FOX Sports closes deal to acquire SportsTime Ohio
December 28, 2012Josh Smith: Shaun Livingston a great addition for Cavs
December 28, 2012You set out to talk to Jon about the Tribe and of course you end up talking about cable news networks, HGTV, being a new father and a whole host of other topics … in addition to also breaking down the Tribe, their acquisition of Nick Swisher and advanced baseball metrics.
Here’s what else we touched on:
- The business of sports related to the NBA
- National and international fans of sports as opposed to localized, team-first fans
- Regional sports cable networks and TV contracts for baseball
- How much do people pay for ESPN in their cable bill?
- The future of cable TV and how government regulation could change TV contracts for sports franchises
- Nick Swisher choosing Cleveland
- Cleveland replacing Shin-Soo Choo with Nick Swisher
- What were the Diamondbacks thinking?
- What were the Reds thinking?
- How effective is WAR and does it also transfer to teammates?
- Will Trevor Bauer make the Indians’ rotation out of spring training?
1 Comment
I think you hit the nail on the head in that the NBA is more interested in building specific brands (players) and in promoting the national NBA fan rather than localized Cavs fans and Heat fans and Knicks fans etc. And it’s effective because it works on me… I tuned in to watch the Thunder beat the Mavs last night and had a great time watching the game. I watched the first half of the Clippers/Celtics game before going to bed because the Clippers are just plain fun to watch. I tune in to watch the event and the outcome doesn’t really matter too much to me. I still try to watch the Cavs as often as possible and I live and die with the team as they ebb and flow, but I can enjoy rooting against the Heat and hoping they lose or watching a young up-and-coming team like the Rockets with a new star player.
And I think that because basketball is a 5-on-5 game, it is much easier to know the players and see their style of play and just kind of root for/against particular guys rather than focusing on teams (although I do like/dislike teams). I root against LBJ/Wade/Bosh/Chalmers more than I do the Heat as a team. I root against Kobe because I think he’s a jerk and a bad person, but I like his teammate Steve Nash and root for him. I like Kevin Durant, Kyrie, Dirk, and Tim Duncan… I think they play the game the right way and act the right way, so I like them.