Since the beginning of the 2003-04 NBA season, ESPN, ABC, and TNT have been the primary national broadcast partners of the NBA. When the sides inked deals in 2003, the NBA was making roughly $766 million per year on the deal, with that figure increasing to $930 million per year when the league signed an 8-year extension in 2007. The last media rights deal — $24 billion over nine years — went into effect in 2016, and expires following the 2024-25 season. And while many streaming services are lurking, hopeful to take at least a piece of the NBA's national broadcast pie, it sounds like Disney and Turner are already nearing a deal to keep the National Basketball Association on their airways for the next decade or so.
“The NBA opened its exclusive media rights negotiations with Disney and Turner on Saturday, a window that runs through April 22, and sources said Friday they believe the three sides entered talks roughly 75% in agreement on a deal based on their preliminary discussions over the past several months,” according to Tom Friend of Sports Business Journal. Friend goes on to explain that the NBA's In-Season Tournament, now officially called the Emirates NBA Cup, would “be bundled into the Disney and Turner packages after there were early expectations a streaming entity such as Apple or Netflix might pursue the entire event or at least the Emirates NBA Cup's Final Four.”
So, what does this mean for Apple, Netflix and Amazon? Well, Amazon will surely make a strong bid once the exclusive window expires on April 22. They've already dipped their toes into the NFL, and acquiring media rights to the NBA would be the next logical step. Apple is considered a potential bidder for the SoFi Play-In Tournament, and Netflix, having just signed a major deal with WWE, could look to continue to expand their portfolio. There's also NBC — and by extension, Peacock — who could get in the mix too.
“NBC is also expected to gain a portion of the NBA’s linear broadcast package, depending on the Disney and Turner deals. NBA team execs believe a final overall NBA media rights deal will be worth between $60 and $72B — 2.5 to 3 times larger than its previous arrangement in 2014 — and that negotiations could wrap up in June or July.”
As fans of 90's NBA, or fans of John Tesh may remember, NBC was a national broadcast partner of the NBA from 1990 to 2002, broadcasting the NBA Finals on the network each year during that run. While I have no problems with the NBA on ESPN or TNT, I can't say I'd hate it if I got to hear Roundball Rock regularly before a nationally broadcast NBA game again.
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