Report: Amazon and NBA reach agreement on broadcast deal
The deal is expected to include regular season and playoff games
The NBA's next media rights deal has been a looming question as the league's contracts with ESPN and TNT expire after the 2024-25 season. Now we know that one new partner will be part of the package.
Amazon Prime Video and the NBA have agreed to the parameters of a deal that would make the streaming and retail giant a major platform for game telecasts, according to The Athletic's Andrew Marchand.
Amazon's deal would begin with the 2025-26 season and terms are expected to last for at least 10 years. Regular season and postseason games would be part of Prime Video's package, with the possibility of including some conference finals down the line. Global rights to NBA broadcasts could also be part of the package.
Financial terms of the deal have not been reported. ESPN reportedly paid $1.6 billion per year in its agreement, while TNT paid $1.2 billion per year.
ESPN/ABC also has the workings of a new deal in place, reports Puck's John Ourand. The network would maintain its "A package" of games, with ABC getting exclusive rights to the NBA Finals in an agreement that will also last for at least 10 years.
However, ESPN is expected to televise fewer games as part of its new package, with those broadcasts now available for another TV partner. The question now becomes whether that package stays with TNT or goes to NBC, which lost NBA broadcast rights in 2002. NBC presumably wants the NBA to provide inventory for its streaming platform Peacock. But that might now be less of a priority for the NBA with the Amazon deal in place.
Warner Bros. Discovery (corporate owner of TNT) has the right to match any deal, reports The Wall Street Journal. Losing NBA telecasts would create a major hole in the network's prime-time schedule. TNT (and TBS) have televised NBA games since 1984.
Amazon's NBA broadcasts could stream on Thursday nights. The NFL's Thursday Night Football streaming telecast currently runs from September to January. But to make up for not having those regular-season games, Amazon is expected to gain more playoff broadcasts.
Google is interested in carrying NBA League Pass, the league's out-of-market broadcast package, according to Puck.
