The NBA, shocker, is fully embracing streaming in its next TV deal.
Amazon Prime Video has agreed to the parameters of a broadcasting contract with the league that will make the streaming giant one of the NBA's primary coverage partners beginning for a decade-long period beginning with the 2025-26 season, Andrew Marchand of The Athletic reported on Friday
“The NBA and Amazon Prime Video have the framework of a deal that will make the streaming service one of the main homes for the league’s games, executives with direct knowledge of the talks told The Athletic.
“It is expected that Prime Video’s package will include significant regular-season and postseason games, perhaps even some conference finals. The anticipation is that the final contract will be for at least a decade and begin the 2025-2026 season.”
The league's tentative deal with Prime Video is hardly surprising given its recent dip into the increasingly deep pool of streaming services. HBO Max, owned by parent media conglomerate Warner Bros. along with longtime NBA partner TNT, began offering subscribers live games on the platform for the 2023-24 season.
News of Amazon Prime Video's agreement with the NBA comes on the heels of prior reporting from Puck that ESPN/ABC also has a deal in place to remain one of the league's primary broadcasters once current TV contracts expire following the 2024-25 season. Its new arrangement with the NBA is expected keep ESPN/ABC as the exclusive provider for the NBA Finals over the duration of a contract that—like Amazon's—is at least 10 years in length.
TNT facing off with NBC for final NBA broadcast deal
The NBA reportedly prefers to include three companies in its new TV deal, though is open to the possibility of adding a fourth. Veteran league partner TNT Sports is in the catbird seat for that third slot, though fan favorite former broadcaster NBC—owned by Comcast—is also a candidate to host games, according to The Athletic.
“The advancement in the Amazon and ESPN talks leaves incumbent Warner Bros. Discovery, which owns network TNT Sports, to face off with NBC, owned by Comcast, for the likely last package of games. Warner Bros. Discovery has the right to match deals, but NBC could structure an agreement in a way that makes it difficult.
“While there is still work to be completed for the final arrangements, the current packages are going to be pruned slightly to create the third partner. In one arrangement, ESPN will cut down from around 100 games to around 80, according to executives briefed on the talks.”
Commissioner Adam Silver telegraphed the NBA's inevitable venture into streaming services at All-Star Weekend, noting the “global reach” of companies like Amazon Prime and Netflix while appealing to the increasing popularity of streamers among young people, the league's target demographic.
It’s too early to say if we’ll be distributed exclusively on streaming services, but I should point out that some of those streaming services have the largest distribution in the country,” Silver told Shaun Powell of NBA.com. “If you look at the magnitude of Netflix distribution or Amazon Prime or Disney, these services are surpassing traditional cable and satellite companies.
“In addition, our young fans turn first to their phones and not to a television when they want to watch a program. The opportunity is to do a better job over time.”
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