NBA Seeks 10-Year Deals For Media Rights, Streaming Services Could Get Finals Games The NBA is reportedly seeking contracts as long as 10 years as they negotiate new media rights deals. The league's exclusive negotiating window with Disney/ESPN and Turner/TNT expires on Monday night. That will allow the NBA to begin conversations with streaming services such as Amazon, Apple, YouTube or a potential network partner like NBC. The NBA will have at least three separate packages of games available, but could create a fourth package. There is also a chance that a streaming service could host playoff games, including conference finals, and potentially even NBA Finals games. NBA Could Sell Local Games Individually In New TV Deal As part of their new media rights negotiations, the NBA is considering a different way of handling games on a local level. Today, consumers must have a cable or streaming package that includes the channel their local team plays on. The NBA is considering a model where individual games, or season-long packages, can be purchased by fans. This would allow fans to avoid paying for content they don't want. The league is also going to consider ways to redirect fans from social media highlights to streaming full games. There could be direct-purchase links for a game that are made available to fans who click on a highlight from a game in progress. The WNBA is also a factor in the new media rights deals the NBA is negotiating. Interest in women's basketball is at an all-time high. The league is seeking to capitalize by upgrading the return for the WNBA portion of their television rights. The NBA sees the WNBA as part of their year-long basketball product that is made available to viewers.
This is so ****ing long over due. A couple of teams are already running the model. Let's make everyone else do it already.
As long as I can keep watching any and all NBA games live and on demand via LP India for $20/year, I'm ok with these changes.
Translation: The NBA will use these negotiations to extort additional money from providers for WNBA games or they won't be selected for an NBA package. The WNBA would die on its own. Other than ratings for the last two Caitlin Clark NCAA tourney games, is interest in women's basketball really at an all-time high?
So ESPN & TNT have the option to match any contract offers that are made, this is hilarious, it's like the TV rights are a restricted free agent!!
Honestly, I could care less about most women sports, including WNBA. I generally only watch women's mma, gymnastics, track, tennis, and/or swimming. Rarely do I watch any other women sports and mostly during the Olympics. For me how they look also matters. Could be why I could care less about Caitlin Clark, she is just not attractive even though she's dominant.
In what will be a landmark move in sports media history, the NBA and Amazon Prime Video have the framework of a deal that will make the streaming service one of the main homes for the league’s games, executives with direct knowledge of the talks told The Athletic. It is expected that Prime Video’s package will include significant regular season and postseason games, perhaps even some conference finals. The anticipation is that the final contract will be for at least a decade and begin the 2025-2026 season. ESPN/ABC, as the website Puck reported Thursday, also has a framework of a deal with the expectations that an agreement will be completed. ESPN/ABC are expected to keep the Finals on its networks for the duration of its deals. Like Amazon, ESPN’s new contract is also expected to be at least a decade in length. The advancement in the Amazon and ESPN talks leaves incumbent Warner Bros. Discovery, which owns network TNT Sports, to face off with NBC, owned by Comcast, for the likely last package of games. Warner Bros. Discovery has the right to match deals, but NBC could try to structure an agreement in a way that makes it difficult. While there is still work to be completed for the final arrangements, the current packages are going to be pruned slightly to create the third partner. In one arrangement, ESPN will cut down from around 100 games to around 80, according to executives briefed on the talks.
I hope the NBA comes back to NBC so we get the theme music again. Grew up with that and the Hakeem led Rockets. ESPN/ABC is meh, TNT is good, too bad it looks like one of NBC or TNT will get squeezed out cuz of Amazon.
[WSJ] NBCUniversal is serious about trying to steal the NBA from TNT. It's prepared to pay an average of about $2.5 billion annually for games on NBC and Peacock. April 29 2024 (article) Disney (ESPN/ABC) and Warner (TNT) currently pay $1.5 and $1.2 billion to air games. Disney 'is expected' to pay $2.6 billion in the new TV deal with the NBA, while Warner has not reached a deal with the NBA and is still in the bidding. Warner's TNT has the ability to match rival offers the Comcast package would include playoff and regular season games on both NBC and Peacock. NBC has discussed carrying 2 primetime games a week. Amazon is likely to get a share of the Conference Finals and ABC is likely to retain the NBA Finals, although 'the parties are still haggling' over who gets to air the most high-profile games and series.
[Awful Announcing] But with discussions of TNT Sports losing some or all of its NBA rights, there’s also now talk that Inside The NBA might be shared with another broadcaster. That also could see some or all of its personalities leave for other pastures completely.
I think "Inside" has a few more years left. NBA on NBC would be nice to have back (enter Mike Tirico)
