A blog banner featuring the NBA's new media partners when the new media rights deal begins in 2025-26. (Tamir Moore/Canva)
Wednesday, November 20, 2024
Highlights:
- The NBA's television and media landscape is set to undergo a major shakeup with the announcement of the league's new media rights deal. Starting in 2025-26, Turner Sports will no longer carry games with NBC Sports set to return to the national NBA stage & Amazon Prime Video streaming NBA games nationally for the very first time.
- Disney (ABC/ESPN) remains the exclusive home of the NBA Finals presented by YouTube TV (ABC), Christmas Day, ESPN games on Wednesdays and select Fridays, NBA Saturday Primetime on ABC and ABC Sunday Showcase packages.
- NBCUniversal (NBC Sports) to telecast Opening Night, new Sunday night primetime games and Tuesday regionalized games, Peacock games on Mondays and NBA All-Star Weekend.
- Prime Video to stream Emirates NBA Cup games, SoFi NBA Play-in Tournament and games on Thursday and Friday nights.
- Agreements include more national games than ever before on broadcast television (ABC, NBC).
The National Basketball Association (NBA) has announced the resumption of a longstanding relationship with the Walt Disney Company (ABC/ESPN), alongside brand-new agreements with NBCUniversal (NBC) and Amazon Prime Video. With those details out of the way, ABC/ESPN, NBC/Peacock and Prime Video will telecast NBA games beginning with the 2025-26 season and going through the 2035-36 season.
Before we continue, let's acknowledge the heartbreaking reality 😢 of this newly formed NBA media world. Turner Sports (TNT) is set to end their 41-year run televising NBA games in the United States during the spring of 2025. However, TNT Sports will pick up new rights to air games internationally next season (albeit those games will feature commentators specific to those regions, not commentators like Brian Anderson, Kevin Harlan, Ian Eagle, Spero Dedes, Reggie Miller, Stan Van Gundy, Candace Parker, etc.). For all intents and purposes, the NBA on TNT will end following the 2024-25 season. Thank you, TNT, for everything that you have done for the NBA. You will be certainly missed 😞.
A brief biographical note prior to me getting back into the article, I grew up watching TNT from the time that I was around seven or eight years old to now at 25 years old. I enjoyed TNT's commentators and Inside the NBA. I am saddened to see TNT no longer carrying games 😢.
Anyways, the new media rights deal allows the NBA to grow the audience base for game telecasts, with all national games available on broadly carried streaming services, Peacock and Prime Video. Plus, there is a note about the expansion of game coverage on broadcast television. Around 75 games will be carried on broadcast television each season, up from the 15 minimum under the current contract.
The following are statements from NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro, Comcast Corporation president Mike Cavanagh & Head of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios Mike Hopkins:
“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,” said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. “These partners will distribute our content across a wide range of platforms and help transform the fan experience over the next decade.”
“We look forward to building upon our incredible legacy of innovation and growth with our longstanding partners at the NBA,” said ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro. “The NBA is a vibrant, ascendant league and through this premium collection of rights, including every NBA Finals on our platforms, we will continue to evolve together while successfully navigating the global digital transition and delivering the highest quality coverage for fans.”
“We are proud to once again partner with the NBA and WNBA, two iconic brands and the home of the best basketball in the world,” said Mike Cavanagh, President of Comcast Corporation. “We look forward to presenting our best-in-class coverage of both leagues with our innovative programming and distribution plan across NBC and Peacock to entertain fans and help grow the game.”
“We are honored that the NBA has entrusted Prime Video to deliver its one-of-a-kind action and excitement to viewers around the world,” said Mike Hopkins, Head of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios. “We look forward to continuing to innovate and evolve live sports coverage for our customers, and are fully committed to building an incredible video experience for millions of NBA fans starting in 2025.”
Disney, NBC Universal, and Amazon also secured rights to an unparalleled amount of WNBA live game broadcasts, with a major increase in the frequency that WNBA games are shown on over-the-air television. More details regarding this will be put out in a seperate press release later.
The Walt Disney Company (NBA on ABC/NBA on ESPN):
Disney (ABC/ESPN) will dispense a grand total of 80 NBA regular-season games per season during the life of the agreement. This includes more than 20 games on ABC (generally on Saturday nights with NBA Saturday Primetime on ABC and Sunday afternoons with NBA Sunday Showcase on ABC) and up to 60 games on ESPN (generally on Wednesday nights, and on occasion, Friday nights). ABC/ESPN will continue to serve as the exclusive television home of Christmas Day, televising all five games scheduled for the annual holiday on December 25. Furthermore, ESPN will televise a doubleheader on the final day of the NBA's regular season.
