WHEN: Today, Wednesday, July 10, 2024
WHERE: CNBC’s “Power Lunch” – 2024 Sun Valley Conference
Following is the unofficial transcript of a CNBC exclusive interview with Wasserman Media Group CEO Casey Wasserman on CNBC’s “Power Lunch” (M-F, 2PM–3PM ET) today, Wednesday, July 10. This interview is also a part of CNBC Sport, a new vertical the company announced last week that focuses on the intersection between business and sports. Following is a link to video on CNBC.com: https://www.cnbc.com/video/2024/07/10/casey-wasserman-ceo-on-nba-tv-deals.html.
All references must be sourced to CNBC.
JULIA BOORSTIN: I’m joined now by Casey Wasserman. He is chair of Olympics 2028, which is in my hometown of Los Angeles, also founder and CEO of Wasserman, which is a sports and media agency, long history in sports, also more recently in the business of music and entertainment as well. We have so much ground to cover, but I want to start first with this headline about the NBA. Will Warner Discovery match the offers from Amazon or CNBC’s parent company, NBCUniversal? Where do you see these NBA rights going? And is it good or bad for the business?
CASEY WASSERMAN: I think the deals are incredible for the business. The commissioner deserves a lot of credit for creating a set of partners to really triple the revenue for the league, to create a level of consistency and stability, access for customers and consumers of sports, where they want to see them, how they want to see them today. So I think that is a win. Look, I’m not a lawyer and I’m not going to pretend to decide what Warner Bros. Discovery is going to do. Two years ago, they said they didn’t need the NBA. A match would be a very different message. And that’s the decision they have to make. They certainly had a period of time, like all the incumbents did, to do a deal, and it didn’t happen. And that creates opportunity for others to be competitive, and the NBA is a really desirable property.
BOORSTIN: So, for your athletes — you represent a lot of NBA athletes — is it good to have some of these rights switch into Amazon? Is the movement, is the shift into streaming with some of these new streamers like Venu launching this fall, is that good or bad, or is the fragmentation confusing?
WASSERMAN: Both. It’s good from a revenue standpoint, because, obviously, athletes participate as — in the gross of revenue of a league. It’s hard, because one of the things we have lost as consumers is the guide. When you had a cable box or antenna, whatever, you knew where to find things. And it’s really challenging to find things. And I think it’s one of the things the NBA is going to try and solve really through its property. How do you use the NBA app as the place to start your viewing experience? You end up at an NBC or an ESPN or an Amazon. But how do they become the guide, if you will, for all things NBA? And I think it’s one of the things they’re going to try and do really well as they move into this new deal.
BOORSTIN: Fascinating. Jon, you want to jump in here?
FORTT: I do. Thanks, Julia. Casey, I want to take a quick left turn here at college sports. And I know you have said a bit your thoughts about college football and the new economy that’s growing up around that. It’s the second most popular and most valuable sport out there. How is that and the name, image, likeness deals that we have seen emerge over the past couple of years changing the economics of this business?
WASSERMAN: Well, the economics of college football are quite staggering, frankly, and the scale that they have grown and the speed of which they have grown over the last three or four years. And name, image, and likeness is actually a pretty small piece of it, just the consolidation of these conferences. But the real question, I think it’s existential for college sports, and as someone in charge of the Olympics in L.A. for American athletes, does college football stay part of the system and actually use the incremental revenue that’s generated by the excitement and the passion for college football to lift everybody else up? Or does it break away and essentially keep all the revenue for itself? And we’re at that inflection point. And, look, I think there’s a lot that’s gotten better in college sports and a lot that’s gotten worse. And the problem is, there isn’t someone with total control to fix all the problems. And once you open Pandora’s box, you better be careful. And so that’s kind of where we are today. College football is incredibly powerful. I think it’s got a lot more value than it’s actually being paid for today. And I think that value can solve a lot of problems or create a lot of new problems that no one’s thought about.
KELLY EVANS: That’s very, very well said.
BOORSTIN: Kelly?
EVANS: Just a quick one, Casey. Feel free to bat it away. You are an influential fundraiser. And we just saw George Clooney saying that maybe President Biden needs to rethink the campaign. Just kind of give us the sense out there amongst the people that you talk to, is — how do you think this gets resolved or what should take place here?
WASSERMAN: Well, look, if you just think about human nature, telling someone they can’t do something isn’t usually a way to get them to do something. And so I start with that perspective. And the second thing I would say is, look, the president knows how to run a campaign, knows what it takes to get elected, and knows what it takes to be president. And the burden is on him to say — to show that he can do that or he can’t. It’s not for anybody to tell him whether he’s capable of that or not. And so I think the campaign understands that. They’re clearly in the mind-set today where they’re going to try and show that he is capable of doing what he needs to do to run an effective campaign and give himself the chance to compete and win in November and continue as president. And if he can do that, he deserves the right. And if he can’t do that, I’m sure he’d be the first to acknowledge it. But I don’t think it’s because people are telling him what to do and when to do it.
BOORSTIN: But, Casey, the voices of people, whether it’s Nancy Pelosi or George Clooney, there’s now more and more voices coming out and asking him to reconsider. You have hosted high-profile fundraisers. You have donated a lot of money. What is your message to him?
WASSERMAN: Look, my message is, the burden is on him. He’s got to show that he’s got what it takes. He knows — none of us have ever run or been president. He knows what it takes. And I think, certainly, there’s a lot of noise. But if you kind of break through all the noise, I think a lot of it’s coming from fear. If you’re a Democrat, you’re fearful of losing, and you want your best chance of winning. That doesn’t mean we know what the answer is, but it means we’re fearful. I think the real question is, and I think the campaign understands this, the burden is on them to show he’s capable of doing this. And I really do believe that, if he didn’t think he could, he will not do it. And if he thinks he can, he will stick in it.
BOORSTIN: Well, certainly, an important one to watch this week among a lot of conversations here in Sun Valley. Before we run out of time, we have to ask you about the Olympics. What are your expectations for the Paris Olympics? I know you’re heading over there soon, and you’re watching it as you prepare for your own Olympics. Do you think all the political unrest and upheaval in France right now is going to be problematic for the Games?
WASSERMAN: I hope not. The Olympics at its core is about bringing people together on a common playing field under a common set of rules and, frankly, for at least two weeks, putting all that to the side. And I hope the people of France embrace that. I hope the whole world embraces that. I hope Israeli and Iranian athletes compete. I hope Ukrainian and Russian athletes compete against each other. I hope we really show what the best of the world can be. It’s a complicated world, and politics sit in the center of these things. And when you have an event as big as the Olympics, it’s a great platform for politics to come in. But I certainly — I hope the people of France know that this is a good thing for the country and, whatever they think about their elections, the future of their country, that, for these two weeks, it’s about a much bigger thing than just that.
BOORSTIN: We’re out of time. The Olympics are big and costly. Are we ready for L.A. 2028?
WASSERMAN: L.A. 2028 is ready and excited. And we go from the batter’s deck to the home plate August 12.
BOORSTIN: Well, we will be watching. Thanks so much, Casey Wasserman.
WASSERMAN: Thanks.
BOORSTIN: Really appreciate your insight, especially with all this breaking news on the NBA — guys, back over to you.
EVANS: We’re going to try to go to that one. The husband was an L.A. ’84 guy. That’s when he was born. So maybe we can get back out there, bring it full circle. Anyway, we have got a lot of time between now and then. Julia, thanks for bringing that to us. Casey Wasserman, thank you as well.
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