The NBA, which came into its national TV rights renegotiations hoping for a decade-plus-long deal worth around $75 billion, has reportedly achieved its goal.
The Wall Street Journal has reported that the league is very close to signing three major 11-year TV deals that will collectively pay it $76 billion.
Starting with the 2025-26 season, Disney and its ESPN division will reportedly pay an average of $2.6 billion a year to retain a package that includes the NBA Finals.
Comcast’s NBCUniversal unit, which broadcast its last NBA game 22 years ago, will pay $2.5 billion a season to see the league come back to its air with more than 100 live games, with about half of those streaming exclusively on subscription service Peacock.
Amazon, meanwhile, will pay $1.8 billion a season for a Prime Video streaming package that includes regular-season and postseason games, as well as a portion of the conference finals.
Also read: Zaslav: Warner Is Still a ‘Leader in Sports Around the World’ Without the NBA
Should the NBA sign these deals, it would leave behind incumbent Warner Bros. Discovery and its TNT network. WBD has insisted that its current contract includes rights to match offers made be Amazon and NBCU, so a court could ultimately decide if the aforementioned national TV configuration is ever actually consummated.
