ESPN, NBA Have Reportedly ‘Essentially Come to Terms’ on New Deal; Warner Bros. Discovery Still Negotiating with League
Ourand reports that ESPN/ABC will indeed have a smaller package of games than they did under the terms of their last broadcast deal.
The NBA appears to be ready to commit to another decade of broadcasting on ABC and ESPN. John Ourand of Puck News reports this week that a deal between ESPN and the NBA for broadcast rights to the league beginning in the 2025-26 season is very close, and that while nothing has been signed yet, ESPN will likely keep itself in a good position to launch two new streaming products in the next two years by keeping one of its most important sports partners in the fold.
Key Details:
- Ourand says the NBA has “essentially come to terms” on a deal with ESPN.
- ESPN/ABC will get a smaller package of games in the deal, but will get exclusive rights to the NBA Finals.
- Warner Bros. Discovery is not as far along as ESPN in talks with the league, but discussions have been “productive.”
There’s still some work to be done between ESPN and the NBA, but Ourand reports that the two sides have “essentially come to terms” on an agreement that will see the league stay on ABC and ESPN for the next decade. A key point for ESPN was the ability to guarantee exclusive NBA Finals rights for ABC, which appears to shoot down the possibility of that series streaming on Prime Video as Amazon reportedly wanted, or for the finals to be split with NBC, who reportedly was angling for that to be included in its potential return to NBA broadcasting.
There will be a third package of NBA games for Amazon or another outlet to pursue, however. Ourand reports that ESPN will have a lower game inventory as part of its new deal with the league, in order to create another bundle of games the Association can sell to a streaming partner. ESPN and ABC split a total of 100 games between them in the 2023-24 season, and we here at The Streamable has predicted its annual inventory under the terms of the next deal would trim down to 85.
Getting the NBA locked up is a highly important move for ESPN. The channel is launching a joint venture streaming platform with Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery this fall that will be centered on sports, and will also roll out a standalone ESPN streamer with all the sports content found on its linear family of channels in 2025 as a Disney+ add-on. The NBA is highly popular, especially among younger audiences, and losing it would hurt the value of both ESPN streaming products immensely.
Is Warner Bros. Discovery Also Close to a Deal with the NBA?
Ourand’s report also mentions that WBD is not as far along in negotiations with the Association as ESPN is, but that discussions have been “productive.” Similar to ESPN, WBD’s package will be smaller to create inventory for a third package of national games.
WBD also has the right to match any deal struck between the NBA and another broadcaster, which could have implications for NBC/Peacock. Ourand reports that NBC has been “aggressive” in its pursuit of the league and that its interest has a greater effect on WBD than ESPN.
Other tidbits from Ourand’s report include an update that Amazon “still has a ways to go to work out a deal,” but that it’s still “likely” to land a package of games. Talks between Amazon and the NBA have included some local rights, though Ourand cautions that it’s still too early in the process to make a final say on how that will turn out. Amazon’s interest in local NBA rights was first reported in November, and its promised investment in Diamond Sports Group could allow NBA games appearing on Bally Sports networks to stream on Prime Video Channels going forward.
One final wrinkle in Ourand’s report is that the NBA still has open lines of communication with Netflix and Google, though its discussions with other outlets are further along. Google reportedly wants to secure the rights to NBA League Pass, which would give it a second out-of-market games service from a major sports league after it closed a deal to acquire the rights to NFL Sunday Ticket in December 2022.
From the sound of things, a new deal between the NBA and ESPN could be announced any day now. The league is still working with other partners to hammer out the full details of its next contract, but all signs point to the league achieving its goal of doubling the value of its last national broadcast deal.
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