More Games on Streaming, League Pass to ESPN+: How the NBA’s Next Rights Deal is Shaping Up
The NBA could be seeking as much as three times the value of its current broadcasting contracts in its next deal, and companies like Apple and Amazon could be heavily involved.
The 2023-24 NBA season tips off at 7:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Oct. 24 when the Denver Nuggets host their 2022 Western Conference Final opponent Los Angeles Lakers from Ball Arena in Denver. There are a ton of fascinating young stars and captivating storylines to follow for essentially every team, but one part of the game fans might not be following as closely is the league’s negotiations for its next broadcast rights contract.
- The NBA could be seeking as much as $78 billion in its next rights contract.
- ESPN and TNT are looking to purchase smaller packages of games; the NBA may potentially swap the rights to NBA League Pass for an equity stake in ESPN when the channel moves to streaming.
- The NBA has spoken to Amazon and Apple about purchasing a streaming-only package of games; NBC has also expressed interest in acquiring some rights.
Who Wants to Play Ball?
The NBA’s current broadcasting deal was signed in 2014. It was a nine-year extension of the then-current contract with ESPN and Turner Sports and ensured those outlets would hold the league’s broadcasting rights until the end of the 2024-25 season. The total value of the extension over its life was $24 billion, and the league is expecting a big raise in its next deal.
How big? The Wall Street Journal reports that the figure could be as high as $78 billion, but also reports that TNT and ESPN are looking at purchasing a smaller package of games this time around. Both Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery are in cost-cutting mode at the moment, as each company grapples with dwindling cable subscribers and an expensive pivot to emphasizing their streaming platforms.
If that’s the case, how does the NBA intend to double or even triple the value of its current broadcast deals in the next round of negotiations? Word first began to circulate in March that the league wanted to sell a streaming-exclusive package of games in its next contract with providers, and that Apple and Amazon were expected to have interest. The Journal report confirms the league has been in contact with both companies as well as NBC, and each is eager to expand their sports offerings; Amazon currently hosts national broadcasts of “Thursday Night Football” on Prime Video and Apple created the MLS Season Pass app to host every Major League Soccer broadcast of the next decade.
WSJ also reports that Amazon has indicated to the league it would be more interested in acquiring a bundle of games if it could get local as well as national broadcast rights, thus allowing in-market as well as out-of-market viewers to watch. Currently, the broadcast rights to 15 NBA teams are held by Diamond Sports Group, the owner of Bally Sports regional sports networks which has been under Chapter 11 protections since March. The NBA would rather not have to take back all of the broadcasting rights to those teams this season, and has signaled a willingness to stomach some concessions rather than take on broadcasting duties for those teams itself. But the local rights revert back to the league at the end of the 2024-25 season, so outlets like Amazon could have a shot at landing them.
Could ESPN Trade a Minority Stake for NBA League Pass?
The report that ESPN wants to purchase a smaller package of games in its next pact with the NBA doesn’t mean that Disney wants to call it quits with the league. The Journal states that league officials have discussed offering ESPN the rights to its out-of-market games service NBA League Pass in exchange for a small equity stake in the channel. Disney has been reaching out to leagues, tech companies, and wireless providers to explore minority ownerships in ESPN as it tries to create a direct-to-consumer streaming version of the channel that will be available without a cable subscription.
ESPN has also reportedly discussed acquiring the rights to NFL+ and its live games, so there are plenty of options on the table as its number crunchers determine which partnerships will lead to the greatest distribution and user adoption. But there’s no doubt that having the NBA’s out-of-market games service onboard would be a considerable gain for an ESPN streaming platform that wants to market itself as all-inclusive.
The broadcast landscape is continuing to shift and evolve, but the NBA seems to recognize that streaming must be a key part of its media strategy. Its younger audience naturally gravitates to streaming anyway, and though there is less money to be made there than via the traditional cable model, the league can have its cake and eat it too by selling games to broadcast and cable channels as well as streaming services like Prime Video and Apple TV+ in its next rights contract.
Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Prime Video is a subscription video streaming service that includes on-demand access to 10,000+ movies, TV shows, and Prime Originals like “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” “Jack Ryan,” “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “The Boys,” and more. Subscribers can also add third-party services like Max, Showtime, STARZ, and dozens more with Amazon Prime Video Channels. Prime Video also offers exclusive live access to NFL Thursday Night Football.