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Pat Donovan Signs 3-Year Extension With WDAE

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Pat Donovan Signs 3-Year Extension With WDAE

WDAE host Pat Donovan is sticking around for a little while longer. Donovan announced on Twitter Tuesday that he has signed a contract extension with iHeart Tampa Bay good for three years.

Donovan has been hosting at the Tampa station since 2012. He co-hosts The Pat and Aaron Show alongside Aaron Jacobson mornings from 6-9 a.m.

Additionally, Donovan is the pre-game and post-game host for Tampa Bay Buccaneers games. The team’s flagship station is WDAE’s sister station 98 Rock.

“A huge thank you to everyone at iHeart who believes in us, and especially the #GoonSquad,” Donovan wrote. “No chance we’re here without the best listeners in radio!”

MSNBC in Rare Territory After Topping Fox News During Trump Arraignment

BNM Staff
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We previously indicated how the absence of Tucker Carlson Tonight significantly narrowed the lead margin of Fox News over MSNBC, and heightened the possibility of MSNBC to, for at least one week, take over the cable news lead in prime time. During the week ending June 11, that feat by MSNBC was reached.

Highlighted by Donald Trump’s second indictment post-presidency, as reported on June 8 — this time, the Department of Justice changed him for the possession of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, MSNBC found itself in rare territory by topping cable news in prime time in both total viewers and within the key 25-54 demographic (as indicated in the cable network averages below) for June 5-11. Not since Trump’s second impeachment hearings back in mid-February 2021 has MSNBC been No. 1 at night.

MSNBC’s entire prime time lineup on June 8 — All In with Chris Hayes, Alex Wagner Tonight, and Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell — made up the top three cable news programs of the week among adults 25-54; they also all ranked in the week’s top-9 cable news telecasts in total viewers (rankings listed below).

Coverage also benefited MSNBC’s late afternoon and early evening on the following day (June 9). Both Deadline: White House and The Beat with Ari Melber had also landed in cable news’ top ten telecasts of the week in the 25-54 demo (also listed below).

All prime-time cable news programs received a boost on June 8, as compared to their time slot results from June 5-7:

“All In with Chris Hayes” (MSNBC): 2.316 million viewers (+69 percent from June 5-7); 348,300 adults 25-54 (+132 percent)

“Alex Wagner Tonight” (MSNBC): 2.530 million viewers (+81 percent from June 6-7); 359,700 adults 25-54 (+122 percent)

“Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell” (MSNBC): 2.608 million viewers (+65 percent from June 5-7); 319,400 adults 25-54 (+133 percent)

“11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle” (MSNBC): 1.719 million viewers (+70 percent from June 5-7); 251,200 adults 25-54 (+103 percent)

“Fox News At Night” (FNC): 1.904 million viewers (+20 percent from June 5-7); 177,100 adults 25-54 (+34 percent)

“Hannity” (FNC): 2.304 million viewers (+23 percent from June 5-7); 245,100 adults 25-54 (+62 percent)

“The Ingraham Angle” (FNC): 2.256 million viewers (+49 percent from June 5-7); 270,600 adults 25-54 (+79 percent)

“Gutfeld!” (FNC): 1.801 million viewers (+15 percent from June 5-7); 252,800 adults 25-54 (+12 percent)

Two-hour edition of “Anderson Cooper 360 ” (CNN): 1.248 million viewers (+82 percent from June 5-7); 267,500 adults 25-54 (+127 percent)

Special Coverage at 8 p.m. (Newsmax): 520,820 viewers (+10 percent from “Eric Bolling The Balance” June 5-7); 48,500 adults 25-54 (+7 percent)

Special Coverage at 9 p.m. (Newsmax): 384,900 viewers (+43 percent from “Chris Plante Right Squad” June 5-7); 46,300 adults 25-54 (+77 percent)

“Greg Kelly Reports” (Newsmax): 374,400 viewers (+33 percent from June 5-7); 34,400 adults 25-54 (+1 percent)

“Cuomo” (NewsNation): 159,800 viewers (+8 percent from June 5-7); 17,700 adults 25-54 (-25 percent)

“Dan Abrams Live” (NewsNation): 158,200 viewers (+61 percent from June 5-7); 35,900 adults 25-54 (+333 percent — not a typo!)

