Networks lose when teams do
FOR TV networks, tanking is a sensitive topic. Take MSG Networks, for example. They aren’t going to touch it.
The Knicks claim they aren’t tanking, so broadcasters for MSG — which, like the Knicks, is owned by James Dolan — aren’t going to talk about it.
This is not unusual for local broadcasters. If a local play-byplay man focused on tanking, he would probably soon be an ex-local play-by-play man.
MSG Networks declined comment when asked whether their executives wanted to talk about tanking and its impact on the network. It is a touchy subject.
It is so touchy that all the TV executives we talked to did not want to be quoted by name.
For network executives, tanking is largely out of their hands. They broadcast the teams’ games, but have no say in how things are run.
The impact on national broadcasters is minimal, as they can just avoid teams like the Knicks as they consistently lose.
Networks such as Turner and ESPN/ABC would like to have the New York market in play, so if the Knicks are successful with their plan, then having a team at the Garden with Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Zion Williamson will be good for national TV.
For local regional sports networks — like MSG, YES and SNY — it can be more impactful. Ratings suffer when teams lose.
Since TV is a now business, the idea of broadcasting a team in irrelevancy is unattractive.
“I wouldn’t want my teams to tank,” a network TV executive said.
That said, if the tanking works, another executive said that could lead to a 25-50 percent increase in ratings, which leads to more revenue.
Where the divide can come between teams and networks is when they don’t share common ownership. Let’s say you are a regional sports network of an NBA team and your contract to broadcast the team is for four years.
The team tanks during the deal, and ratings are low, but it works and they land some top players. When it is time to re-up — with the franchise now loaded with talent — you are not going to receive any discounts.
“You just took it on the chin for four years and you are not aligned with the team,” a network executive said. “You are not going to get the benefit of this long-term strategy. And, if you want to still be a partner, you are going to have to pay up. You really got the short end. While you may be part of the winning going forward, you paid dearly for the long-term strategy and now you are going to pay equally as dearly to be part of the team’s upside.”
There is really nothing TV executives can do, except deliver the best product possible. On MSG, Mike Breen is considered one of the top play-by-play men in the NBA, while Clyde Frazier has historic appeal. The Nets have Ian Eagle and Sarah Kustok. SNY has Gary Cohen, Ron Darling and Keith Hernandez. YES’ broadcast includes Michael Kay, David Cone and others. Hockey, too, with Sam Rosen, Brendan Burke and Steve Cangialosi. New York is filled with quality announcers. But the players drive the ratings. “It is an impossible thing to isolate and measure,” an executive said of a strong booth’s impact. “Do I think it helps a little? Yeah, a little. Does it stem the tide? No. But we would all trade them in a minute for competing for the playoffs and winning.”
For TV networks, like the teams they cover, the bottom line is the standings. The better a team performs, the better the ratings are.
When it comes to tanking, the networks, like the teams they broadcast, might like that a plan is in place, but, like everyone else in the tanking game, they hope it actually has a payoff.