WALT Disney’s ESPN, Comcast-owned NBCUniversal and Amazon.com have clinched the rights to carry National Basketball Association (NBA) games in an 11-year deal valued at US$77 billion, the league said on Wednesday (Jul 24).
The NBA rejected a last-minute offer from Warner Bros Discovery’s TNT Sports division, which it said fell short of Amazon’s proposal, ending a four-decade relationship with the media company after next season.
“We think they have grossly misinterpreted our contractual rights with respect to the 2025-26 season and beyond, and we will take appropriate action,” TNT Sports said on Wednesday.
Analysts have said winning telecast rights requires a huge financial commitment considering the cost as well as the fees associated with production.
About 75 regular-season games will be on broadcast TV each season, up from the minimum of 15 games under the current agreement, the NBA said.
“Our new global media agreements with Disney, NBCUniversal and Amazon will maximise the reach and accessibility of NBA games for fans in the United States and around the world,” said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.
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“These partners will distribute our content across a wide range of platforms and help transform the fan experience over the next decade.”
The deal represents a blow to Warner’s sports division, adding to investor concerns about its role in the new sports-streaming partnership with Disney and Fox.
“A lawsuit could follow but it’d be risky,” said Ross Benes, Emarketer’s television and streaming analyst. “Even if WBD won a hypothetical suit to get the NBA back, it’d be stuck working with an angry NBA who it just sued. Such action could also spook other leagues from striking deals with them.”
Warner CEO David Zaslav said in May the company “was hopeful” it would reach an agreement with the NBA to keep the league on Max and TNT.
The NBA has contributed a sizeable amount to Warner’s profit over the last four decades through advertising US dollars across to the company’s traditional television portfolio and streaming services.
Tom Forte, senior consumer Internet analyst at Maxim Group, said professional sports leagues are prioritising companies they believe can pay the most “today, and in the future, for the rights to broadcast their games”.
The Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) announced separately that it renewed partnerships with Disney and Amazon and signed a new deal with NBCUniversal. The agreements will allow the companies to distribute more than 125 WNBA regular-season and playoff games.
‘A broad audience’
Long-time league partner Disney will carry a total of 80 regular-season NBA games, including 20 contests on the ABC Network.
ABC will remain the exclusive home of the NBA Finals, which it has broadcast since 2003.
NBCUniversal will pick up 100 regular-season NBA games, with more than half airing on NBC. Its sister service Peacock will stream a doubleheader each on Monday night of the season.
The network also will telecast one of the two Conference Finals series in six of the 11 years of the contract, which it will carry on a rotating basis with Amazon, beginning with the 2025 to 2026 season.
Amazon also will carry 66 regular-season NBA games on Prime Video each season, including at least one game on Black Friday.
The NBA adds to Prime Video’s growing roster of live sports offerings, which include NFL and Nascar in 2025.
“Our streaming base is becoming larger than a lot of cable networks in the US,” said Mike Hopkins, head of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios. “We are bringing a broad audience, and also, when you look at our Thursday Night Football ratings, they are younger.” REUTERS
