David Dow. Getty Images.After Adam Silver and the NBA's decision to turn down Warner Bros./TNT's offer to match Amazon's $1.8 billion TV rights offer, it was only a matter of time before someone like Chuck spoke up. Chuck is not one to keep his mouth shut and has been pretty vocal throughout this whole debacle, even going so far as to suggest that his media company could just buy the rights to Inside The NBA and keep it afloat (which, in my opinion, is time to reconsider).
So it's no surprise that he was so forthcoming about Adam Silver and the league's recent decisions.
If anyone has inside knowledge of these negotiations, it's probably Chuck. So it's interesting that he suggests Adam Silver and the NBA were going to get out of the TNT business no matter what, especially when you combine that idea with what the league ultimately said when it rejected TNT's offer: technically matching all the terms and all that kind of bullshit. That always seemed a little fishy to me, because is it that hard to say, OK, we'll match everything that Amazon is trying to do?
In my opinion, you stated your reasons for never intending to return to TNT in the first place, and this is probably why it's more likely to end up in court, because it seems like negotiating in bad faith and I can't help but think that this is unacceptable.
He's also right when he says Silver and the league are prioritizing money over fans. On the one hand, that's Adam Silver's job. He doesn't work for us, he works for the owners. Their interest is to make as much money as possible on their product, and Silver has done that. Welcome to capitalism. On the other hand, that's bullshit. I don't see any of that money, so all I care about is how this is impacting my life and viewing experience. And it's no exaggeration to say that it's a disaster.
Kevin Harlan will never be on the mic at Inside The NBA. Unless he goes to Amazon in some way, no one can objectively say that will improve the product. Chuck understands that, and that's why he's the people's guy. He cares about the fans, the people who actually care about the product, not just the money.
That's why this latest rumor is so intriguing.
Considering how awful ESPN is with their studio and halftime NBA coverage, this would obviously be a major upgrade. The only problem here is that Ernie Johnson has already said he has no intention of leaving TNT (sigh). Also, Chuck has publicly stated that he would never go to ESPN where he would be forced to do 15 shows. There is no point in doing this without Ernie, even if he is persuaded. Everyone needs to be involved no matter what happens. Unless Ernie has a change of heart and finally agrees to leave TNT, it will never be the same as it was before.
