NBCUniversal will pay an average of about $2.5 billion a year in NBA rights fees, with the NBA’s coveted broadcast fees set at twice the current level, according to a report Monday.
If accepted, the rights to broadcast basketball games could move from TNT, which pays an average of $1.2 billion in royalties under the current deal, to the Peacock Network. The Wall Street Journal reported.
TNT’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, was unable to reach a new agreement with the NBA until the exclusive negotiation period ended last week.
For Warner Bros. Discovery, the loss of the NBA would be a huge blow not only to its TNT cable network but also to the sports streaming business it is launching with Disney and Fox.
People familiar with the matter told the Journal that the company would have a hard time charging distributors a fee equal to the cost of carrying the channels, which is estimated at about $3 per month per cable customer. ).
The company began broadcasting games on the TBS channel in 1984 and on TNT three years later. Meanwhile, Disney’s sports network ESPN began broadcasting his NBA in 2002.
Disney is expected to pay an average annual fee of about $2.6 billion to renew the contract, up from about $1.5 billion annually currently. The Journal reported.
The package NBC is bidding on would include playoff and regular season games that would be shown on NBC and its streaming service Peacock.
The paper added that NBC is considering broadcasting two prime-time games a week, but Warner cannot offer that because it doesn’t own the broadcast network.
The paper said Warner Bros. Discovery has “the ability to respond to rival offers.”
Each TV partner will broadcast fewer games under the new agreement than under the current agreement, as the league has set aside some games for streaming partner Amazon Prime Video, which already has a deal framework in place. I will do it. According to The Athletic.
Negotiations between the NBA and its streaming and TV partners remain in flux, with bidders still negotiating who will get the rights to the most high-profile games and series.
The newspaper reported that Amazon is likely to get a share of the Conference Finals along with other partners, while Disney-owned ABC is moving toward retaining the rights to the NBA Finals.
NBCUniversal, TNT, NBA and ESPN had no immediate comment.
