The NBA's television ratings have been fairly stagnant over the last few seasons. The 2024 NBA Playoffs have started off with a slight decline in viewership versus last season. The last four NBA Finals have averaged well below 15 million viewers across the series, significantly less than the viewership from last decade.
These figures aren't exactly top of the line numbers for the NBA to present to broadcasters looking to have a piece of the league's next media rights deal which would start after the 2024-25 season. And yet the league is reportedly looking to double it's previous deal, a $24 billion deal over nine years that amounted to about $2.6 billion annually.
It's looking like they're even going to smash those expectations.
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According to a report by Bloomberg, the league is expecting an 11-year deal, this time to the tune of $76 billion. That amount would be about $6.9 billion annually, closer to triple of its previous deal.
One boost for the league is that it's previous deal was divided between Disney's (DIS) ESPN/ABC and Warner Bros. Discovery's (WBD) Turner Sports. This new deal is looking like it's going to have three parties.
ESPN/ABC reportedly has a framework for a deal that would have the Disney brand retain the best package for the NBA, which includes the NBA Finals, for a reported $2.6 billion.
As expected, Amazon (AMZN) has come in to bring the NBA to streaming via Prime Video in what Bloomberg is reporting to be a package worth $1.8 billion.
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More NBA media rights:
- Warner Bros. Discovery is in trouble after Comcast offers NBA a massive deal
- Charles Barkley could wind up on ESPN or Amazon in the near future
- NBA looks poised to come to streaming after reported framework deal with Amazon
Comcast (CMCSA) has put in a bid worth $2.5 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal, which would have them takeover WBD's package.
None of these deals are final yet — and WBD could still make a bid to keep its package — but it's likely that there will be much of a change from these numbers. The NBA is almost surely coming away with a lot more than just double of its previous deal.
Despite the viewership numbers, the major boost in payment from the networks isn't exactly shocking. In an evolving media world, the NBA still brings in millions of eyeballs on a daily basis — and a young and diverse set of eyeballs at that. Those details matter to broadcasters and advertisers, and help them justify digging deep into their pockets for these deals.
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