Welcome back to MoneyCall, The Athletic’s weekly sports business cheat sheet. (Want to get this via email every Wednesday? Subscribe here.)
Name-dropped today: Anthony Edwards, Charles Barkley, WPBL, “Grateful Ducks,” Landon Donovan, Good Good Golf, Bob Myers, Jimmy Butler, Travis Kelce, Robin Roberts, Kalani Sitake and more. Let’s go:
Driving the Conversation
How you’ll watch the NBA this season
As the NBA tips off the 2025-26 season, starting last night, the business dynamic that will be most apparent to fans is the product of the $70-plus billion in long-term TV deals kicking in this week:
❌ Out: TNT
✅ In: Amazon Prime Video
↔️ Traded: “Inside the NBA” (TNT to ESPN)
👋 Back: NBC (Cue John Tesh’s “Roundball Rock!”)
Andrew Marchand has your essential curtain-raiser on the ins and outs of the new TV landscape, but let’s make it handy — here is the new seven-day-a-week schedule of national NBA broadcasters (some will debut after football season):
Sunday: ABC/ESPN, NBC/Peacock
Monday: Peacock
Tuesday: NBC/Peacock
Wednesday: ESPN
Thursday: Prime Video
Friday: Prime Video, ESPN
Confusing? A recurring theme over the past year in sports has been “it’s getting harder/more expensive to watch games.” As Marchand points out in his column, the NBA kept it pretty simple for fans:
To watch the entire national lineup, you essentially need two subscriptions: a multi-channel provider (like cable or YouTube TV), and Amazon Prime Video. (Without the former, you need three direct-to-consumer subscriptions: ESPN’s new service, Peacock and Prime.)
Knowing which game is on which network on any given night? As you see from the chart above, it’s a little confusing — for now. As Marchand points out, it’s a long-term deal: NBA fans will get used to it.
In the end, the NBA’s strategy was to (a) lock up maximum dollars, (b) engage traditional partners ABC and NBC, both of whom have streaming goals and (c) break new ground with Amazon, a pure streaming partner willing to invest heavily.
It’s a hedge on where fans have been (NBC nostalgia, on full display last night), where fans are now (still consuming through cable or multi-channel services) and where fans are going (streaming only).
Get Caught Up
Are the Dodgers ruining baseball? Plus: New women’s league debuting soon
Big talkers from the sports business industry:
More NBA season-opening storylines: The league is in flux beyond “how to watch”: The face of the league is arguably becoming Anthony Edwards, not LeBron James … the NBA itself is leveling up with new technology (including the impact of AI) … the ongoing Kawhi Leonard saga …
World Series debate: Is it a good thing or a bad thing for MLB that the free-spending Dodgers (who beat you with their budget just as much as their bats or pitching) are poised to win back-to-back championships? Actually, vote on that here.
F1 joins up with Apple: Pros and cons, people, pros and cons — F1 got a lot more money from Apple than ESPN was offering … but the visibility and accessibility on Apple TV is a lot less than on ESPN (even if Apple TV makes races free to watch, which is a distinct difference from how Apple treated MLB and MLS, the only comps we have).
Worth your time: This expert F1 roundtable among Madeline Coleman, Andrew Marchand and Luke Smith was excellent.
The Big Ten’s private capital revolt: Conference execs really want the cash infusion. The member schools? Not so clear! Michigan’s regents hate the idea, and it will be very difficult for the league to get the school votes for this if “Go Blue!” is a no-go.
Women’s Pro Baseball League set to debut in 2026: It shouldn’t surprise you that the original teams will be linked to some of the biggest markets (NY, LA, SF and Boston), although the “barnstorming” model should help increase awareness elsewhere.
Texas Tech bans tortilla-throwing tradition: Sign of the times that the strongest appeal to students to stop is that a 15-yard penalty (accompanied by a commissioner-imposed $100,000 fine) would hurt the No. 14 Red Raiders’ chances of making the 12-team Playoff.
Selling out? Auburn traded a home football game for lucre that will go toward NIL funds. As a fan/season-ticket holder, would you trade the experience of a home game for cash to be used on players who might lead to more wins overall?
Update on that controversial La Liga game between Barcelona and Villarreal that was to be played in Miami: It’s off (this year).
