Is Mark Cuban Attempting to Replicate ESPN and Turner Sports’ $24 Billion Broadcasting Earnings by Partnering With Amazon?

When Cuban sold his majority share to the Adelson family, his reason was to get into real estate, ideally into casino operations and the entertainment side of real estate. As per him, this is the future for the NBA franchises. But, then again, it is Cuban we’re talking about.

Taking into account his past decisions is enough to know that this is probably not just the only real reason. He has potentially made a calculative move and maybe something big is about to happen, which people cannot fathom currently. He even responded to the Washington Post by saying this: “Real estate and entertainment are going to be key for revenue development to compete.”

So, what could it be? Is it really real estate?

Per the Washington Post, Cuban believes Texas should legally allow gambling. This can probably enable the Mavs to build casinos around their new stadium. Maybe this is what Cuban wants when he says he wants to invest in “real estate and entertainment”. Many such establishments are cropping up around the country. For instance, the Citi Field in Queens will have an $8bn entertainment complex in the parking lot next to it. So, in a way, it is a way to enhance profitability for franchises.

But since Cuban did not have to give up on the Mavs to build such an establishment, leads everyone to believe that this just isn’t the only “hidden” reason. There’s another one – broadcasting rights!

Exploring the connection between Mark Cuban and broadcasting rights

For the NBA, network deals with Turner and ESPN have amounted to $24 billion in just 9 years. Of course, Cuban understands this and has taken careful measures to probably take up this route for his future revenues too. But giving up on the Mavs just signals that the NBA’s broadcasting game is getting weaker and weaker. Just last year, Diamond Sports Group, Mavs’ regional broadcasting network, filed for bankruptcy.

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NBA too, can face a similar fate, probably that’s why it is taking the route of streaming services to keep itself afloat. They’re negotiating with networks like Amazon and Apple TV. The current media broadcasting rights are going to expire soon, through which NBA earns a major portion of their revenues. It doesn’t take a genius to know how crucial these deals can be. Of course, being an entrepreneur, Cuban understands the intricacies of the business decisions here. He is not one to sit back and simply invest in “real estate” when all this is happening in the background.

Of course, the NBA isn’t going to ‘NOT’ make such a massive decision too. But Cuban being the meticulous investor he is, he might as well jump on the bandwagon and take up a similar deal too. And it’s not even like he has given up on Mavs altogether. He still has 27% of his stake in the team, despite selling his majority stake. If the franchise does well, of course, his investment will shoot up. Even when they don’t, he still has many options to still earn out a major deal for himself.

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