NBA to ABC/ESPN

["Berry, Mark S" <berrym@BATTELLE.ORG>]

They finally dotted the i's and crossed the t's on the new TV deal. This is
significant, in my opinion, because it makes the NBA a presence on ESPN.
Hopefully that means we'll see quality "NBA Tonight" studio shows produced
along the lines of their "Baseball Tonight" and "NFL Primetime" shows,
instead of the lousy late-night 30-minute show they do now. I subscribe to
League Pass, so I see all the games anyway, but it would be nice to see a
quality studio show each night with highlights, analysis and incorporating
the best NBA writers, like Aldridge, Vecsey, Sam Smith and Jackie MacMullen.
TNT does a pretty decent studio show, and Barkley is great, but I'd love to
see it expanded in line with the other studio shows on ESPN.

Also, it sounds like speculation that the salary cap might go down next year
based on decreased TV revenue was wrong. Teams will receive more money from
the TV contract. I wonder what this will mean for the luxury tax? 

Here's the link.

http://espn.go.com/nba/news/2002/0122/1315389.html
<http://espn.go.com/nba/news/2002/0122/1315389.html>