The NBA has reached a groundbreaking new national television deal, poised to dramatically reshape the landscape of basketball broadcasting. The agreement, valued at an unprecedented $76 billion, spans 11 years and introduces several new partners to the NBA's media family, including a media company, a broadcasting company, and a streaming service.
Set to commence with the 2025-26 season, this new deal will significantly bolster the NBA's coffers, exponentially increasing the league's revenues compared to the current nine-year, $24 billion deal, which will conclude at the end of the 2024-25 season. The implications of this financial windfall are vast, not only enriching franchise values but also impacting player salaries and team expenditures.
Continued and Expanded Partnerships
Among the major highlights, ABC and ESPN will retain their rights to broadcast the NBA Finals, ensuring continuity in presenting the season's most critical games. Additionally, ABC/ESPN will cover one of the two conference finals series in 10 out of the 11 years covered by the agreement. Fans can also look forward to ABC/ESPN's continued coverage of marquee events such as Christmas Day games, high-profile Saturday and Sunday regular-season matchups, and approximately 18 games in the first two rounds of the postseason each year.
New Broadcast Players on the Block
With Warner Bros. Discovery and Turner Sports stepping away from the new agreement, other broadcasting and streaming giants are stepping in to fill the gap. One broadcasting company, whose name has yet to be disclosed, will now cover one of the conference finals series six times over the span of the agreement. This broadcaster will also televise events like the All-Star Game, NBA All-Star Saturday night, opening night, and Sunday night primetime games. Moreover, either the broadcaster or its streaming service will air around 28 games in the initial two rounds of the playoffs each season.
Amazon’s Prime Video has secured a significant role in the new deal, set to stream one of the conference finals series in six out of the 11 years, broadcasting NBA Cup games and Play-In Tournament games, and streaming roughly one-third of both the first and second postseason rounds annually. Prime Video's inclusion marks a pivotal shift towards the increasing significance of streaming platforms in sports broadcasting.
Implications for the NBA
As the new deal promises to increase the NBA's annual national media income by approximately 2.6 times, the overall financial health and competitive dynamics of the league are projected to improve significantly. The combined earnings of the 30 NBA teams were around $10.6 billion in 2023, with national television revenue being a primary contributor. The new agreement is expected to elevate these figures, driving an increase in both franchise values and player salaries.
However, the league will maintain its current salary cap protocols, ensuring that the salary cap cannot rise to more than 10% per year. Projections indicate that the cap is likely to hit this maximum increase annually starting from the 2025 offseason.
Statements from the NBA
Echoing the sentiment of progress and expansion, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver stated, "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. These partners will distribute our content across a wide range of platforms and help transform the fan experience over the next decade."
Throughout this evolution, the NBA has emphasized fan accessibility and broad content distribution. "Throughout these negotiations, our primary objective has been to maximize the reach and accessibility of our games for our fans," the NBA remarked. Furthermore, the league expressed gratitude towards its longstanding partner Turner Sports, whose award-winning coverage has been a staple since 1989. "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 NBA added.
The upcoming season will be a transitional period, anticipated to be the final one for "Inside the NBA" in its current form, marking the end of an era for a beloved program. Despite these changes, the future of NBA broadcasting appears robust and expansive, ushering in a new age of viewing experiences for basketball enthusiasts globally.