NBA Targets $76B From New TV Rights Deals

The National Basketball Association is close to signing new long-term broadcasting agreements that would pay the league about $76 billion over 11 years, or three times its current deal, ccording to Bloomberg.

The league has agreed to the general framework of deals with Walt Disney Co. and Amazon.com Inc. that are worth $2.6 billion and $1.8 billion a year, respectively, according to people familiar with the terms. While neither is signed and they remain subject to change, it would be a surprise if either fell apart, said the people, who asked not to be identified since the talks are ongoing.

The league has yet to decide the winner of a third package, a race that is down to Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. and Comcast Corp. Comcast has proposed a deal worth about $2.5 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal, more than double what Warner Bros. pays under its current contract.

The league is going to secure a record payday of close to $7 billion annually thanks to strong demand for live sports and the emergence of new bidders. Like the NFL, the league has split its rights into more packages to maximize its returns. Disney, the parent of ESPN and ABC, and Warner Bros.’ Turner Sports have been the league’s two primary partners, but the NBA has prioritized bringing in a third partner rooted in technology.

Amazon is discussing a package of games for its Prime video platform. That would include some conference finals, though the specifics will depend on the outcome of the negotiations with Comcast and Warner Bros., according to the people. Amazon has been the most aggressive tech company when it comes to pursuing live sports. It already holds rights to Thursday Night Football in the US, as well as tennis and mixed martial arts in various territories.

Disney will air games on its ABC and ESPN networks, as well via streaming, the people said. The company is expected to keep the NBA finals. In the past, Disney has had one of the two conference finals, while Turner aired the other.

Comcast appears to be the favorite for a third piece of the contract, thanks to the size of its offer and ownership of the NBC broadcast network. The league wants to reach as many people as possible, and the audience for cable networks has been contracting. Comcast and would air games on the NBC broadcast network, its suite of cable networks and the Peacock streaming service. NBC last held NBA rights in the 2001-2002 season.

Some industry experts had questioned whether the NBA was seeking too much for its TV rights given that audience for the finals has declined in recent years. The league’s current media deals are worth a total of $24 billion, or over $2.6 billion a year.