Despite not officially premiering on television until late 2025, one of the most highly anticipated dramas is causing quite a stir behind the scenes at four major media corporations across the country.
Starting later this year, the NBA will move from Warner Bros. Discovery‘s TNT cable network to NBCUniversal’s NBC and Peacock, as well as Amazon’s Prime Video. This shift may represent one of the most significant audience and advertising dollar transfers in media history since CBS lost a long-standing NFL contract to Fox in 1993. The viewership changes caused by that switch, including affiliate losses, continue to affect CBS today. Warner Bros. Discovery could face similar challenges: The company is expected to lose about $1.1 billion in TV advertising revenue in 2026, which equates to around 23% of its total this year, according to analyst Robert Fishman from MoffettNathanson, primarily due to the absence of the NBA on their networks for the first time since 1989.
The rights holders of the NBA, both old and new, are excited about substantial potential profits. For instance, Disney, who continues to collaborate with the NBA despite reducing some game showings, is expected to generate $1.25 billion in annual ad revenue from NBA games, as per Fishman, mainly due to its control over the NBA Finals. NBC could potentially earn over $1 billion, while Amazon might secure around $750 million. In total, 75 NBA games will be broadcast on television under the new contract compared to just 15 in the previous media agreement.
The money involved in these new rights deals is significant. Each of the three companies involved are investing substantial sums. These deals will span from the end of 2025 up until the seasons of 2035-2036. NBC is projected to be spending more on its NBA deal – approximately $2.5 billion annually – than it does for “Sunday Night Football” with the NFL. Disney, on the other hand, is anticipated to pay the NBA around $2.6 billion per year, while Amazon is expected to shell out $1.8 billion.
According to Josh Pyatt, who jointly heads the sports division at the prominent talent agency WME, there’s an urgent rush to discover skilled individuals, establish productive facilities, and expand our workforce.
As a new NBA player, I’m not holding my breath for ad deals just yet. It seems that Amazon and NBC have already secured some advertising spots for next season, as reported by media buyers and executives in the know. Disney, however, isn’t quite as aggressive at the moment, but they don’t seem to be in a hurry either. They’ve already sold out the ad time for their current NBA season, which gives them an edge in negotiations due to their extensive 20-year viewership data across ESPN and ABC. Jim Minnich, senior vice president of revenue and yield management for Disney’s ad-sales unit, put it simply: “We are the incumbent,” he said, “and advertisers can look back at two decades’ worth of NBA viewership data across ESPN and ABC, making for easier negotiations than with NBC or Amazon. We are extremely confident in our position.
The intense competition for basketball revenue highlights the significant role sports play in supporting major media companies’ operations. Previously, scripted television shows held dominance, but with audiences increasingly watching preferred series on demand, attracting the large viewership that traditional advertisers seek has grown challenging.
As a movie enthusiast, I can’t help but marvel at the captivating allure that sports continue to hold, which makes it no surprise that NBC, under the umbrella of its parent company Comcast, subtly negotiated an extension with the International Olympic Committee for another four-year term worth $3 billion on their U.S. rights for both Winter and Summer events. It’s intriguing to see even media corporations not traditionally associated with sports trying to join the action. A+E Global Media, a collaboration between Disney and Hearst, is making a bid by proposing documentaries from their History Channel as a sports companion. This innovative idea aims to provide advertisers access to male viewers who may not be avid sports fans.
The NBA aims to increase its popularity significantly, potentially rivaling the fame of the NFL. Under this new agreement, the league plans to air more games on traditional television networks, similar to its football counterpart. Additionally, games will be streamed on platforms like Amazon and Peacock, which could attract a younger audience who may not subscribe to traditional cable TV. Furthermore, “Inside the NBA,” the well-known show hosted by Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and others, is scheduled to air on Disney’s ESPN network.
This year’s upfront market, where TV networks aim to sell most of their commercial spots for the upcoming season, might be primarily driven by the pursuit of advertising dollars to fund basketball. Traditionally, sports and entertainment are sold independently, but with a decrease in the number of viewers for first-run episodes of shows like “Law & Order: SVU” or “Abbott Elementary,” more advertisers who once ignored sports are now aggressively entering this format.
This year, the NBA is expected to significantly influence the ongoing negotiations. As one media buying executive puts it, “The NBA has drastically transformed the market with their latest rights agreement.” Given that there are now three separate companies holding rights contracts, this buyer notes, “This move has introduced more competition into the marketplace.
Amazon and NBC are aiming to increase their revenue by associating the NBA with other significant sports events they currently manage. NBC is discussing advertising opportunities with brands that would connect commercials across the upcoming NBA season, Super Bowl LX in 2026, the Winter Olympics of next year, and the following FIFA World Cup. Peter Lazarus, executive vice president of sports ad-sales for NBCUniversal, mentions the “unprecedented annual events that can complement each other” as a selling point.
