The NBA’s Next ‘TV’ Rights Contracts Are Going To Be Fascinating And Telling

It’s a drum I’ve been beating for some time now: the only reason cord-cutting hasn’t led the traditional cable television market into full capitulation has been television rights for live sports broadcasts. While major sports leagues and college conferences have certainly been trending into the streaming market like the rest of traditional television, it’s typically been with baby steps. And, frankly, the fractured nature of the streaming market, with all kinds of niche streaming services jumping into the game, hasn’t helped push this faster either.

So, where is the market at for these broadcast rights for major sports? We’re about to find out, as the NBA is entering a period in which it can broadly negotiate these rights with whomever it desires.

On Monday at 11:59 p.m. ET, the exclusive financial negotiation window between the NBA, ESPN and TNT Sports will officially close, allowing league commissioner Adam Silver and his top lieutenants to talk specific contract details with other potential partners, which, besides Amazon and NBC, could include Google/YouTube, Netflix and Apple.

There will be at least three separate packages, which is the NBA’s preference, but the idea of four has not been ruled out, those briefed on the discussions said.

It will be the distribution of those deals that will be most interesting here. Keep in mind that, like the NFL, the teams themselves in the NBA often have their own local rights deals that will carry the majority of NBA games, but the national games are always a spotlight, particularly when it comes to the playoffs. So, of the three or four major deals that get signed for nationally televised games, will the emphasis be placed on the streaming market or traditional cable television.

It’s likely to be a combination of both. NBC, in particular, will be of interest, given that it can pair its traditional broadcast channel with its Peacock streaming services. Disney is in a similar place, being able to offer up ABC, ESPN and its streaming services, or Disney Plus. But that doesn’t mean that pure streaming services are out of the running.

The notion that a pure streamer, like Amazon, could have significant games, including conference finals and perhaps even the NBA Finals at some point over the life of a long-term deal is a possibility, according to executives briefed on the NBA’s discussions.

The NBA will broach the idea of partnering with ESPN, Amazon, Apple, Google/YouTube TV — maybe more than one of them — to potentially offer local games direct to consumers.

What’s important here is that the NBA smartly gave itself the full range of options on its licensing menu. In the last round of rights deals, the league organized it such that all of these rights agreements co-terminate after the ’25 season.

Meaning that whatever arrangement the league comes up with, it’s going to be a fascinating view into how a major professional sports league thinks about the streaming and cable television markets.