The media world is awaiting what the National Basketball Association does with its next media rights deal, and Adam Silver gave a little hint about what the league could do.
During the press conference before the Finals of the NBA's inaugural In-Season Tournament, Silver answered a few questions about the league's next media rights deal, expressing interest in remaining partners with its two current partners, Disney (DIS) -) and Warner Bros. Discovery's (WBD) -).
"I would say we have great relationships with our current partners with Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery," Silver said. "It is my hope that they will be part of the future of this league."
Silver acknowledged that the Disney, which broadcasts NBA games on ABC and ESPN, and Warner Bros., which broadcasts games on TNT, are already in talks with the NBA despite the two sides having an exclusive negotiating period with the NBA in March and April.
The NBA has been partnered with TNT owner Warner Bros. Discovery and predecessor Turner since the 1980s, while Disney joined in starting the 2002-03 NBA season. Disney CEO Bob Iger has a long standing relationship with Silver, and was in attendance at the In-Season Tournament in Las Vegas.
Silver also recognized that both Disney and Warner Bros. are in the process of transitioning to streaming, and that was when he hinted that there could be other suitors for the NBA's rights.
"I should just say that they both those companies are in the process of morphing from more traditional broadcasters to streaming entities too, so positive conversations with them, but I know there's interest from other media companies as well," Silver said.
A CNBC report has suggested that the NBA could be looking for up to three suitors for its media rights deal, which leaves the door open for a company that already has some experience in the streaming space such as Amazon (AMZN) -) or Apple (AAPL) -).
Apple has made a splash with Apple TV+ and its partnership with Major League Soccer that has seen early success since the arrival of Lionel Messi in July.
Amazon has made moves nationally by broadcasting the NFL's "Thursday Night Football," but has also already made headway internationally by broadcasting the likes of the UEFA Champions League in Germany and Italy or cricket in Australia.
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In response to a question about the Diamond Sports bankruptcy, Silver noted that the broadcasting rights negotiations go far beyond national and regional rights.
"My view is for our national negotiations, we think those rights are incredibly valuable," Silver said. "Those local rights, there may be an opportunity to integrate those rights into a new national or for that matter, international package."
Netflix has not been reported to be in the mix for NBA rights, but the powerful streamer has slowly been pushing live sports in a more exhibition-style capacity. It started with the "Netflix Cup" last month that integrated athletes from Formula 1 and the PGA Tour in a celebrity golf cup that highlighted two of the streamer's popular sports documentaries, "Formula 1: Drive to Survive" and "Full Swing."
The company announced on Dec. 11 that it would have another live sports event, "The Netflix Slam," which will be an exhibition tennis match between top Spanish stars Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz. The event is scheduled for March 3, 2024.
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