Disney Gave Up Games in New NBA Deal to Get More International and Streaming Rights
Disney Gave Up Games in New NBA Deal to Get More International and Streaming Rights
Disney is preparing to launch several new ESPN streaming products soon, and has seemingly ensured it can put NBA games on those platforms.
There hasn’t been much talk surrounding ESPN’s next deal with the NBA of late. All of the conversations are centered on what will happen with Warner Bros. Discovery's portion of the Association's rights, but in the case of ESPN, no news is good news. The Disney-owned cable sports network agreed to the framework of a deal with the NBA before their exclusive negotiating window ended in April, an agreement that will see Disney pay at least $2.6 billion annually for the NBA’s “A” package, including regular season games and exclusive NBA Finals rights. A new report from the Sports Business Journal is now providing even more details about ESPN’s future pact with the league, including what the network had to give up in the deal and what expanded rights it’s getting in return.
Key Details:
- ESPN is paying more to get fewer games in the deal, as the league wanted to carve out a third games package to boost its revenues.
- In exchange, ESPN is getting expanded digital and international NBA rights, which will come in handy as it launches Venu Sports and a standalone streamer.
- More ESPN content is due to arrive on Disney+ later in 2024.
The new deal with the NBA will see ESPN broadcast fewer regular season games starting in the 2025-26 season. ABC and ESPN combined to offer more than 100 games during the 2023-24 season, but the reduction of inventory for the channel isn’t seen as “really meaningful,” according to SBJ.
The smaller package of regular season and playoff games was always going to be a necessity, as leading up to the negotiations, the NBA made it clear that it was trying to carve out a third bundle of games to sell in its next rights deal, meaning that the two existing packages would lose games following next season no matter what. As of now, Comcast has a deal framework in place to snag the “B” package of games for NBC and Peacock, and Amazon has a handshake agreement in place for the newly-created “C” package for distribution on Prime Video.
The report from SBJ indicates that even though ESPN will pay more money for a smaller inventory of games, it got something else in the latest deal that will be of great value to the channel over the 11-year agreement: expanded digital and international rights. More details on which precise rights were signed over to ESPN will be available when the contracts are formalized, but ESPN has ensured it will be in a good place with the NBA as it expands its streaming presence over the next few years.
What Are ESPN’s New Streaming Plans?
ESPN is launching several new streaming products before the start of the new NBA deal next fall, starting with the Venu Sports joint venture platform. The service is intended to launch in fall 2024, and will feature livestreams of 14 popular cable channels owned by Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery, including ESPN. The NFL has been dubious about the platform and has reportedly explored legal avenues for keeping its games off Venu, but expanded digital rights for ESPN in its new NBA deal likely points to those games continuing to be available on Venu when it launches.
Also in 2024, ESPN plans to launch a new tile on Disney+. This will likely come in the form of an add-on similar to the Bleacher Report Sports hub on Max, though it’s not yet clear just how many sporting events will play there, or if it will require a subscription to ESPN+, similar to how the Hulu on Disney+ one-app experience works. Any NBA games placed there this season won’t be embraced by the terms of ESPN’s new contract with the Association, since it takes hold in fall of 2025, but there may be expanded provisions allowing ESPN to stream games on other Disney-owned services going forward.
Finally, ESPN will launch a flagship standalone streaming service of its own with more sports offerings than ESPN+ currently provides in 2025. The service will likely cost between $25 and $30 per month, and will presumably feature everything now available to watch on the ESPN family of cable channels.
The waiting continues for the NBA to formalize its deals with its new media partners, as WBD and the league continue to tussle behind-the-scenes over the company’s matching rights to try and win back a package of games. Whether or not WBD is successful will have little effect on ESPN’s plans, as the channel has reportedly secured its future relationship with the NBA both on linear and digital platforms.
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