When the postseason comes around in the spring, ABC/ESPN will have the rights to 18 NBA Playoff telecasts during the first two rounds each year and one of the two Conference Final series in 10 of the 11 years of the agreement (ESPN/ABC will NOT have a Conference Final during one of these 11 seasons). As been the case since 2003, ABC will still hang on to exclusive rights to air the NBA Finals presented by YouTube TV.
ABC/ESPN will continue to air the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game, NBA Draft, NBA Draft Lottery and half of all NBA Summer League games. ABC/ESPN platforms will carry on with giving out a package of WNBA games as well. By the end of this 11-year renewal, NBA games would have been on a ESPN platform for 34 years.
NBCUniversal (NBA on NBC/NBA on Peacock):
NBCUniversal (NBC/Peacock) will distribute up to 100 NBA regular season games every season - with more than half of these games winding up on the NBC broadcast network (Sunday night package beginning in January + Tuesday regionalized broadcasts) & the remaining broadcasts being allotted to Peacock for coverage there (Monday nights). NBCUniversal will televise the Opening Night doubleheader each season and at least two MLK Jr. Day games on NBC and/or Peacock each season.
Peacock is set to host streams of NBA games every single Monday night during the regular season. Every Tuesday night during the year, NBC will telecast two games across certain NBC affiliate broadcast stations in different regions of the country. The first game will tip-off at 8:00 PM ET (7:00 PM CT/6:00 PM MT/5:00 PM PT) and will be made available in the Eastern and Central Time Zones. The second game will tip-off at 11:00 PM ET (10:00 PM CT/9:00 PM MT/8:00 PM PT) and will be made available in the Mountain and Pacific Time Zones. All Tuesday games will be available stream to Peacock and certain NBC stations have a option to televise both Tuesday night games if they choose to do so.
NBC will become the home of NBA All-Star Weekend, 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 broadcast around 28 games during the first two rounds of the playoffs, with at least half of these games getting assigned to NBC. NBC will televise one of the Conference Finals in a rotation with Amazon Prime Video in six of the 11 seasons, beginning in 2025-26.
Moreover, NBCUniversal will televise WNBA games.
Amazon (NBA on Prime Video):
Amazon will transmit 66 NBA regular season games on Prime Video every season, including Thursday night doubleheaders beginning in January (once Thursday Night Football ends), 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. Not to mention that Amazon Prime Video will exclusively stream the Championship Game of the Emirates NBA Cup.
Prime Video will also receive the rights to all six SoFi NBA Play-in Tournament games. In the playoffs, Prime Video will stream approximately one-third (28 games or so) of the first and second rounds each year. Likewise, Prime Video will exclusively stream one of the two Conference Finals series on a rotating basis with NBCUniversal, beginning with the 2026-27 season.
Equally important, Prime Video will possess a package of WNBA games to stream as well. Plus, Prime Video will stream half of the NBA Summer League games during the length of the broadcast agreement (with ESPN and their family of platforms) getting the rest.
|| 🛈 Sources: NBA Communications, ESPN Press Room (ABC/ESPN), NBC Sports Press Box (NBC Sports) & Amazon MGM Studios (Amazon Prime Video)
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Can't believe TNT's done with the NBA. I'm pretty upset that Amazon and Peacock are getting games now, because it's hard for fans to watch games if they don't have those services. Unless they do what the NFL does and put the games on local ABC/FOX/CBS/NBC affiliates.
ReplyDelete@Mark T. Mark, I can't believe it, either. I grew up watching the NBA on TNT (as I mention in the article). Adam Silver, the NBA commissioner, has been looking for an excuse for many years now to NBA games behind a paywall. Once David Zaslav, the CEO and president of Warner Brothers Discovery (WBD) [the company that oversees Turner Sports], said the famous quote: "We don't have to have the NBA" a few years ago [back in 2022], that all but sealed Turner's fate.
DeleteAnd now, thanks to David Zaslav putting words in his mouth, streaming services are going to be more regulated. Thanks, David. Mark, you and I agree that all games should be available on cable and broadcast, not streaming.
Unfortunately, the NBA is now going to promote streaming like crazy. I will hope that the NBA considers what the NFL does by putting games on Peacock and Prime Video on local stations. Because if not, most people will be screwed over and it's not even their own fault.
So what does this mean for TNT's broadcasters?
Delete@Mark T. Mark, that is a very good question. Well, some of TNT's broadcasters are going to transition to other sports on Turner Sports' portfolio, including the NHL, MLB, and college sports (CFB/CBB). Some of TNT's broadcasters are probably going to NBC and or Amazon, the two new broadcasters for NBA games starting next season. In the case of the studio team (EJ/Kenny/Chuck/Shaq), they're heading to ABC/ESPN as I mentioned in an article published this week.
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