The NBA has finalized contracts with NBC, Amazon and ABC/ESPN in 11-year agreements worth approximately $76 billion.
The pacts will now be sent to the league’s governors for approval, which is expected to be a formality, according to the New York Times’ Athletic, which first reported the news Wednesday. The board of governors are said to meet on Tuesday in Las Vegas.
Warner Bros. Discovery’s TNT Sports, which currently pays roughly $1.2 billion for NBA rights under the current contract that runs through the 2024-2025 season, will have five days to match after being sent the finalized contracts. If it declines, The Athletic reports that the new NBA deals could be announced as early as before the start of the Olympics on July 26.
Representatives for TNT Sports, Amazon and ESPN declined to comment. Representatives for the NBA and NBC did not immediately return TheWrap’s request.
NBCUniversal is expected to pay the NBA an average of $2.5 billion a year to show around 100 games per season – half of which would air exclusively on Peacock, an individual familiar with the terms previously told TheWrap. The games would air on NBC on Tuesdays and Sundays to avoid conflicting with the network’s “Sunday Night Football.”
The Wall Street Journal previously reported that Amazon would pay $1.8 billion for regular season and playoff games, the new NBA in-season tournament and “play-in” games where teams compete for the final payoff spots. The tech giant is also reportedly being given a share of the conference finals, which it will split with NBC and ESPN.
Meanwhile, Disney would pay about $2.6 billion per year to continue to air the NBA Finals, up from its current $1.5 billion. ESPN is expected to have around 80 games, down from around 100. During the NFL season, NBA games will air on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays, with Fridays being added in after the NFL season, according to the Athletic. Saturday games will air in a special window on ABC.
