much less legitimately reprising a 2011 title redux run.

A San Antonio-Miami Finals rematch would pack plenty of Nielsen punch – especially if it goes to a seventh game again.