NBC dropped the NBA in 2002 but the current agreement with the broadcasters ends in 2025 and everyone is positioning themselves for the next TV rights negotiations.
Currently, the deal negotiated in 2014 brings in $2.6 billion per year for the NBA. Except that with the arrival of new players (Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+) on the streaming market, Adam Silver can hope to double or even triple this amount, especially since he will be able to encourage competition between the different groups …
“NBC and I have a long history with the NBA, dating back to my years at Turner”, Mark Lazarus just explainedthe brand new president of NBC Sports. “It’s a wonderful product in the United States and around the world. This is a great value product [qui est] culturally relevant, in a way that other sports may not be, [et] which is aimed at several generations, which intrigues us. But we are not an incumbent, so the process will happen as it should.”
The renegotiations will thus open on March 9, 2024, with first a 45-day window during which the NBA will only be able to negotiate with its current broadcasters, The Walt Disney Company (ESPN/ESPN+/ABC) and Warner Bros. Discovery (TNT/NBA TV/Max). Only if no agreement is sealed during this period will other broadcasters be able to join the race.
Despite everything, Mark Lazarus recalls that NBC will not go out of its way to recover the NBA, especially since the company must already renew its agreements with NASCAR or WWE.
“Our priorities are to conclude agreements with leagues of which we are the historical operator. That said, we have reached long-term agreements with the NFL, Big Ten, Olympics and Premier League. We have invested a lot and will continue to invest in sport.”
