New Challengers Emerge in the Race for NBA Media Rights: Amazon, NBC, and More

The upcoming NBA media rights deal has been a topic of much speculation, with the league’s contracts with ESPN and TNT set to expire after the 2024-25 season. Now, we have learned that Amazon Prime Video will be joining the package as a new partner. According to Andrew Marchand of The Athletic, Amazon’s deal with the NBA will begin with the 2025-26 season and is expected to last for at least 10 years.

The financial details of the agreement have not been disclosed, but it is reported that ESPN paid $1.6 billion per year in its agreement while TNT paid $1.2 billion per year. ESPN/ABC is also working on a new deal that would see ABC getting exclusive rights to the NBA Finals for at least a decade, potentially opening up broadcasts to another TV partner.

The question of who will broadcast those games remains, with NBC reportedly interested in regaining NBA broadcast rights. NBC has been without NBA games since 2002 but is eager to provide content for its streaming platform, Peacock. Warner Bros. Discovery, the corporate owner of TNT, has the right to match any deal for NBA broadcasts and losing those telecasts would leave a major gap in their programming. Amazon’s NBA broadcasts could potentially be streamed on Thursday nights, a slot currently occupied by NFL’s Thursday Night Football broadcasts.

Additionally, Google is interested in carrying NBA League Pass, which indicates that the league’s media landscape could see significant shifts in the coming years.

The upcoming media rights deal for the NBA promises to be a game-changer for both the league and its partners. With Amazon joining the package as a new partner and other companies showing interest in carrying NBA content, we can expect significant changes to how basketball is presented on TV and streaming platforms in the coming years.

ESPN/ABC is reportedly working on a new deal that would see them get exclusive rights to