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The Future. The rights to show NBA games after the 2024-2025 season is entering the playoff season, with Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, NBCUniversal, Amazon, and YouTube all duking it out. Ironically, these companies are set to bid on fewer games (as the league spreads them across more platforms)… but the price for the rights may still reach record highs as they become the clincher for streaming growth.
The steaming score
The competition for the NBA’s media rights is heating up.
- Disney’s ESPN and Warner Bros. Discovery’s TNT currently hold the deals (which they pay $1.6 billion and $1.2 billion per year for, respectively), and they’ll be fighting tooth and nail to keep as many games as they can.
- That’s because both companies are looking to shore up content for their new, sports-focused streaming platforms (and a new super-app) and give them bargaining power for pay-TV distributors like Charter and Spectrum.
- But Amazon and YouTube are also in the mix, hoping to carve out a streaming package of games, similar to how both companies have done with the NFL… setting the stage for a full takeover down the line.
But don’t rule out NBCUniversal, which could be the dark horse as it looks to bring games to NBC Sports and Peacock. If the Olympics score record viewership, it could become a favorite player.
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