Live sporting events still pay.
That’s the message derived from the NBA’s new TV and media rights deal that will net the league approximately $76 billion in a 11-year deal – $6.9 billion per season – from Disney (ABC/ESPN), NBC and Amazon, a person familiar with the deal told USA TODAY Sports.
The person was not authorized to speak publicly because details of the deal were still being tweaked. The NBA’s Board of Governors, scheduled to meet next week, still must approve the agreement.
The Athletic was first to report the news.
The NBA’s new TV deal annually almost triples the current agreement which began in 2015-16 and ends after the 2024-25 season. The new contract will kick in starting with 2025-26 and end in 2036-37.
Turner Sports (TNT) is not part of the new agreement. Turner Sports does have an opportunity to match a portion of the deal, but the match involves more than a dollar amount, according to the person who spoke with USA TODAY Sports.
Disney will pay $2.6 billion, NBC $2.5 billion and Amazon $1.8 billion annually in a deal that introduces a more prominent streaming service to the NBA’s media partners. Bringing Amazon into the fold is not a surprise given it has a deal to stream WNBA games, and the league has crafted a working relationship with the company.
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