“Banfield” (NewsNation): 89,000 viewers (+9 percent from June 5-7); 15,400 adults 25-54 (+20 percent)

On the broadcast network side, where they broke into original programming on their affiliates at about 7:30 p.m. ET on June 8, ABC (3.95 million viewers) topped NBC (2.12 million). (CBS’ data was not available.)

In other news highlights for the week of June 5:

On the afternoon of June 7, northern winds from the Canadian wildfires caused an ominous-looking orange haze that hovered over the skies of the northeastern portion of the United States, especially over New York City. For 1-4 p.m. Eastern on June 7, Weather Underground on The Weather Channel averaged 111,000 viewers. Putting this figure in context, the same 3-hour window for June 5-6 and 8-9 drew an average of 68,000 viewers.

Later at night on June 7, CNN televised a live town hall from Des Moines featuring former Vice President and current presidential candidate Mike Pence.  The event, hosted by Dana Bash, posted 631,900 viewers including 127,511 adults 25-54 from 9-10:36 p.m. Eastern. Compared to Nikki Haley’s CNN town hall from June 4, Pence (like Haley, had aired opposite ah NBA Finals on ABC telecast) outdrew it in total viewers by +60,000 but fell slightly short of it in the key 25-54 demo (-5,500). A midnight Eastern rebroadcast of Pence drew 251,410 viewers including 89,611 adults 25-54.

Cable news averages for June 5-11, 2023:

Total Day (June 5-11 @ 6 a.m.-5:59 a.m.)

  • Fox News Channel: 1.090 million viewers; 127,000 adults 25-54
  • MSNBC: 0.932 million viewers; 109,000 adults 25-54
  • CNN: 0.491 million viewers; 94,000 adults 25-54
  • Newsmax: 0.172 million viewers; 16,000 adults 25-54
  • HLN: 0.157 million viewers; 38,000 adults 25-54
  • CNBC: 0.110 million viewers; 26,000 adults 25-54
  • Fox Business Network: 0.107 million viewers; 15,000 adults 25-54
  • The Weather Channel: 0.088 million viewers; 17,000 adults 25-54

Prime Time (June 5-10 @ 8-11 p.m.; June 11 @ 7-11 p.m.)

  • MSNBC: 1.521 million viewers; 172,000 adults 25-54
  • Fox News Channel: 1.506 million viewers; 139,000 adults 25-54
  • CNN: 0.677 million viewers; 131,000 adults 25-54
  • Newsmax: 0.311 million viewers; 32,000 adults 25-54
  • HLN: 0.191 million viewers; 43,000 adults 25-54
  • CNBC: 0.128 million viewers; 29,000 adults 25-54
  • The Weather Channel: 0.120 million viewers; 23,000 adults 25-54
  • Fox Business Network: 0.117 million viewers; 30,000 adults 25-54
  • NewsNation: 0.117 million viewers; 18,000 adults 25-54

Top 10 most-watched cable news programs (and the top programs of other outlets with their respective associated ranks) in total viewers:

1. The Five (FOXNC, Wed. 6/7/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.765 million viewers

2. The Five (FOXNC, Mon. 6/5/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.645 million viewers

3. Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell “DOJ Indicts Trump, Maddow A Block” (MSNBC, Thu. 6/8/2023 10:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.608 million viewers

4. The Five (FOXNC, Thu. 6/8/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.588 million viewers

5. The Five (FOXNC, Fri. 6/9/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.579 million viewers

6. Alex Wagner Tonight “DOJ Indicts Trump Classified Docs” (MSNBC, Thu. 6/8/2023 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.530 million viewers

7. The Five (FOXNC, Tue. 6/6/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.479 million viewers

8. Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC, Mon. 6/5/2023 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.456 million viewers

9. All In with Chris Hayes “DOJ Indicts Trump Classified Docs” (MSNBC, Thu. 6/8/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.316 million viewers

10. Hannity (FOXNC, Thu. 6/8/2023 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.304 million viewers

76. Anderson Cooper 360 “Trump Federal Indictment” (CNN, Thu. 6/8/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 1.306 million viewers

