NBA Board of Governors Approves Rights Deals for Broadcasting

The National Basketball Association’s Board of Governors Approves Rights Deals

The National Basketball Association’s Board of Governors has officially approved a series of agreements for the broadcasting rights of the league’s games, announced Commissioner Adam Silver on Tuesday. This significant development marks a crucial step towards finalizing deals that will redefine the viewing experience of basketball over the next decade.

While refraining from disclosing specific financial terms or the involved companies, reports have indicated that Disney, Comcast, and Amazon are on the verge of securing agreements with the league. TNT, a long-standing broadcaster of N.B.A. games under the ownership of Warner Bros. Discovery, has expressed concerns about potentially losing broadcasting rights after the upcoming season, which is the final year covered by the current nine-year TV contract.

Collectively, the companies are anticipated to pay approximately $76 billion to the N.B.A. over an 11-year period. ESPN is expected to contribute around $2.6 billion annually, NBC approximately $2.5 billion, and Amazon roughly $1.8 billion, as per sources familiar with the negotiations.

At the annual meeting in Las Vegas, the Board of Governors gave its approval for the proposed deals. Following this, the N.B.A. will need to present the agreements to Warner Bros. Discovery, giving the company a five-day window to match one of the offers in order to retain its involvement.

Commissioner Silver stated, “We did approve this stage of those media proposals, but as you all know there are other rights that need to be worked through with existing partners.”

Insiders suggest that Warner Bros. Discovery is likely to make an effort to match Amazon’s bid to secure the rights, emphasizing the delicate and competitive nature of the ongoing negotiations.