David Zaslav Downplays Need for More Sports, Says WBD Will be ‘Money Good’ After NBA Deal Ends

variety.com:

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Warner Bros. Discovery shocked the sports world in 2022 when CEO David Zaslav said the company didn’t “have to have” a deal with the NBA.

Now the company is telling investors it may not want to link up with other leagues as well. “We don’t need any more sports anywhere in the world to support our own business,” said Zaslav during a call with investors Thursday morning, noting he felt it was more important for Warner to develop signature film and TV properties that it “could own” rather than trying to build a longer-term business based on sports deals that eventually lapse and require increased investment. “It’s going to get more difficult, some of the prices being paid,” Zaslav noted.

The remarks come as Warner Bros. Discovery enters the last few months of a decades-long alliance with the National Basketball Association.

The league’s exit is expected to bring with it the dissipation of tens of millions of dollars in advertising deals, but will also lower Warner’s costs.