Jul 24, 2024 - Business

NBA strikes $77B TV deals with Disney, Comcast and Amazon

Tim Baysinger

Jalen Brunson #11 of the New York Knicks dribbles the ball during the game against the Philadelphia 76ers during Round 1 Game 6 of the 2024 NBA Playoffs on May 2, 2024 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia — Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks dribbles the ball during the game against the Philadelphia 76ers during Round 1 Game 6 of the 2024 NBA Playoffs on May 2 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. Photo: Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

The NBA has signed new 11-year media rights deals with Disney, Comcast and Amazon that are worth a combined $77 billion.

Why it matters: The new contracts are a hefty increase over the NBA's current TV deal and represent the biggest change to the league's TV presence in decades.

Zoom in: The contracts will begin with the 2025-26 season and run through the 2035-36 season, the league announced Wednesday.

The NBA announced the new deals following a last-ditch attempt from Warner Bros. Discovery to match Amazon's deal, which was rejected by the NBA.
"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 league said.
Financial details were not disclosed, but a source with knowledge of the deal terms confirmed $77 billion to Axios, a three-fold increase from its current deal, after multiple reports pegged the total value to be $76 billion,
Comcast and Amazon will join incumbent Disney in carrying NBA games. TNT, the league's longest-tenured rights holder, will no longer broadcast NBA games after next season.
Amazon gives the league its first streaming-only partner and Comcast's NBC has a celebrated history of airing the league throughout the 1990s during the height of the Michael Jordan era.

Between the lines: Far more games will be on streaming and broadcast television after more than 20 years of cable networks being the main home for games.

Disney's ABC will remain the home for the NBA Finals and will have one of the conference finals for 10 of the 11 years of the deal.

Amazon will be the exclusive home of the NBA Cup, the league's in-season tournament and have a significant amount of regular season and playoff games, including a conference final in five of the years.
Comcast will have games on both NBC and Peacock, including All-Star weekend coverage and a conference final in five of the years as well.

The big picture: Leagues are slicing up their rights to more partners than ever as a way to increase their total payout.

Much of that is coming from deep-pocketed tech giants like Amazon, Apple, YouTube and Netflix.
For Amazon, the NBA deal is the latest salvo in the tech behemoth's growing sports portfolio, which also includes the NFL, WNBA and, starting next year, NASCAR.

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NBA strikes $77B TV deals with Disney, Comcast and Amazon

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