Sports
NBA Finalizes Combined 11-Year, $76 Billion Contract With ESPN, NBC, Amazon
The NBA has finalized contracts with ABC/ESPN, NBC and Amazon that will collectively be worth $76 billion over 11 seasons, sources tell Andrew Marchand of The Athletic. The next step is for the league’s governors to approve the agreements with ESPN, NBC and Amazon, which is expected to be a formality. In the current agreement, the ESPN and TNT Sports pay a combined total of $2.6 billion on what is a nine-season agreement.
Once those contracts are finalized, they will be sent to TNT Sports where they could possibly match. If TNT attempts to match, they are expected to target Amazon’s package.
Under the new agreements, the NBA will have nationally televised games nearly seen days per week. NBC will have games throughout the full NBA season on Tuesdays. Peacock, NBC’s streaming service, is expected to have exclusive telecasts on Mondays. During the entire regular season, Amazon Prime Video is anticipated to have its other games streamed predominantly on Friday nights and Saturdays. Amazon will also pick up Thursdays following the conclusion of the NFL season.
During the NFL season, it will have its games on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays, with its Saturday night game being its special ABC window. ESPN will add Friday games after the NFL season.
Proposed National TV Schedule
Monday: Peacock
Tuesday: NBC
Wednesday: ESPN
Thursday: Amazon
Friday: ESPN/Amazon
Saturday: ESPN/Amazon
Sunday: NBC/ESPN