NBA TV rights are finally up for grabs — with cable and streaming giants battling for the top spot
Checkin’ the shot clock… NBA playoffs may be heating up, but there’s another battle brewing off the court. On Monday, the league's exclusive media-rights negotiation window with Disney’s ESPN and Warner Bros. Discovery’s TNT closed without a deal. Refresher: in 2014, both cos closed a nine-year deal worth a combined $26B to air ~160 regular-season games, plus the playoffs and finals. But with the contract expiring after next season (and no new deal in place), streamers by Apple, Amazon, Google, and NBC could be tryin’ to get in the game.
New team: The NBA reportedly wants at least one new “robust” flagship streaming partner that can prioritize games on their platforms. The league’s also hoping to double the $$ of its current deal.
Home-court advantage… Americans say basketball’s their third favorite sport (behind football and baseball). In 2023, the NBA had its most-watched season in four years, with a record 71% of games selling out as fans splurged on stadium tix. It’s not just the men: the WNBA also scored record viewership and attendance for last year’s season. Meanwhile, the rise of college-basketball stars (see: the Caitlin Clark effect) has also sparked optimism about growing viewership.
The sports-watching playbook is changing… and leagues are taking note. The NBA broadcast negotiations come as cable-TV demand continues to sink with shrinking overall viewership. Lots of households say they keep cable subscriptions because it’s the only way to watch their favorite teams play. That’s starting to change: the NFL, NHL, and MLB have all recently struck streaming broadcast deals. Last year, over a quarter of all US sports fans had paid for a subscription streaming service to catch a game.