BOSTON — NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has apologized to TNT employees who were adversely affected by the league's ongoing television rights negotiations.
While much of the attention has been focused on the potential end of the network's award-winning studio show “Inside the NBA,” Silver acknowledged the difficulties for many working behind the scenes. According to The Wall Street Journal, the NBA is in the midst of signing 11-year, $76 billion deals with NBC, Amazon and ESPN, leaving TNT to watch from the outside.
“I want to speak directly to everyone at Turner Sports, who I believe are the people most affected right now, and apologize for the length of this process,” Silver said Thursday during his annual press conference before Game 1 of the NBA Finals. “I know you are all dedicated to your jobs. … Nobody likes this uncertainty. I believe it is the responsibility of the league office to finalize these negotiations and bring them to a conclusion as quickly as possible.”
The talks affect TNT employees and NBA Television Network employees. Silver, who started working for the NBA just three years after “Inside the NBA” debuted in 1989, did not provide an update on the talks but said they are close to a resolution.
“It was tough,” Silver said, “and that show in particular is special because I've been close with everyone on that show since we played together (Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O'Neal), and (Ernie Johnson) and I have been friends forever.”
“At the same time, of course, it's not just about the (on-air) talent. I mean, there are hundreds of people involved in what I still call Turner Sports who are longtime friends and colleagues, and it's the same with the other networks. And then on the other hand, from the league's standpoint, it's great to be liked and wanted by (potential media partners) and have multiple suitors.
“At the same time, I'm worried about it being a zero-sum game, and at the end of the day, there's only so many television packages you can have. There's only so many finals games, playoff games, regular season games you can broadcast.”
Silver's comments echo those of Barkley, who has been outspoken about the situation in recent weeks.
“These are people's lives,” Barkley, who joined the show in 2000 and appears to have become a highly sought-after TV free agent, told The New York Times in late May. “It's not my life. It's not Ernie's life. It's not Kenny's life. It's not Shaq's life. But it's the lives of all the people who work here. There are probably about 100 people who work on the show. I mean, these are real people.”
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(Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
