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How the NBA's next TV deal could disrupt the media landscape

Stephen Battaglio, Los Angeles Times on

Published in Basketball

It's a good time to be in the sports business, and no one knows that better than the NBA.

In the coming weeks, the league is expected to announce a new game-changing multiyear media rights pact that reportedly will more than double its annual fees from TV and streaming outlets to $6 billion annually after the 2024-25 National Basketball Association season.

The deal has the potential to shake up the future of the current media landscape, as two streaming platforms are said to be in the running for exclusive games. The ongoing talks also could result in the loss of an NBA TV package for Warner Bros. Discovery's TNT, which has made the league a cornerstone of its programming for more than three decades.

Amazon Prime Video is expected to get an exclusive package of games. It would be the second major sports property for the tech giant, which has the rights to NFL "Thursday Night Football" and will stream its first exclusive playoff game next season.

While streaming services have drawn users with the lure of high-quality original programs and movies, live sports is the most efficient way to attract massive audiences and build scale. Amazon's bid coincides with its aggressive push into the TV advertising marketplace.

The deep-pocketed Amazon, buoyed by its online retail business, has been able to spend aggressively for sports (it's paying $1 billion a year to the NFL for Thursday games). Meanwhile, legacy media companies are under pressure to deal with rising costs while managing the declining revenues and profits for their traditional TV businesses.

 

While Amazon is expected to come away with a significant package, Walt Disney Co. likely will retain the rights to the NBA Finals. One of the crown jewels of TV sports, it would continue to air on broadcast network ABC.

Disney's ESPN also would continue to carry regular-season and playoff games. Disney reportedly would pay $2.6 billion a year, up from $1.5 billion in the current deal that runs through the 2024-25 season.

Retaining the NBA would further solidify ESPN's future as it prepares to offer its channels through a new streaming service aimed at consumers without a pay TV subscription. The plan is to make the direct-to-consumer version of ESPN available in 2025.

The wild card in the NBA talks is the entry of Philadelphia-based cable giant Comcast Corp., which reportedly has made a $2.5-billion bid for a package of games for streaming service Peacock and broadcast network NBC.

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