ESPN reporter slams 2024 Paris Olympics

Brian Windhorst isn’t one to buy merch. And presumably, he isn’t looking for a drink while working.

But when it comes to his latest assignment covering men’s and women’s basketball at the 2024 Paris Olympics, the ESPN senior writer hasn’t been able to help but notice the amount of money being left on the table by the host country.

“Just in general, and I don’t know if this is the French way, let’s just say they’re not exactly into maximizing revenue,” Windhorst said on the latest episode of Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective . “First off, they are not selling alcohol at the events at all. And obviously some people might think that would make things better. But I was talking to somebody who works with LA28 who’s over here. And he was like, ‘Tens of millions of dollars, they are leaving on the table.’

“Let’s put that aside. The merch situation — I’m not even a merch guy — the merch situation here is a travesty. They don’t have many merchandise stores. And the ones that they do have are limited in hours.”

Windhorst proceeded to note that Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max streaming service holds all of the media rights to the Olympics in France, providing yet another potential hit to the host nation’s bottom line.

“What I’m telling you about Max is there’s no commercials,” Windhorst said. “I mean, that’s nice and all, but like, that’s not a way to operate. They’re just — they’re not focused on revenue here. And the NBA does revenue.”

As he alluded to in that last line, Windhorst’s experience in Paris must be especially jarring to somebody who has spent his entire adult life around the NBA. Over the course of his two-plus decades covering the league, the Akron native has seen multiple multibillion media rights deals, the addition of advertisements on uniforms and the league’s overall revenue grow from less than $3 billion to more than $10 billion annually.

Still, even after having previously spent time in the country to cover Victor Wembanyama as a draft prospect, the French’s lack of greed regarding the Summer Olympics came as a culture shock to Windhorst. Suffice to say, there will surely be plenty of booze, merchandise options and commercials four years from now, when Los Angeles gets its turn to host the Summer Games.

[ Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective ]

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