NBA gets new media deal

NEW YORK (AFP) — The National Basketball Association (NBA) announced an 11-year global media rights deals with The Walt Disney Company, NBC Universal and Amazon on Wednesday worth a reported $76 billion and running from the 2025-26 through 2035-36 season.

In addition to expanding game coverage for US and global telecast audiences as well as streaming viewers, the contracts figure to boost the value of every NBA team in addition to the salaries of basketball’s top superstars.

Even though no financial details were officially revealed, ESPN, The Wall Street Journal and Forbes magazine have reported the $76 billion combined figure for the deals.

“Our new global media agreements with Disney, NBCUniversal and Amazon will maximize the reach and accessibility of NBA games for fans in the United States and around the world,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said.

“These partners will distribute our content across a wide range of platforms and help transform the fan experience over the next decade.”

The move came after the league announced it had rejected a bid by Warner Brothers Discovery to retain its rights by matching Amazon’s deal, saying the terms of the offer to remain on US telecaster Turner Sports were not sufficient.

“Warner Brothers Discovery’s most recent proposal did not match the terms of Amazon Prime Video’s offer and, therefore, we have entered into a long-term arrangement with Amazon,” the NBA said in a statement.

“Our primary objective has been to maximize the reach and accessibility of our games for our fans. Our new arrangement with Amazon supports this goal by complementing the broadcast, cable and streaming packages that are already part of our new Disney and NBCUniversal arrangements.

“All three partners have also committed substantial resources to promote the league and enhance the fan experience.”