306. Eric Bolling The Balance (NMX, Mon. 6/5/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.541 million viewers

431. Forensic Files (HLN, late Fri. 6/9/2023 3:00 AM, 30 min.) 0.313 million viewers

476. Heavy Rescue: 401 “(713) Deep, Steep And Stuck” (TWC, Sun. 6/11/2023 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.267 million viewers

479. Kudlow (FBN, Wed. 6/7/2023 4:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.264 million viewers

536. Fast Money Halftime Report (CNBC, Tue. 6/6/2023 12:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.233 million viewers

579. We Are Not Alone: UFO (NWSN, Sun. 6/11/2023 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.217 million viewers

871. FBI Files (COURT TV, Sun. 6/11/2023 1:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.117 million viewers

Top 10 cable news programs (and the top  programs of other outlets with their respective associated ranks) among adults 25-54:

1. Alex Wagner Tonight “DOJ Indicts Trump Classified Docs” (MSNBC, Thu. 6/8/2023 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.360 million adults 25-54

2. All In with Chris Hayes “DOJ Indicts Trump Classified Docs” (MSNBC, Thu. 6/8/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.348 million adults 25-54

3. Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell “DOJ Indicts Trump, Maddow A Block” (MSNBC, Thu. 6/8/2023 10:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.319 million adults 25-54

4. The Five (FOXNC, Mon. 6/5/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.309 million adults 25-54

5. The Five (FOXNC, Wed. 6/7/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.298 million adults 25-54

6. The Five (FOXNC, Thu. 6/8/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.274 million adults 25-54

7. Anderson Cooper 360 “Trump Federal Indictment” (CNN, Thu. 6/8/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.272 million adults 25-54

8. The Ingraham Angle (FOXNC, Thu. 6/8/2023 10:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.271 million adults 25-54

9. Deadline: White House “DOJ Trump Indictment Classified Docs” (MSNBC, Fri. 6/9/2023 4:00 PM, 120 min.) 0.270 million adults 25-54

10. The Beat with Ari Melber “DOJ Trump Indictment Classified Docs” (MSNBC, Fri. 6/9/2023 6:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.269 million adults 25-54

223. Forensic Files (HLN, late Mon. 6/5/2023 12:30 AM, 30 min.) 0.106 million adults 25-54

475. Eric Bolling The Balance (NMX, Wed. 6/7/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.059 million adults 25-54

498. Fast Money Halftime Report (CNBC, Wed. 6/7/2023 12:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.055 million adults 25-54

526. Cuomo (NWSN, Mon. 6/5/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.052 million adults 25-54

597. It Takes A Killer (COURT TV, late Tue. 6/6/2023 2:00 AM, 30 min.) 0.041 million adults 25-54

614. Deep Water Salvage “(208) Decontaminating The Depths” (TWC, Sun. 6/11/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.039 million adults 25-54

705. Mornings with Maria Bartiromo (FBN, Fri. 6/9/2023 8:00 AM, 60 min.) 0.031 million adults 25-54

Source: Live+Same Day data, Nielsen Media Research

Jason McIntyre Shares Derogatory DMs Kevin Durant Sent Him

BSM Staff
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Jason McIntyre Shares Derogatory DMs Kevin Durant Sent Him

NBA star Kevin Durant has no issue using Twitter direct messages to go back and forth with detractors. Jason McIntyre was one of the latest to find himself on the receiving end of some insults from the two-time NBA champion.

On the latest episode of his podcast, Straight Fire, McIntyre revealed that Durant took issue with his previous comments about how the Suns star should bite his tongue on Twitter. Durant most recently hopped on a Twitter Spaces chat to defend himself against a group of people who were apparently talking trash about the former MVP.

“You’re such a clown,” Durant wrote. “You don’t even like sports, you look like a drama major.”

McIntyre responded asking why Durant has made it part of his brand to lash out in the DMs, but Durant instead of addressing the question reportedly hurled more insults. KD called McIntyre a “pussy” and “broke boy.”

McIntyre said that despite the insults, he still remains a fan of Kevin Durant.

