The NBA made a big decision about where fans will watch its games for the next 11 years. Instead of sticking with Warner Bros. Discovery, they chose deals with Disney, NBC, and Amazon Prime Video. These agreements will bring in about $76 billion for the league.
Warner Bros. Discovery tried to keep their partnership by offering $1.8 billion every year, but the NBA didn’t think it matched what Disney, NBC, and Amazon offered. So, after nearly 40 years, TNT’s run will end after the 2024-25 season.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Amazon’s digital options are great for the league. Turner Sports, which includes TNT, disagreed strongly. They said they matched Amazon’s offer as their contract allows and believe the NBA shouldn’t reject it.
They plan to keep going with their coverage, including the popular show ‘Inside the NBA,’ and are ready to take action to defend their position.
Amazon Prime Video will show NBA games on Friday nights, select Saturday afternoons, and Thursday night doubleheaders after finishing their “Thursday Night Football” schedule. They will also take over the NBA League Pass from Warner Bros. Discovery.
The NBA said on Wednesday that Warner Bros. Discovery’s latest offer didn’t match Amazon Prime Video’s terms, so they made a long-term deal with Amazon instead.
“Our main goal in these talks has been to make sure our fans can watch our games easily,” the league said. “Our new deal with Amazon helps with this by adding to the broadcast, cable, and streaming options we already have with Disney and NBCUniversal.
All three partners are also planning to spend a lot to advertise the league and make fans’ experiences even better.”
The new deal with Amazon will also include at least one game on Black Friday and the NBA Cup’s quarterfinals, semifinals, and championship game during the season.
“In the past few years, we’ve worked hard to bring the best sports to Prime Video and make watching sports even better,” said Jay Marine, who runs sports at Prime Video.
“We’re excited to add the NBA to our list of sports, which already includes the NFL, UEFA Champions League, NASCAR, NHL, WNBA, NWSL, Wimbledon, and more. We’re happy to work with the NBA and can’t wait to start in 2025.”
ESPN and ABC will still have the main package of NBA games, including the NBA Finals. ABC has shown the finals since 2003.
ESPN/ABC will together show almost 100 games in the regular season. ABC will air over 20 games, mostly on Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons. ESPN will broadcast around 60 games, mostly on Wednesday nights and some on Fridays.
On Christmas Day, ESPN/ABC will broadcast five games exclusively, and they will have exclusive national coverage on the final day of the regular season.
In the playoffs, ESPN/ABC will show about 18 games in the first two rounds each year and one of the conference finals almost every year.
NBC is returning as an NBA broadcast partner for the first time since 2002. NBC will show up to 100 regular-season games, including Sunday nights after the NFL season. They will also broadcast games on Tuesdays, with a Monday night doubleheader streamed exclusively on Peacock.
NBC will cover the All-Star Game and All-Star Saturday Night. In the playoffs, NBC and/or Peacock will broadcast up to 28 games in the first two rounds, with at least half on NBC.
NBC and Amazon will alternate broadcasting one of the two conference finals every year for six out of the next 11 years. NBC will start with a conference final in 2026-27, followed by Amazon the next season.
Commissioner Adam Silver commented on NBC’s return: “The return of NBA basketball to NBC Sports brings great benefits and excitement for our fans. NBCUniversal, through its platforms like NBC and Peacock, will continue the rich tradition and history of the NBA on NBC.”
