Glen Davis, Clippers Still Talking; Mavs Appear Interested

“As we, and the basketball world observed, DJ ultimately chose to stay with the Clippers because he felt it was his best opportunity to win a championship, and because of his desire to remain part of the Clippers family”, Ballmer said.

(Fox Sports) Prime Ticket now pays the team a rights fee of $25 million a year – and offered a 140 percent increase, to $60 million, but the billionaire Ballmer turned it aside… Ballmer has to see the difficulties in making a profit by launching a streaming network just for Clippers games, but he might see the greater value in being the first to market with the technology. The NYP also reported in January that the team was talking to TWC about launching a new RSN.

That $60 million per year would be the second-biggest local TV deal in the league.

Ballmer exploring the idea of beginning a new streaming network is an interesting one, but could it just be a ploy to leverage more money from television networks as they become more desperate to complete the deal?

The Clippers’ local TV rights represent a major return on Ballmer’s $2 billion purchase of the team. The current deal expires at the end of the 2015-16 season.

The boom in revenue will lead to a historic spike in the NBA’s salary cap. Airing original content in addition to an extensive video library, the WWE Network charges $9.99 a month and had amassed more than 1.3 million subscribers by April of this year. The team could still air games via traditional methods while offering enhanced viewing options to online subscribers. And in this case, the team would need the infrastructure and negotiate with Apple, Google and Microsoft for apps on their mobiles and tablets, then find welcoming consoles like Apple TV, Roku, Sony Playstation, Xbox and others to stream their games.

“The rumor of Ballmer going in an unconventional route with the Clippers’ local rights has been swirling for a while too, since he has the technology background”, said Adam Gajo, analyst for SNL Kagan.

The upcoming season will be the Clippers’ 20th with Fox Sports Prime Ticket.