Next TV writers Daniel Frankel and David Bloom argue all the time about who is the domestique and who wears the yellow jersey.
DAVID BLOOM: Happy Dog Days upon us, Dan'l! Still plenty to talk about, from the death of Redbox to Disney’s burly bundle power to the NBA deal about to be ratified without a certain longtime partner. We’ll soon find out whether Warner Bros. Discovery actually can live without the NBA, like Zaz said in an extremely impolitic moment. The NBA Board of Governors meets this week to ratify the record 11-year, $76 billion deal with Disney/ESPN/ABC, Comcast/NBC/Peacock, and Amazon. After that presumed big “hell, yes!” from league owners, WBD has five days to “match” any of the bidders. But after all the negotiations leading up to this moment, do you see any scenario where WBD suddenly wrests back a piece of the deal? A sudden purchase of CBS from Paramount, maybe? And if the deal is indeed done, what next for WBD, its cable networks, Venu involvement, and much else? Shares are already south of $8 a piece, down 36% total in 2024. Ugly.
