NBA ($76B), WNBA ($2.2B) Officially Sign 11-Year Deals With Disney, NBCU, Prime
Wednesday, July 24, 2024 at 06:03PM By Barry Janoff
UPDATED July 26, 2024: ESPN: Warner Bros. Discovery filed a lawsuit against the NBA on Friday, alleging that the league breached its contract by declining its offer for a new media rights deal and instead signing with Amazon.
The lawsuit was filed in New York Supreme Court, and a summons obtained by ESPN stated that the NBA has 20 days to respond.
"Given the NBA's unjustified rejection of our matching of a third-party offer, we have taken legal action to enforce our rights," TNT Sports said in a statement Friday.
"We strongly believe this is not just our contractual right, but also in the best interest of fans who want to keep watching our industry-leading NBA content with the choice and flexibility we offer them through our widely distributed WBD video-first distribution platforms — including TNT and Max."
"Warner Bros. Discovery's claims are without merit, and our lawyers will address them," NBA spokesperson Mike Bass said Friday. (Full story here.)
July 24, 2024: The NBA said today it has officially renewed its media deal with The Walt Disney Company and signed new agreements with NBCUniversal (NBC Sports) and Amazon's Prime Video, which also encompasses renewed and new pacts for the WNBA.
The pacts will see ABC/ESPN, NBC/Peacock and Prime Video telecast NBA and WNBA games beginning with the 2025-26 season and run through the 2035-36 season.
Left out was TNT Sports, which said in a statement, "We will take appropriate action."
The NBA did not disclose finances, but the three deals were put at $76 billion by industry analysts, about $6.9 billion per season, versus the league’ current contracts, nine years for $24 billion at an average of $2.7 billion annually.
The new alliance would cost Walt Disney Co, platforms $2.6 billion per year, Under the current nine-year deal, which expires next season, ESPN/ABC pay $1.4 billion per year, according to industry analysts.
NBC, which aired NBA games from 1990-2002, would pay $2.5 billion per year, with games also streaming on Peacock; Amazon’s Prime Video would pay an estimated $1.8 billion per year, also according to analysts.
The league also said the NBA App would be a “universal access point — seamlessly directing fans to every national game on Disney, NBCU and Amazon platforms.”
“These partners will distribute our content across a wide range of platforms and help transform the fan experience over the next decade.”
The NBA also said Disney, NBCU and Amazon's Prime Video also secured the right to distribute an “unprecedented” number of WNBA live game telecasts, with a significant increase in the reach of WNBA games across broadcast, cable and streaming.
The NBA did not disclose WNBA finances, but were put at $2.2 billion by industry analysts. (See related WNBA story here.)
NBCU will also be the home of all USA Basketball Senior Men’s and Women’s National Team games.
“Our new global media agreements with Disney, NBCUniversal and Amazon will maximize the reach and accessibility of NBA games for fans in the United States and around the world,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said via the league.
“These partners will distribute our content across a wide range of platforms and help transform the fan experience over the next decade.”
The NBA said the new media deals would expand the reach of its telecasts, with all national games available on broadly distributed streaming services — Prime Video, Peacock and ESPN’s forthcoming direct-to-consumer service —and with signifiant increased exposure on broadcast television.
Approximately 75 regular-season games will be on broadcast TV each season, up from the minimum of 15 games under the current agreement.
Warner Bros. Discovery earlier this week informed the NBA it would match the reported $1.8 billion per year offer by Amazon Prime Video. Turner has had an NBA package since 1984 and games have been on TNT Sports since the network launched in 1988.
The league said it has decided to go with the Amazon Prime Video offer, leaving TNT Sports out after the upcoming 2024-25 campaign.
“Warner Bros. Discovery’s most recent proposal did not match the terms of Amazon Prime Video’s offer and, therefore, we have entered into a long-term arrangement with Amazon,” the league said in a statement.
