NBA insider Shams Charania has parted ways with Stadium after six years with the sports network, as relayed by Ryan Glasspiegel of the New York Post.
It’s the first step toward full free agency for Charania, whose deals with The Athletic and FanDuel TV are also set to expire.
Meanwhile, the NBA has reached new media rights deals with NBC and Amazon Prime, either of which could be an eventual landing spot for Charania. That said, Charania has not been linked to any other outlets at the moment.
His coverage and transaction scoops this summer have arguably put him at the very top of his field.
As for The Athletic and FanDuel specifically, things seem very much up in the air — though several industry insiders told Hoops Wire they believe Charania will indeed return to at least The Athletic.
Several, however, have said that NBC intends to significantly add to its online NBA coverage ahead of the 2025-26 season, when the network starts broadcasting and streaming games.
“(NBC and Amazon) will be looking to stack rosters of NBA talents in the coming months for studio programming and other ancillary content,” Glasspiegel wrote.
Charania, 30, started as a self-made insider at RealGM while still in high school, before joining current ESPN insider Adrian Wojnarowski at Yahoo Sports. ESPN/ABC is again part of the NBA’s new media rights deal. However, sources cited friction between Charania and Wojnarowski in saying they do not envision Charania signing on with ESPN.
The NBA is entering the final year of its partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company for TNT. That is, of course, pending the outcome of a lawsuit filed by WBD.
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