AFTER winning media rights to the NBA, NBC Sports has the opportunity to score a major broadcast win in its first season.
NBC Sports won the bidding war for a slice of the NBA’s media rights but won’t begin its coverage until 2025-26.
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With a new sports package coming to the network, NBC Sports will need to come up with a special way to promote its NBA coverage.
John Ourand, sports media specialist at Puck, suggested that NBC Sports use a good coincidence to increase its coverage.
NBC Sports will host the Super Bowl in 2026, the same year as its first season in the NBA.
While many networks use the Super Bowl to boost ratings for a new primetime show, NBC could use it to boost ratings for the NBA.
If they scheduled a high-stakes NBA game immediately after the Super Bowl, many fans would leave the TV on after the game and continue watching the NBA game.
An NBA game has never been scheduled after the Super Bowl, but the matchup could yield huge rewards for the network.
One problem facing the NBA schedule would be the festivities after the Super Bowl.
The NBA game after the Super Bowl would depend on how long the trophy ceremony takes.
The NFL would have the final say on when NBA play could begin.
It would take a lot of planning and strategy to allow an NBA game to start, but it would be a huge payoff for NBC after they made the splurge to get the media rights.
NBC is committing about $2.6 billion a year to get a slice of this cycle’s media rights.
ESPN is shelling out $2.6 billion a year to maintain a smaller package of games but maintain its postseason coverage.
Amazon is shelling out $1.8 billion a year to steal rights from TNT Sports.
It appeared that TNT Sports was about to retain its rights after submitting a matching offer to the NBA, but it was rejected in favor of Amazon.
Inside the NBA, host Charles Barkley stated that the NBA no longer wanted TNT to continue its coverage of the league.
What does the new TV deal mean for the NBA?
By US Sun Assistant Sports Editor Damian Burchardt.
The new television rights deal promises to be a big win for NBA players.
The league is expected to more than double revenue from its media partners, pocketing around $6.9 billion per year, which will inevitably lead to a huge salary cap increase in 2025-26.
This will cause the value of players’ contracts to skyrocket.
Projected numbers suggest we could see the first $100 million per year deal being signed soon.
Boston Celtics All-Star Jayson Tatum is currently set to earn the highest single-season salary in NBA history, bringing in $71.5 million in 2029-30.
If TNT Sports successfully fulfills one of its bids to maintain its decades-long partnership with the league, basketball fans will also be on the winning side.
The network’s flagship Inside the NBA is a unique sports entertainment program, as evidenced by ESPN’s continued failure to present its own version of the show in recent years.
The NBA wouldn’t be the same without Kenny and Ernie trying to make sense of Shaq and Chuck’s endless fights every Tuesday night.
“I’m not sure TNT ever had a chance,” the Inside the NBA analyst wrote in a statement via Bleacher Report.
“TNT matched the money, but the league knows that Amazon and these technology companies are the only ones willing to pay for the rights when they double in the future.”
“The NBA didn’t want to piss them off.
“It’s a sad day when owners and commissioners choose money over fans.
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