NBC ‘ready to pay $2.5bn-a-year to snatch NBA TV rights away from TNT’ – more than DOUBLE average fee paid by Warner Bros – as league enters ‘advanced stages’ of new round of media-rights deals
- Warner remains ‘disciplined in his approach to a new deal’, according to reports
- The film and entertainment company began broadcasting NBA games in 1984
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Comcast NBCUniversal is preparing a $2.5 billion-a-year bid to grab the NBA television rights from TNT – more than double the fee paid by the latter’s parent company, Warner Bros.
According to the Wall Street JournalWarner remains “disciplined in his approach to a new deal” and has been paid an average compensation of $1.2 billion per year under his current contract with the league.
However, the network failed to reach a new pact with the NBA before an exclusive negotiating window expired last week.
Warner began broadcasting the games in 1984, while Walt Disney’s ESPN sports network began broadcasting the NBA in 2002.
According to the report, Disney is expected to pay an average annual fee of about $2.6 billion to renew the deal, up from about $1.5 billion now.
Comcast NBCUniversal prepares $2.5 billion per year bid to snatch NBA television rights from TNT
The package that NBCUniversal is preparing to bid on would include both playoff and regular season games
TNT’s parent company Warner Bros will pay an average of less than half of that $2.5 billion fee under current terms
Warner’s TNT has the ability to match competing offers, people familiar with the pact told the WSJ.
The package that NBCUniversal is preparing to bid on includes both playoff and regular season games broadcast live on the NBC network, along with the Peacock streaming service.
NBC has also discussed airing two primetime games per week, which Warner cannot offer because it does not own a broadcast network.
The NBA’s discussions with partners on a new round of media rights deals, which would cover the 2024-2025 season, are believed to be at an advanced stage.
Each TV partner would air fewer games in a new deal than under current terms, after the league reduced the number of games from this year’s rights negotiations to create a streaming partner package. Amazon’s Prime Video is said to have finalized a streaming rights deal with the NBA.
Negotiations in the league are fluid, with the relevant parties still at odds over who gets to broadcast the more high-profile games and series.