NBA Lockout Officially Begins; Who Will Be Affected If It Lasts?

The NBA Lockout officially began at 12:01 AM Friday. This means that free agency will be put on hold as the players and the NBA try to reach an agreement. Given that the NFL Lockout has been going on for quite a while now, we have at least some sense of what to expect. 

But what would it mean if a long stretch of regular-season basketball were lost? Obviously, to most of us, that would simply mean we'd find other ways to spend our evenings. For many, though, the lockout could prove to be a lot more troublesome - lots of bars and restaurants would lose business, city governments would lose out on revenue, and arenas and TV stations would be left out in the cold.

"TV networks and marketers are in a difficult position because they cannot control the talks," said Brad Adgate, an analyst at advertising firm Horizon Media. "For them it's frustrating that they invested hundreds of million in rights fees and they have to stand by like the fans" ...

The regional sports networks that carry NBA games, such as the YES Network in the New York area, would have less flexibility and a tougher time finding alternate programing.

Of course, there's a chance that none of this will be a problem, but there's nothing to do at this point but wait and see. Dealing with a lockout as a fan is bad enough, but it's even worse for those who are investment in the game but are no less helpless than the fans in stopping the lockout.

Stay tuned to this StoryStream for more NBA lockout news, updates and explanations.