Last Friday, I spent an hour on a roundtable with two of the most respected analysts in the sports media business: MoffettNathanson’s Michael Nathanson and Robert Fishman. Of course, there was plenty to discuss between all the tectonic and industry-defining M&A and platform evolutions that have transformed the market over the past year—cost-cutting at Warner Bros. Discovery, the sale of Paramount Global, the battle for sports rights, etcetera. MoffettNathanson, one of the leading Wall Street research outfits covering the industry, has had a front seat to it all. Herewith, an excerpt of our rollicking conversation, about David Zaslav’s botched NBA deal process, the strategic thinking behind Venu, and whether David Ellison will renegotiate CBS’s deal with the NFL. (This conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.) 

Zaz Thoughts

John Ourand: At just about every step during these negotiations, it seemed like David Zaslav made a tactical mistake. Early on, he said that Warner Bros. Discovery didn’t need the NBA. Then he allowed Amazon to enter the exclusive negotiating window. And during the window, he didn’t close a deal, even when it looked like there was a deal to be had. Zaslav is not an inexperienced negotiator. Do you think he actually wanted the NBA?