can deliver young males to advertisers like nothing else, and it's an affinity that is lifelong and intense. But don't you wonder when the gravy train will end? TV rights fees keep going up exponentially as viewership keeps falling.
A: It has to, eventually. It's close to over, but it ain't over yet.
Q: No one is making money in sports on the Internet. Can it be done at a time when the vast majority of the audience is on a dial-up connection?
A: In narrowband, we can do it in things like e-commerce and fantasy sports, but our business model is obviously different from things like CBS SportsLine. The broadband adoption rate will probably be more accelerated than cable. People were talking a lot about cable TV in the '70s, and it really wasn't significant until the '80s. I don't view broadband as a short-term economic panacea, but in the long-term, it could be another thing that keeps the gravy train going.
Q: Some of the same people who notice there's no money being made with sports on the Net see wagering as their silver bullet. This is not an easy issue for any sports league, but isn't it one you'll have to face eventually?
A: I've spent my entire career with a predisposition against gambling, from the days I used to prepare position papers for the former [basketball] commissioner. So I really have a hard time accommodating myself to that notion. From a pure marketing standpoint, I understand the tug [opportunity], but I've tried to avert my eyes. We've grown with the assumption that most of our fans are interested in basketball.
Q: A few basketball questions: How long before you have to deal with a high school underclassman who wants to play in the NBA?
A: It hasn't been tested, but the collective bargaining agreement with our players says we will not take kids under 18. We believe it is immune from any kind of legal challenge.
Q: There seems to be divided opinion on whether it would be good or bad for Michael Jordan to return to the NBA. What's your take?
A: I don't know if he's coming back, but it would be good. Given the run that our young players had in the playoffs this year, it would be clear that [Jordan] would be coming back as a basketball player – perhaps the best ever – and not as a savior. That takes the pressure off him, and it takes the pressure off the league.
