The NBA may not be happy about the NFL adding Christmas Day to its schedule, but the leagues' new media rights deal puts them on roughly equal financial footing.
of NBA's 11-year, $76 billion contract The deal would take effect in the 2025-26 season. The contract has the same number of years as the NFL's most recent contract, which begins in the 2023 season.
The ESPN/ABC, NBC and Amazon Prime Video deals average $6.9 billion per season. The NFL averages $10 billion per year, but that's with five networks. Depending on how TNT Sports does, the NBA could cross the $7 billion threshold.
The NFL continues to command the most attention thanks to ratings and advertising power, with the NBA a solid second and a shot at the top revenue thanks to its younger viewership and wealth of content.
When will this be finalized?
That won't happen for at least two weeks. The NBA has a board of governors meeting in Las Vegas next week that could approve the deal, and once the league sends the completed contract to TNT Sports, it has five days to finalize either deal.
Does TNT Sports have a chance?
Very few, and if the NBA really wanted to keep one of its traditional partners in the game, they could have come up with a limited fourth game package by now.
With TNT's recent acquisitions of the French Open, the early stages of the College Football Playoff, the Big East and the Mountain West, owner Warner Bros. Discovery appears to be preparing for the absence of the NBA in the fall of 2025. Turner Sports has been broadcasting the NBA since 1984.
TNT Sports pays $1.4 billion per season, and given the value of the three proposed packages, Prime Video rights are likely what the company will try to match.
Why are the contracts so long?
Leagues are looking for financial stability, and for rights-holding networks and media companies, live sports remains a prime asset for advertisers.
How does this benefit fans?
You might need to check your channel guide more frequently, but there will be nightly national NBA telecasts on either ABC, ESPN, NBC, Peacock or Prime Video during the final three months of the regular season.
Who has the top package?
ESPN and ABC will continue to broadcast the league's biggest matchups and the NBA Finals.
The NBA will have two broadcast partners for the first time, but Walt Disney Co. is adamant about giving up co-broadcast rights to the Finals. The annual cost to Disney is $2.6 billion, just under the $2.7 billion per season it pays the NFL for “Monday Night Football,” the two playoffs and the Super Bowls in 2027 and 2031.
The current nine-year contract, which expires next season, will pay ESPN/ABC $1.4 billion annually.
Welcome, NBC
The network, which aired all six of Michael Jordan's championships with the Chicago Bulls and the first three championships that Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant won with the Los Angeles Lakers, will return after airing games from 1990-2002.
NBC will air its Sunday night game package following the conclusion of the NFL regular season and NBA All-Star Weekend, will broadcast regular Tuesday night games and will stream its Monday game package on Peacock.
NBC's contracts average $2.5 billion per season, more than the $2 billion it pays for the NFL's “Sunday Night Football.”
Does this mean “Roundball Rock” is coming back?
Yes, but you won't have to wait until the fall of 2025 as NBC has been licensed to broadcast basketball during the Olympics.
Will the NBA enter the streaming world?
Yes, it will be available on Prime Video. It will stream Thursday night games after the NFL regular season ends, as well as Friday and Saturday games.
Prime Video will also be the primary network for in-season tournaments, paying an average of $1.8 billion per season (its current contract with the NFL averages $1.1 billion per year).
With ABC broadcasting the NBA Finals, who will be broadcasting the rest of the playoffs?
All networks will broadcast games in the first two rounds, while ESPN/ABC will broadcast one series per season for the conference finals, with NBC and Amazon Prime Video alternating to broadcast the other series.
What does this mean for the NBA?
Labor peace has been achieved with a new collective bargaining agreement, and media rights are soon to be finalized, which will expand the league by at least two teams to 32. The expansion dollars will provide a significant financial benefit to the teams.
For players, that means the league's salary cap will increase by 10% each year — prepare for the possibility that top players could be making nearly $100 million per season by the mid-2030s.
Is the WNBA involved in this rights deal?
Yes, all three partners will broadcast the games. ESPN/ABC and Prime Video already broadcast the games, while NBC will return to broadcasting the WNBA following its first six seasons (1997-2002). It's still possible that the WNBA could add more partners, as it has done in recent seasons.
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AP Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds contributed to this report.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
