The NBA is poised to secure a monumental $76 billion media agreement that marks a significant shift in the landscape of sports broadcasting. In what will be the league’s first television negotiations in a decade, major players such as NBC, Amazon, and Disney are contributing substantial sums, reshaping the dynamics of the sports-rights market.
This windfall from the agreements is expected to boost the NBA’s annual revenues by 2.5 times, reaching approximately $7 billion. Such an increase could potentially propel the annual salaries of top players to over $100 million, given that players receive a share in 51% of the league’s revenue.
Breaking down the figures, NBC is set to pay $2.5 billion per year for the rights to broadcast 100 games annually, with half of them exclusively available on Peacock, a significant coup for the streaming platform. Amazon will contribute $1.8 billion annually for streaming regular-season and playoff games on Prime Video, along with the opportunity to showcase the conference finals.
Disney’s agreement entails an annual payment of $2.6 billion, granting exclusive rights to the NBA Finals and a reduced number of regular-season games compared to its previous package. Additionally, Disney will have the flexibility to broadcast games on ESPN’s forthcoming streaming service.
Although Warner Bros. Discovery has not yet secured any rights packages, they retain the option to match any offers that arise, given their historical association with airing NBA games.