“You can like someone and totally disagree with something they’re doing,” McIntyre said on his podcast. “Are we really at the state where you have to be a hundred percent all behind somebody, or a hundred percent against somebody? It doesn’t work like that.”

When it comes to Kevin Durant lashing out at media members, McIntyre is not special. In the past, he has taken shots at Skip Bayless, Jay Williams and Brandon Tierney among others.

Brock Huard: Jeff Passan is an Expert ‘That Still Exudes Likability’

BSM Staff
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ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan remains one of the best personalities on the media side of things, and Seattle Sports 710 host Brock Huard needed to let Passan know.

Appearing Tuesday on Brock & Salk, Huard said he caught Passan on Baseball Tonight ahead of the Men’s College World Series and thought Passan looked good in the role. He said he thought it was difficult to pull off being in a position where Passan has to know more than everyone else.

“You exude an excellent confidence with still a likability,” Huard said. “Cause I think a lot of times there’s just an arrogance that can come, but you have this confidence but there’s still a fun little likability. How do you do that?”

Passan said he appreciated the compliment, but having a chance to catch a glimpse of himself he felt a little differently.

“Somebody sent me a screenshot of me on TV, and I believe my response to it was, ‘What a smug bastard,'” he said. “Because I definitely can have that look too.”

Co-host Mike Salk jokingly said he agreed with Passan’s assessment.

“I generally think more like smug bastard,” Salk said. “So I’m very surprised. Sometimes Brock gets it right, sometimes he gets it wrong.”

Trevor Bauer Settles Lawsuits Against The Athletic & Molly Knight

BSM Staff
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Trevor Bauer Settles Lawsuits Against The Athletic & Molly Knight

Beleaguered pitcher Trevor Bauer’s defamation lawsuit against The Athletic and a former reporter at the publication is over.

Front Office Sports senior reporter A.J. Perez reported on Tuesday that the litigation has been settled. Bauer sued reporter Molly Knight and The Athletic after she posted tweets about Bauer and allegations of physical abuse and sexual assault.

Despite not being charged with a crime, Bauer was suspended for two seasons by Major League Baseball for violating the league’s domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy. But the suspension was reduced to 194 games in December. Bauer was released by the Los Angeles Dodgers in January. He’s been pitching in the Japanese minor leagues this season.

As part of the stipulation in the settlement, Knight’s tweets have been removed, and The Athletic had published a clarification on past reporting of Bauer’s allegations. The clarification read in part that The Athletic didn’t intend to state or imply that the alleged victim was injured by Bauer.

Late last year, Bauer saw his lawsuit against Deadspin dismissed.

Survey: One-Fourth of Radio Advertisers Expect to Increase Spending

BSM Staff
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Survey: One-Fourth of Radio Advertisers Expect to Increase Spending

Earlier this week, Mediaocean released its 2023 Mid-Year Advertising Outlook Report, compiled based on survey data from 712 industry participants across 20 different countries through TechValidate. A key takeaway of the report is the 76% figure representative of respondents expecting to increase or maintain their current level of advertising spending on radio. Out of various traditional media forums, the radio/audio TV medium received the highest percentage of foreseen increase, considerably ahead of national television, local television and print media.

Digital out of home and traditional out of home (DOOH/OOH) advertising is projected to increase by 63% and 31% respectively, the latter finishing second to social platforms (67%) in terms of spending increases. Print media is expected to endure a 50% decrease in spending, along with both national and local television. While advertising spending on radio/audio TV is indeed expected to increase by 25%, a projected decrease of 24% could render celebration ephemeral.

“Survey responses continue to shine a light on the massive importance of newer media like social video (most notably TikTok) and [connected TV (CTV) are] exactly the kinds of emotive, rich environments marketers crave to influence thinking and drive purchase among the millions of consumers that continue to flock to them,” Joanna O’Connell, executive vice president of innovation at R3 said in the foreword. “This, as shoppability continues to gain its footing. But with anything, new challenges remain – setting aside the obvious questions swirling around TikTok’s future in the U.S., effectively managing reach and frequency, adapting to new modes of transaction and measurement – these at the forefront of respondents’ minds in this latest Upfront season.”