Other current obsessions: Playing with The Athletic’s amazing new NFL Playoff Simulator … Shohei Ohtani superlatives … the Crumbl Cookie CEO offering to pay for BYU’s field-storming fine … Sumo wrestling in London … Louvre robbery details …
What I’m Wondering
Expectations for ‘Inside the NBA’ on ESPN
Triggered by the new slate of TV deals, in one of the biggest transactions in sports media in the 21st century, TNT’s beloved NBA studio show “Inside the NBA” is moving over to ESPN, which for years has engaged in a Sisyphian effort to re-create “Inside’s” unmatched alchemy of chemistry and cultural clout. In the end, ESPN just paid to license it, and the show debuts on ESPN tonight.
I checked in with my colleagues Richard Deitsch and Andrew Marchand to ask:
Like ESPN’s deal with Pat McAfee’s weekday show, this is a license, meaning “Inside” retains its autonomy to operate how it wants. McAfee takes full advantage of that — will this crew?
Deitsch: I have a suspicion/theory/premonition that the “Inside” crew is going to push the envelope early to make it very clear they have autonomy within the larger ESPN ecosystem.
Marchand: I do think that’s a good bet that the INBA crew will want to show who is boss. Charles Barkley has made so many statements about what was next that it is hard to believe that they won’t lead with that.
Read the full roundtable here.
Grab Bag
Branding Watch: Grateful Ducks
“Did you see Oregon’s uniforms?” is a bit played out, but this weekend’s “Grateful Ducks” edition, with the tie-dye numbers and custom logo, is incredibly cool.
Explainer: Landon Donovan’s new hair
“If I just showed up on TV the next time or on the pod and I had hair, it’s going to be f—ing weird, right?” Donovan said. “You can’t just show up and be like, ‘Hey, look at me!’ I’m going to have to talk about it at some point. So I just figured just be transparent with it.” (As someone who is bald: mixed feelings, ngl!)
Deal of the Week: Good Good x PGA
The YouTube-ization of golf has been a leitmotif of MoneyCall all year. That’s crystallized with YT-originating golf brand Good Good Golf picking up title sponsorship of a PGA Tournament event in Austin. (Runner-up: Caitlin Clark x The Annika: The Sequel.)
Exec Transactions: Bob Myers
Redo those end-of-year sports exec power broker rankings: A key architect of the Golden State Warriors dynasty (turned ESPN NBA talking head) is now overseeing all of the sports properties owned or operated by Harris-Blitzer Group, which includes the 76ers (NBA), Devils (NHL), Crystal Palace (Premier League) and a stake in NASCAR’s Joe Gibbs Racing, in addition to the Washington Commanders, for whom Josh Harris is managing partner.
Power Ranking: Best CFB stadiums
(1) Tiger Stadium — LSU
(2) Beaver Stadium — Penn State
(3) Notre Dame Stadium — Notre Dame
(4) Ohio Stadium — Ohio State
(5) Michigan Stadium — Michigan
The whole list is here. (Northwestern’s pop-up Martin Stadium deserved more love, and I will register my disapproval in the Fan Vote.)
Data Point: $2 billion
What an NHL expansion franchise will cost you. For perspective, Bill Foley paid $500 million after being awarded the Vegas Golden Knights in 2016.
Celebrity investor: Travis Kelce
Six Flags? Very on-brand. (If he wants to see exponential returns, he just needs to ask Taylor to schedule a stop on her next tour at a Six Flags or two.)
And: Jimmy Butler! The NWSL gets another big-name investor: The NBA star (and one of the most entrepreneurial athletes in sports) is now a part-owner of the San Diego Wave.
Plus: Robin Roberts! The “Good Morning America” anchor and one of the most popular TV hosts of all time will become an investor in the New York Liberty, per Ben Pickman, to cap off the round they announced earlier this year that valued the franchise at $450 million.
Peak of the Week: Kalani Sitake
The head coach of undefeated BYU is also one of the most unique leaders in the sport.
Beat Dan in Connections: Sports Edition
Puzzle No. 394
0:21
Try the game here!
Worth Your Time
Great business-adjacent reads for your downtime or commute:
Our Front Office Rankings are back, and the NHL is in the spotlight. As with the NFL’s version, the champs surge to the top. The Panthers’ front office jumped from third last year to No. 1 in 2025 after their Stanley Cup-winning season. The entire list is worth your time.
Two more:
(1) The Women’s World Cup is set to expand in 2031 and will likely be played in North America. Will World Cup ’26 host cities capitalize? Will additional cities bid? And what’s the ROI? Asli Pelit reports that out.
(2) “Is James Dolan having fun yet?” An Ian O’Connor special.
Back next Wednesday! Text your colleagues this link so they can get MoneyCall every Wednesday for free. And check out The Athletic’s other newsletters, too.