NBC Sports intends to do more than just own a share of NBA media rights. The network intends to knock its coverage out of the park, as relayed by Andrew Marchand of The Athletic.
Between NBC and Peacock, broadcasts of NBA games will be everywhere. NBC is returning to carrying the league for the first time since 2002, joining holdover ESPN/ABC and newcomer Amazon Prime in an 11-year deal with the NBA that is believed to be worth about $77 billion.
Meanwhile, Warner Bros. Discovery and its TNT network have been left behind — assuming their pending litigation against the NBA goes nowhere, as many suspect will be the case. Either way, that has nothing to do with NBC (only Amazon). So for NBC, it will be let the games begin in the fall of 2025.
"Besides the marquee events, such as six conference finals, the All-Star game and 'Sunday Night Basketball,' NBC will have Tuesday night national games where the East and West coast will receive different games that begin in prime time locally," Marchand wrote.
"On a given Tuesday, NBC could have a Knicks-Celtics game at 8 p.m. in New York, while the Lakers face the Nuggets at 8 p.m. Los Angeles time. All the matchups will be available via Peacock, which also will have exclusive games on Mondays."
As for TNT, the league contends it didn't actually match Amazon's portion of the package, as Amazon is a streaming provider. TNT can't offer the same type of platform, the league seemed to contend.
"Warner Bros. Discovery's most recent proposal did not match the terms of Amazon Prime Video's offer and, therefore, we have entered into a long-term arrangement with Amazon," the NBA said in a statement.
"Throughout these negotiations, our primary objective has been to maximize the reach and accessibility of our games for our fans. Our new arrangement with Amazon supports this goal by complementing the broadcast, cable and streaming packages that are already part of our new Disney and NBCUniversal arrangements. All three partners have also committed substantial resources to promote the league and enhance the fan experience.
"We are grateful to Turner Sports for its award-winning coverage of the NBA and look forward to another season of the NBA on TNT."
(This article originally appeared on Hoops Wire and was republished with permission.)