The spending is being siphoned into channels with high levels of consumption, most notably those concentrated in the digital space. Social media users are expected to eclipse 5 billion this year, and algorithms are continuously being perfected to present users with content predicated on their interests. Moreover, Nielsen Media Research has reported streaming driving overall television consumption for nearly every month since the technology outpaced cable and broadcast television consumption. Total streaming consumption as a segment of television viewership has augmented by nearly 11% over the first quarter and two-thirds of 2023.

As macroeconomic uncertainty persists and pervades the domestic and international marketplaces with rising gross domestic product, 59% of advertisers view performance-driven paid media as the most critical capability for its industry to thrive. Measurement and attribution capabilities, along with brand advertising, finished second and third in the survey, while identity was at the bottom of the list. The processes for many of these areas of focus, however, are driven by another capability steadily on the rise.

“In a time where economic uncertainty is driving budget pressure, marketers will continue to seek opportunities to increase automation,” the survey said. “The marriage of creative testing with production automation presents marketers with a critical chance to both improve performance and drive efficiency.”

Advertisers are doing due diligence when it comes to the potential of artificial intelligence to impact the industry, embracing its aptitude and internal wherewithal to simplify and/or refine processes. Whether it is text or image generation, these platforms garner the power to engender a paradigm shift pertaining to content creation and subsequent promulgation.

“Marketers continue to focus on improving workflow efficiency and media effectiveness,” Mediaocean said in its conclusion. “The rise of generative AI – fueled by the wide adoption of ChatGPT – is the current consumer trend that dominates the advertising landscape and stood out in our research. AI constituents in the ecosystem are increasingly investing in AI-powered technologies to optimize campaigns and deliver more targeted and personalized messaging.”

DIRECTV, NFL Renew Media Deal

BSM Staff
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DIRECTV, NFL Renew Media Deal

The National Football League has announced a multi-year contract renewal to grant DIRECTV rights to continue carrying NFL Network on its platforms. Additionally, the agreement adds NFL RedZone to all platforms for the first time, marking a transition since the end of DIRECTV’s Red Zone Channel following Google’s $2 billion annual deal to be the home of NFL Sunday Ticket. Previously, two versions of RedZone took place on Sundays – one from NFL Network hosted by Scott Hanson; and the other from DIRECTV hosted by Andrew Siciliano, who continues to work for NFL Media.

“DIRECTV was an initial launch partner of NFL Network over 20 years ago, and we’re thrilled to continue our long-standing partnership which caters to millions of DIRECTV customers who are NFL fans,” said Hans Schroeder, NFL executive vice president of media distribution, in a press release. “This renewal will provide fans across all DIRECTV platforms the ability to watch NFL Network’s award-winning coverage of America’s most popular sport while also giving great access to the wildly popular NFL RedZone.”

DIRECTV, DIRECTV Stream and U-verse subscribers will soon all have access to both NFL Network and NFL RedZone, a considerable benefit for avid football fans consuming content through the satellite television service. Hanson, who signed a contract extension with NFL Media in 2021, will continue to host NFL RedZone.

“With this agreement, DIRECTV continues a long-standing partnership with the NFL and maintains our sports leadership position by delivering the best of sports content to our customers,” Rob Thun, chief content officer of DIRECTV, said in a statement. “This deal strengthens our NFL relationship, as it includes expanded carriage of NFL Network and all the best action from Sunday’s games with NFL RedZone, which is now available to customers across all three DIRECTV platforms.”

A new media rights deal worth approximately $13 billion annually will take command at the start of the 2023 season, along with the launch of NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV. Other aspects of the deal include flex scheduling for ESPN Monday Night Football and Amazon Prime Video Thursday Night Football; the elimination of conference affiliations with CBS and FOX; and changes in playoff game broadcasters.

NFL games were responsible for 88 of the 100 most-watched television shows among programming last year, according to data from Nielsen Media Research. Last season’s Super Bowl was the most-watched NFL championship game of all time, averaging 115.1 million viewers across FOX, FOX Deportes and other digital platforms. The game also holds the distinction for the most-watched television program in American history, underscoring the power of the NFL and its dominance over live and national programming.

