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The National Basketball Association is moving toward a new multi-year deal for the rights to its games — and with growing interest from many new streaming participants in the sports world, the league is looking Substantial new payday.
This will likely mean doubling or tripling the current package, heading towards a 2024-25 end date, suggests BofA analyst Jessica Reif Ehrlich. The league is in a great position. It’s a highly attractive sporting her package with global appeal, with matches taking place over a six-month long season, she says.
Meanwhile, Apple’s live sports ambitions (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Amazon Prime Video (NASDAQ:AMZN) could put some pressure on the NBA’s existing subscribers: ESPN (New York Stock Exchange:DIS) and Turner (NASDAQ:WBDMore). Even the meta platform (meta) recently signed an NBA/WNBA contract. Offering 50+ Games in Virtual Reality.
and Turner (WBDMore) and ESPN (DIS) are unlikely to pony up enough for the NBA to want to remain the only two in the deal. “I love the NBA…but we’re going to be very disciplined. you don’t have to have the NBAThe WBD is also considering returning media rights in the region to the Portland Trail Blazers, Utah Jazz and Houston Rockets. Withdrew from the regional sports net business.
The NBA is reportedly seeking a total contract value of $50 billion to $75 billion, meaning an average annual value (AAV) of $5.6 billion to $8.3 billion. and a 114% to 221% increase over current AAV. About $2.6 billion. ESPN and Turner appreciate the sport, but are unlikely to pay such a price increase. This shows that the new entrants make up the “Big Three” of rights holders, Leiflich said.
“Assuming both ESPN’s and Turner’s respective rights packages increase by $1 billion in AAV, this translates to $271 million in DIS and $300 million in WBD from last year on the existing contract to year one on the new contract. That’s a $49 million step up, and we think it’s manageable,” she said. “After that, new entrants with AAV contracts between $956 million and $3.7 billion will be needed to reach the reported increase the NBA is seeking.”
with Cue John Tesh round ball lock. That newcomer might be Comcast/NBC (CMCSA), with means, reportedly A very serious effort to reclaim NBA rights after more than 20 years away.
But Reif Ehrlich points the way for tech entrants like Apple (AAPL) or Amazon (AMZNThis could serve as a larger platform as part of a multi-part rights package, including linear and streaming, to maximize the reach of the sport.
“We expect demand for sports rights to remain strong for the foreseeable future,” said Reif Ehrlich. and is a key driver of linear advertising.”
As the media industry continues to evolve to balance linear and streaming, the NBA deal represents an important strategic step for the companies involved. It will be the last big sport of this Wrights Cycle to sign a contract for 2030 and beyond.
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