“Throughout these negotiations, our primary objective has been to maximize the reach and accessibility of our games for our fans. Our new arrangement with Amazon supports this goal by complementing the broadcast, cable and streaming packages that are already part of our new Disney and NBCUniversal arrangements.
“All three partners have also committed substantial resources to promote the league and enhance the fan experience.
“We are grateful to Turner Sports for its award-winning coverage of the NBA and look forward to another season of the NBA on TNT.”
The response: "We have matched the Amazon offer, as we have a contractual right to do, and do not believe the NBA can reject it," TNT Sports said in a statement. "We will take appropriate action."
Under the new deals, Disney (ABC/ESPN) will distribute a total of 80 NBA regular-season games per season, including more than 20 games on ABC (generally on Saturday nights with NBA Saturday Primetime and on Sunday afternoons with NBA Sunday Showcase) and up to 60 games on ESPN (generally on Wednesday nights and, on occasion, Friday nights).
ABC/ESPN will continue to telecast all five NBA games on Christmas Day and provide exclusive national coverage of the final day of the regular season.
During the playoffs, ABC/ESPN will telecast approximately 18 games in the first two rounds each year and one of the two Conference Finals series in ten of the 11 years of the agreement. ABC will remain the exclusive home of the NBA Finals, which it has broadcast since 2003.
ABC/ESPN will continue to telecast the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game, NBA Draft, NBA Draft Lottery and half of all NBA Summer League games. ABC/ESPN platforms will also continue to distribute a package of WNBA and NBA G League regular-season and postseason games.
NBC will become the home of NBA All-Star, including Rising Stars, State Farm All-Star Saturday Night, featuring AT&T Slam Dunk, Starry 3-Point Contest and Kia Skills Challenge, and the All-Star Game.
In the playoffs, NBC and/or Peacock will telecast approximately 28 games in the first two rounds of the playoffs, with at least half of those games airing on NBC. NBC will also telecast one of the two Conference Finals series in six of the 11 years on a rotating basis with Prime Video, beginning with the 2025-26 season.
With this agreement, NBCU also acquires the rights to Team USA Men’s and Women’s games leading into the Olympics in 2028 (Los Angeles), 2032 (Brisbane), and 2036 (TBD), as well as women’s pre-FIBA World Cup games (2026, 2030 and 2034) and men’s pre-FIBA World Cup games (2027, 2031 and 2035), the majority of which will be exclusive to Peacock.
Peacock will stream a NBA doubleheader each Monday night of the season.
NBCU's Telemundo Deportes Spanish-language station will present ten games each season, including the All-Star Game.
In the playoffs, NBC and/or Peacock will telecast approximately 28 games in the first two rounds of the playoffs, with at least half of those games airing on NBC. NBC will also telecast one of the two Conference Finals series in six of the 11 years on a rotating basis with Amazon, beginning with the 2025-26 season.
Xfinity, a division of NBCU parent company Comcast Communications, will become the “official TV service of the NBA, WNBA and USA Basketball.” This partnership includes “collaboration on marketing and storytelling opportunities, virtual signage during game telecasts and activations at marquee NBA, WNBA and USA Basketball events.”
Amazon will distribute 66 NBA regular-season games on Prime Video each season, including Thursday night doubleheaders beginning in January, Friday evening doubleheaders, select Saturday afternoon games, at least one game on Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving), and the Quarterfinals and Semifinals in the Knockout Round of the Emirates NBA Cup.
In addition, Prime Video will distribute all six SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament games and will stream the Championship Game of the in-season Emirates NBA Cup.
In the playoffs, Prime Video will stream approximately one-third of the first and second rounds each year.
Prime Video will also stream one of the two Conference Finals series in six of the 11 years on a rotating basis with NBCU, beginning with the 2026-27 NBA season.
Momentous Boost: WNBA Renews Pacts With Disney, Prime Video, Adds NBCU
NBA Media Deals To Top $76B, WNBA $2B, Adding NBC, Prime Video To ESPN
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