The NBA has announced nine-year extensions of its TV deals with Disney and Turner Networks, tripling its licensing bounty to around $2.6 billion a year and greatly expanding the scope of TV Everywhere access to pro basketball games.
In fact, according to Re/code, ESPN's multiscreen access will include, down the line, the ability to distribute NBA content over-the-top to consumers without pay-TV subscriptions. Details of that arrangement are still being worked out, the tech blog says.
Under the agreement, Disney will now pay $1.4 billion a year to keep National Basketball Association games on its ESPN cable and ABC broadcast platforms, up from around $485 million a season. The deal extends the current contract, which expires in 2016, through the 2024-2025 season.
Time Warner Inc. division Turner Networks, meanwhile, will see its yearly fees spike from around $445 million to $1.2 million. Turner will add 12 games a year to its current tally of 64, while Time Warner digital asset Bleacher Report gets some multiscreen rights to show games.
Also: Turner will continue to manage the assets of NBA Digital, which includes NBA TV, NBA.com, NBA Mobile, NBA League Pass, and NBA D-League.
Meanwhile, key to the deal in an ultra-competitive market for sports rights, the NBA will not be able to create another broadcast contract with Fox Sports One or NBC Sports.
For more:
- read this Wall Street Journal story
- read this Deadline Hollywood story
- read this Re/code story
Related links:
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