The Playoffs Are Here!

"Stern sat behind his desk, reviewing the regular season with Adam Silver before the playoffs began."

"Overall ratings rose by 27.3%! Ratings for Lakers games rose by 43.7%! We'll be able to demand an astronomical price for our next broadcasting contract!" Adam Silver's face was full of excitement. Nothing could have been better than this!

Founded in 1946, the NBA had been established later than the other three major professional sports leagues in the United States. It was not until the 1953–1954 season that the NBA received television coverage, and even then, it was only for thirteen games. Those thirteen broadcasts earned the NBA $39,000, which was already a considerable profit for the league in its early days.

After that, both NBC and ABC broadcast NBA games, but neither station ever paid the league a single cent. That situation lasted until 1973. Beginning with the 1973–1974 season, CBS signed a contract with the NBA and paid $27 million in broadcast fees over three years. Afterward, CBS renewed its deal with the NBA four times. By the 1986–1987 season, the NBA's broadcast rights had risen to $174 million over four years, nearly five times what they had been thirteen years earlier.

On April 28, 1993, NBC, TBS, and TNT signed a four-year, $892 million contract covering 1994 to 1998.

And this year was the final year of that contract! The four-year deal was expiring, and a new one had to be finalized.

It was also the year the league would climb to a new peak!

Jordan, Kobe, and the other superstars had forcibly elevated the NBA to a whole new level. They were no longer at the bottom among the four major leagues! The current NBA could practically stand toe-to-toe with football!

If he secured an enormous broadcasting contract, Stern would