While the NBA’s next media rights deal won’t go into effect until after the current season, the league’s plans for the future are already taking shape. But when it comes to NBA TV, the status of the league-owned network very much remains up in the air.

That’s because NBA TV is operated by Warner Bros. Discovery, which will see its nearly 40-year partnership with the league come to an end after this season, regardless of the outcome of its lawsuit regarding the NBA’s next media rights deal.

In his latest newsletter for Puck (subscription required), John Ourand provided an update on the league’s plans for NBA TV. And in doing so, Ourand revealed that the league has yet to make a decision on how — or even if — NBA TV will continue past the 2024-25 season.

“My sources tell me that the league still has not decided how (or if) the channel will continue,” writes Ourand. “Just like all the other league-owned channels and regional sports networks, NBA TV has seen a dramatic drop in its distribution during the past decade. Only 10 years ago, NBA TV was in 60 million homes. Today it’s in just 35 million homes… and dropping.”

Beyond its declining numbers, there’s also the matter of less content being available for the league-owned channel. While NBA TV previously had access to select regular-season games and even some first-round playoff matchups, those offerings will be limited by the league’s next TV deal, in which it will partner with ESPN, NBC and Amazon.

According to Ourand, NBA TV’s uncertain status has caused understandable “angst” among the network’s staffers, who are technically WBD employees, working out of the company’s studios in Atlanta. Considering that WBD has operated NBA TV since 2008 and currently handles its ad sales, production and talent hires, it will likely take quite the overhaul for the cable channel to continue if that’s the route the league decides to take.

[Puck]