In the works is Amazon’s plan to include an NBA game in their growing “Black Friday” brand, a venture that currently leverages an NFL game to attract consumers considering holiday purchases. The incorporation of the NBA, according to Danielle Carney, head of live sports and video sales for Amazon, expands their influence in the sports media landscape as they already hold NASCAR rights and broadcast Thursday Night Football. Carney notes that approximately 90% of their partnerships are built around live sports events.
Despite recent changes, Warner Bros. Discovery continues to hold optimism about retaining a portion of their basketball-related earnings. In the words of Jon Diament, the executive vice president responsible for sports ad sales at Warner Bros. Discovery, “We are committed to remaining active in the NBA sector.
Warner successfully negotiated an agreement with the NBA that allows them to share digital sports clips on their platforms like Bleacher Report and House of Highlights. By preserving this partnership with the NBA, as Diament explains, they can provide advertisers access to the type of content that spreads across social media. This includes exclusive footage such as microphones placed on players or being in the tunnel to capture what sneakers they’re wearing before entering a game. According to him, this content is genuine and high-quality, appealing to fans aged 18 to 34.
As a movie critic, I’d rephrase it like this: Warner Bros., having diverted funds previously earmarked for NBA coverage, is now venturing into a broader spectrum of sports programming to maintain its advertising base. According to Diament, these strategic partnerships will expand their sporting content beyond the traditional NBA season. Moreover, Warner has expressed a growing fascination with college sports, as Luis Silberwasser, Chairman and CEO of Warner’s TNT Sports, mentioned last week before the commencement of the NCAA March Madness men’s basketball tournament that Warner broadcasts jointly with CBS. He emphasized, “We’re just getting started with this.
NBC Universal is significantly focusing on sports programming unlike any other company right now. By the end of this period, they will be airing basketball games on three different nights: Sunday, Tuesday, and Monday (streaming on Peacock). This means that NBC might shift its focus from scripted shows to sports, with Sundays being dedicated to NFL or NBA telecasts from September to May. For quite some time now, the company has been hinting at this change in direction, reducing its late-night programming and affecting Seth Meyers’ “Late Night” band and Jimmy Fallon’s Friday night “Tonight Show”. Instead, they are investing more in game shows, reality TV, and other similar content.
According to Lazarus, the aim is to draw TV’s largest viewership. He notes, “Our major rating points thrive in the final quarter,” he says, implying that sports form a significant part of their strategy. Throughout the NBA season, NBC will possess popular programs with large audiences, which they can leverage to advertise other content and shows. Lazarus suggests that NBC aims to enhance the basketball viewing experience by introducing a fresh perspective. He explains, “We feel that the current player interactions and broadcasts have lost some of their energetic, in-the-arena feel.” The producers are trying to make each game feel like an event rather than just another match, he adds. Lazarus concludes by stating, “We plan to revive the intense rivalries between players and teams that once characterized the sport.
In the upcoming weeks, the NBA’s three broadcasting partners might find themselves engaged in an unusual struggle. Will Disney, Amazon, and NBC be able to convince these networks that the larger audiences they anticipate drawing away from Warner’s cable channels justify higher financial compensation?
Jimmy Spano, sports executive at Dentsu Media, stated in an interview that they don’t think it’s fair to pay high fees for any sport simply because a media partner bought the broadcast rights. Instead, their decisions are based on the sport’s actual performance.
Ratings for NBA games this season have dropped noticeably, and the February All-Star Game was one of the least-viewed events of its kind. On Warner’s channels, viewership dropped by 13% compared to last year. With more than 50 additional games being aired on broadcast TV, the market is flooded with content at a time when interest in traditional television is decreasing – an issue that the NFL has encountered recently as well.
It seems that both NBC and Amazon have shown a readiness to strike deals based on recent discussions with suppliers, according to sources privy to the negotiations. These industry insiders report that Amazon has softened its hardline approach compared to when it initially sought ad support for “Thursday Night Football.” Unlike before, Amazon hasn’t insisted that potential advertisers match the prices they pay for highly-rated Sunday afternoon games on Fox. Instead, the strategy appears more focused and assertive, rather than excessively aggressive, according to one buyer.
According to Lazarus, “We got to the market as the new owners of the property early on, and it’s been very well accepted.” He thinks that due to its wider audience, advertisers might end up paying more for NBC.
There are numerous incentives available right now. Amazon is constructing a brand-new studio in California for producing programs and is discussing with potential sponsors on how they can be integrated, as mentioned by Carney. Meanwhile, Disney plans to devise ways to connect with their upcoming broadcasts of “Inside the NBA”, according to Minnich, though they are still refining their strategies.
All companies will need to work hard to persuade advertisers without resorting to using someone like Charles Barkley, as there are very few individuals with his charisma. However, they still have many advertising spots left to fill.
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2025-03-20 18:18