Miami Mayor Blames ‘Uyghur’ Gaffe on Pronunciation From Hugh Hewitt

BNM Staff
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Miami Mayor Blames ‘Uyghur’ Gaffe on Pronunciation From Hugh Hewitt

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez has thrown his hat into the ring for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. During his discussion with radio host Hugh Hewitt, he fumbled a question in a now-viral moment.

During an appearance on The Hugh Hewitt Show Tuesday, Suarez was asked if he would be discussing the Uyghurs during his campaign. The Uyghurs are an ethnic group in Central and Eastern Asia. Since 2014, the Chinese government has imprisoned large portions of the group, with estimates that more than one million Uyghurs are currently placed in forced labor camps and are subjected to human rights abuses.

When tasked with answering the question, Suarez laughed and asked “the what?”, before reiterating “What’s a Uyghur?”.

Hewitt told the Mayor he would need to “get smart on that”.

At the conclusion of the interview, Suarez said Hewitt gave him “homework”.

“I’ll look at what a — what was it? — what did you call it, a Weeble?” Suarez asked.

After the clip went viral, Suarez defended himself on Twitter by saying he was “well aware” of the situation in China and was understanding of the suffering the Uyghurs are undergoing. He claimed that the pronunciation given by Hewitt — which was correct — threw him off.

“Of course, I am well aware of the suffering of the Uyghurs in China. They are being enslaved because of their faith. China has a deplorable record on human rights and all people of faith suffer there. I didn’t recognize the pronunciation my friend Hugh Hewitt used. That’s on me,” Suarez wrote.

550 The Zone in Anchorage Drops ESPN for FOX Sports

BSM Staff
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550 The Zone in Anchorage Drops ESPN for FOX Sports

Sports fans in Alaska’s largest city can still hear sports talk on 550 AM. It will just be new voices. 550 The Zone has dropped its ESPN Radio affiliation in favor of FOX Sports Radio.

The move shouldn’t come as a surprise. The Zone is owned by iHeartMedia, FOX Sports Radio’s parent company.

“FOX Sports 550 The Zone is very excited to be a part of the FOX Sports family, all day, every day,” Mark Murphy, Senior Vice President of Programming at iHeartMedia Anchorage, said in a press release. “It’s great to have the biggest names in sports talk radio like Dan Patrick and Colin Cowherd jump start the day, followed by an impressive lineup that will keep listeners engaged 24/7!”

The station will carry the entire FOX Sports Radio national lineup. There will not be any local sports talk on the station.

Andrew Marchand: NBA Streaming Deal Could Include Playoff Games

BSM Staff
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Andrew Marchand: NBA Streaming Deal Could Include Playoff Games

NBA analysts spent the early part of June flooding the internet with their mock drafts. Recently, Andrew Marchand did a mock of his own, gaming out how he thought the league’s upcoming TV rights negotiations would play out.

The New York Post writer was on The Ariel Helwani Basketball Show this week to discuss the process and what he is hearing so far.

Marchand is confident that Disney and WBD Sports will stay in business with the NBA. A streaming package has long been rumored to be part of the league’s wishlist in these negotiations. If Amazon is involved, Marchand believes that it will have its eyes on part of what currently belongs to TNT.

He suggested that while TNT will likely keep its Tuesday games, Amazon could specifically request a package of Thursday games.

“You won’t have Thursday night basketball until the football season ends and you’re not competing with it,” he said. “Then Amazon tries to own Thursday nights.”

The NFL moved its Thursday games to Prime Video last season. While viewership did drop from where it had been previously when Thursday Night Football was on linear television, the league has said it was happy with the move and with Amazon’s presentation.

As for the NBA, the league has worked with Amazon in the past, but that does not guarantee it will win the streaming package if there is only one to be had.

“There’s a relationship there, but Apple is serious,” Marchand said. “They’re serious about the NBA. So, I mean, that’s a big fight. And maybe they do something with both of them.”

He added that playoff games could be part of a new NBA streaming-exclusive package too. Currently, some games in the first round of the playoffs air on NBA TV. Those are the games Marchand predicts could end up behind a paywall.

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