NBCUniversal is purportedly preparing a significant bid for NBA coverage. The brand’s bid, valued at an estimated $2.5 billion annually, aims to surpass TNT’s current agreement and expand NBC’s involvement in basketball broadcasting.
NBC’s bid comes as part of an ambitious plan to outbid other key players such as Amazon, Disney/ESPN, and current NBA rights holder, Warner Bros subsidiary, Turner Sports.
The deal could significantly enhance NBC’s offerings with a commitment to broadcasting prime-time games twice weekly, a venture WB reportedly can’t provide.
Under their ongoing agreement, Turner Sports’ TNT has been paying around $1.2 billion every year for the NBA rights.
An essential component of NBC’s bid involves its Peacock streaming service. Should their bid succeed, both regular season and playoff games would be available for consumption on its network and Peacock service.
Other broadcast media giants such as Amazon and Disney are also said to be in the mix. Amazon’s Prime Video reportedly has a tentative streaming rights deal with the NBA, and Disney’s ABC is set to retain rights for the NBA finals.
NBC is preparing a bid for NBA rights worth $2.5 billion annually in an attempt to squeeze out Turner Sports, as first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
Negotiations are ongoing with Amazon and Disney/ESPN also in the mix.
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Disney/ESPN is speculated to place an annual average bid of around $2.6 billion to renew its deal, higher than NBC’s planned bid. This is supposed to be an additional increase from its current obligation of around $1.5 billion annually.
With the NBA being a vacillating factor in the viewer market, these high-stakes dealings can drastically affect the sports broadcasting landscape.
The new deal, if successful, could result in Turner Sports being ousted from their long-standing association with the NBA.
This would mark a significant shift in NBA coverage and could bring major changes to NBA fans’ viewing choices.
