The NBA’s new media deals show how much streamers will splurge for cable’s lunch
.jpg)
“Roundball Rock” is back… The NBA scored a hat trick of monster media-rights deals last week worth $77B over 11 years. Out: current rights holder Warner Bros. Discovery’s, which has broadcast NBA games on its TNT cable network for over three decades. In: Comcast’s NBCUniversal, Disney’s ESPN, and Amazon’s Prime Video. The new deals — which start with the 2025 season — are worth more than double what the NBA gets now.
Stat line: Each year Disney will pay the NBA $2.6B, Comcast will fork over $2.5B, and Amazon’s set to spend $1.9B. The contracts also reportedly include $2.2B for the WNBA over 11 years, an annual increase of more than 3x.
Foul? Warner — which tried to rival Amazon Prime Video’s bid but was rejected by the NBA — insists that its current contract with the league gives it the right to match a bid. On Friday, Warner sued the NBA.
Streaming’s spending like a D1 university… heavy on sports, light on arts. The NBA’s media-rights dunk is the latest in a string of deals between leagues and streamers. YouTube is paying $2B/szn for “NFL Sunday Ticket,” and Apple’s shelling out $250M/yr for Major League Soccer rights. Next year Netflix will be the home of WWE’s “Raw” (a $5B deal). NBC’s Peacock has deals with the NFL, WWE, the Tour de France, and the Olympics (NBC holds the US media rights to the Olympics through 2032). Meantime, streamers are cutting spending on originals: Netflix released 16% fewer original programs last year, and Disney said it would chop its content budget by $2B this year. The # of original TV seasons on streaming platforms is down 19% YoY.
Sports are a hit show that never ends… Netflix has called sports a loss leader, citing “dramatically expensive” TV rights. Still, their popularity with key demographics (18-to-49s) makes them valuable for maintaining subscribers. Because live sports are a big reason folks keep cable, streamers’ deals could lead to more cord-cutting. Warner will have to find something else to keep cable providers and customers interested in TNT.