NBC is serious about trying to get back into the NBA broadcasting game.
The NBA’s current media deals are expiring after the season. Current broadcast partners ESPN/ABC and TNT Sports are looking to retain their rights, but their exclusive window to negotiate an extension recently expired. In addition to its two current partners, the NBA is now free to enter talks with NBC, Amazon and any other interested parties.
According to a report from the Wall Street Journal on Monday, NBC is very, very interested in securing an NBA media rights deal. The network is preparing to offer $2.5 billion annually in hopes of pushing out Turner Sports and TNT.
Warner Bros. Discovery, which is the parent company of Turner Sports and TNT, has paid a reported $1.2 billion per year for its NBA rights since 2014. TNT and ABC/ESPN have paid roughly $2.6 billion combined per year, which is a figure that NBC executives are willing to match for their network alone.
NBA games were broadcast on NBC from 1954-62 and then again from 1990-2002, which was one of the league’s most popular eras. Many fans grew up watching some of the biggest games of those seasons on NBC, which always kicked off with the famous “Roundball Rock” theme. There have even been times where networks have tried to bring back some of the “NBA on NBC” nostalgia.
A report last year claimed NBC is looking to secure a specific package that would limit the network to NBA games one night a week, but the $2.5 billion figure indicates that NBC is aiming even higher than that.
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