A funny thing happened on the way to the forum: The NBA’s much-anticipated new TV rights deal that was expected to reflect the financial muscle of streaming platforms wound up cementing the primacy of broadcast networks in sports contracts.
The big moves in the 11-year agreement, valued at a whopping $76 billion, are the return of NBCUniversal, the entry of Amazon Prime Video and the exit of Warner Bros. Discovery’s TNT. ESPN and ABC remain the league’s cornerstone partner with rights to the NBA finals. There’s likely to be some legal tussling over whether WBD had the ability to match Amazon’s bid for a package of 66 games plus distribution rights in key international territories such as Mexico, Brazil, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, U.K. and Ireland.
For sure, the NBA deal marks another big expansion in live sports coverage for Prime Video when the pact begins with the 2025-2026 NBA season. But the NBA made its biggest bet with NBCUniversal. NBCUniversal and Prime Video are essentially carving up the games that at present are carried by TNT. NBCUniversal is believed to have committed to fee of $2.5 billion a year while Amazon is shelling out $1.8 billion. ESPN/ABC, which trimmed its game package compared to previous contracts, is on the hook for $2.6 billion a year, thanks to the premium it pays for postseason games.
NBCUniversal outbid WBD and others for a package of up to 100 regular-season games per season in order to secure a high-profile property that will bring subscribers to Peacock. But for the NBA, a big part of the appeal was the promise that more than half of those games will air on old-fashioned NBC on Sunday and Tuesday nights. What’s more, the broadcast network model of having local affiliate stations in markets around the country means that NBC can offer different games in different regions to appeal to local fans of various NBA teams. NBCUniversal was motivated to spend big for the NBA to help shore up Peacock – but it was the promise of games airing on NBC that sealed the deal. NBC previously carried NBA games from 1990 to 2002.
The new contracts mark the first time the NBA will have game coverage across two broadcast networks. The new ESPN/ABC pact includes 80 regular-season games, with more than 20 of those to air on ABC. The NBA Finals will remain on ABC as they have since 2003.
The NBA essentially gets the best of broadcast and streaming. Through Peacock and Amazon, NBA games will be readily available via streaming platforms. ESPN’s games will also be on streaming once the sports behemoth becomes available as a standalone streamer next year.
The one thing that WBD couldn’t bring to the table was an old-fashioned broadcast network. With the evident struggles of the basic cable sector, the NBA’s calculus seems to have come down to NBC and Prime Video being a better long-term bet than TNT. Prime Video also has the advantage of strong international reach, which is a big priority for the league.
“The return of NBA basketball to the NBC Sports family comes with enormous benefits and excitement for our fans,” said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver Wednesday announcing the long-awaited deal. “And through its multiple platforms – especially NBC and Peacock – and its expansive resources, NBCUniversal promises to build on the deep tradition and history of the NBA on NBC.”
The NBA’s mega TV deal was focused on national rights for the U.S. The discussions came together over the past two years as traditional cable sector has struggled with the rise of streaming competitors, even more so than the old guard of ABC, CBS, NBC or Fox. The business of regional sports networks – which once commanded a premium to reach the most rabid local sports fans – is also crumbling as cable operators balk at paying high carriage fees amid the ongoing march of cord-cutting. One of the biggest RSN owners, Bally Sports, went into a Chapter 11 bankruptcy process late last year.
The NBA’s prioritizing of broadcast distribution – for its ubiquity and ability to deliver big audiences — echoes the decision made by the NFL in 2021 with its 11-year rights pacts with ABC/ESPN, CBS, Fox, NBC and Amazon Prime Video. Live sports is one of the last reliable forms of programming that can buck the trend of on-demand viewing and bring a large crowd together for a shared experience – and exposure to sponsor messages. The NBA’s challenge was to stich together a long-term deal that solidified the league’s future, from a financial and media distribution perspective, without compromising the present.
The stars aligned for the NBA with NBCUniversal’s need to bring marquee fare to Peacock even though it was the older network (and a whole lot of money) that cinched the agreement. Daniel Kurnos, an equity analyst covering broadcasting, internet and media for Benchmark, said that for all the talk about streamers upending everything in TV, the trend for sports was underscored by the trend of many teams in the NBA and other leagues of turning back to local broadcast TV stations for regional rights deals rather than the RSNs, which once could be counted on to pay top dollar for exclusive packages.
“The fact that all these teams are willing to do local deals with broadcasters that are profitable on day one is significant,” Kurnos told Variety. “Watching local sports come back to broadcast suggests that there is a win-win model here that means broadcast is still an important [platform] and an important model.”
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