A funny thing happened on the way to the forum: The NBA’s long-awaited new TV rights deal, which was expected to reflect the financial power of streaming platforms, ended up cementing the primacy of broadcast networks in sports contracts.
The big moves in the 11-year, $76 billion deal 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 primary partners with the NBA Finals rights. There will likely be some legal wrangling over whether WBD has the ability to match Amazon’s offer for a 66-game package plus distribution rights in key international territories such as Mexico, Brazil, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, the UK and Ireland.
The NBA deal is sure to be another major expansion of Prime Video’s live sports coverage when the agreement kicks in with the 2025-26 NBA season. But the NBA has placed its biggest bet with NBCUniversal. NBCUniversal and Prime Video are essentially splitting the games that TNT currently airs. NBCUniversal is believed to have committed to a fee of $2.5 billion per year, while Amazon is spending $1.8 billion. ESPN/ABC, which has scaled back its games package compared to previous contracts, is on the hook for $2.6 billion per year, thanks to the premium it pays for postseason games.
NBCUniversal beat out WBD and others to secure a package of up to 100 regular-season games each season in order to secure a high-profile property that would bring subscribers to Peacock. But for the NBA, a big part of the appeal was the promise that more than half of those games would air on old-fashioned NBC on Sunday and Tuesday nights. What’s more, the broadcast network’s model of having local affiliates in markets across the country meant that NBC could offer different games in different areas to attract local fans of different NBA teams. NBCUniversal had an incentive to spend big on the NBA to help support Peacock — but it was the promise of games on NBC that sealed the deal. NBC previously aired NBA games from 1990 to 2002.
The new deals mark the first time NBA games will be broadcast on two networks. The new agreement between ESPN and ABC includes 80 regular-season games, with more than 20 of those on ABC. The NBA Finals will remain on ABC, as it has been since 2003.
Essentially, the NBA gets the best of both worlds when it comes to streaming and live broadcasting. Through Peacock and Amazon, NBA games will be readily available across streaming platforms. ESPN games will also be available via live streaming once the sports giant becomes a standalone streaming platform next year.
The only thing WBD couldn’t offer was a traditional broadcast network. And with basic cable clearly struggling, the NBA’s calculations seem to have concluded that NBC and Prime Video are better long-term bets than TNT. Prime Video also has the advantage of strong international reach, a big priority for the league.
“The return of NBA basketball to the NBC Sports family brings tremendous benefits and excitement to our fans,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Wednesday when announcing the long-awaited deal. “With its multiple platforms — particularly NBC and Peacock — and its extensive resources, NBC Universal is committed to building on the deep tradition and history of the NBA on NBC.”
The NBA’s massive TV deal focused on nationwide U.S. rights, discussions that have been swirling for the past two years as the traditional cable business has struggled with the rise of streaming competitors, even more so than the old guard of ABC, CBS, NBC or Fox. The regional sports network business — which once commanded a premium to reach the most diehard local sports fans — is also collapsing as cable operators balk at high carriage fees amid the ongoing cord-cutting campaign. Bally Sports, one of the largest RSN owners, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy late last year.
The NBA’s prioritization of broadcast distribution—for its reach and ability to draw large audiences—echoes the NFL’s decision in 2021 to sign 11-year rights deals with ABC/ESPN, CBS, Fox, NBC and Amazon Prime Video. Live sports are one of the last reliable forms of programming that can buck the trend of on-demand viewing and bring together large crowds for a shared experience—and exposure to sponsors’ messages. The challenge for the NBA was to strike a long-term deal that cemented the league’s future, from a financial and media distribution perspective, without compromising the present.
The stars aligned in favor of the NBA with NBCUniversal needing to bring a premium food to Peacock even though it was the legacy network (and a lot of money) that clinched the deal. Daniel Kurnos, an equity analyst who covers broadcast, internet and media for Benchmark, said that for all the talk about broadcasters upending everything TV, the trend toward sports was underscored by the trend of many teams in the NBA and other leagues turning to local broadcasters for regional rights deals rather than RSNs, which could once be relied upon to pay exorbitant prices for exclusive packages.
“The fact that all these teams are willing to do domestic deals with broadcasters that make money on day one is significant,” said Cornus. diverse“Seeing local sporting events return to broadcast suggests there is a win-win model here, meaning that broadcasting is still very important. [platform] “And an important model.”
