While the NBA and its partners agreed on all the languages, the current TNT Sports is threatening the match. David Zaslav, CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company of TNT Sports, has publicly stated that he may attempt to use language in the existing contract to remain associated with the NBA. If Zaslav does so, he is expected to target Amazon’s packages.
The next step is for the league’s governors to approve agreements with ESPN, NBC and Amazon, which is expected to be a formality.
The Board of Governors meets Tuesday in Las Vegas. After the final stages by the league’s governors, the NBA will send the finished contract to TNT Sports.
At that time, the company will have five days to make its move. If it declines, the NBA is expected to make an official announcement before the Olympics, which begins on July 26.
The NBA and TNT Sports declined to comment.
Under the new NBA television deals with ESPN, NBC and Amazon Prime, the regular season will have national broadcasts approximately seven days a week, according to sources briefed on the agreements.
The NBA will borrow a page from the NFL, as after the end of the football regular season, NBC will carry the NBA success to the highest-rated primetime show on television, “Sunday Night Football,” while, on Thursday, Amazon will do the same. After its TNF coverage ends.
Throughout the regular season, Amazon Prime Video is expected to stream its other games primarily on Friday nights and Saturdays.
NBC will have games on Tuesdays throughout the NBA season. NBC’s streaming service Peacock is expected to air the special on Monday. Peacock will also simulcast all NBC games.
ESPN will slightly cut the amount of regular season games, from about 100 now to a range of 80. During the NFL season, it will have games on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays, with the Saturday night game being its highlight. ABC Window. Later in the year, after the NFL, ESPN will also have Friday night action.
Playoff games will take place on all three platforms, while Amazon Prime Video will be the home of the in-season tournament. Amazon and NBC will take turns showing the conference finals. ESPN will have a conference finals and NBA Finals each season.
While TNT Sports is watching from the outside this moment, with ESPN sealing its deal with the NBA, it wasn’t entirely a slam dunk.
ESPN and NBA officials did not reach an agreement before their exclusive agreement expired in April because ESPN refused to drop any portion of the Finals. Shortly afterward, when ESPN paid $2.6 billion, slightly less than the $2.7 billion check written to the NFL, the NBA agreed to carry the Finals exclusively on ABC/ESPN. NBC is expected to pay $2.5 billion per season, while Amazon is going to pay $1.8 billion per year.
In the current agreement, ESPN and TNT Sports pay a combined $2.6 billion over a nine-season agreement.
If TNT Sports closes down, this upcoming season will be the final season of sports after nearly four decades. While Charles Barkley said he plans to retire, all three networks are expected to pursue him and may try to bring the entire “Inside the NBA” crew to their platform. TNT Sports may continue to produce shows in some form even without NBA games.
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For NBC, it features Mike Tirico and Noah Eagle as potential play-by-players. With Dwyane Wade working the Olympics for NBC, he could be in position as a potential No. 1 game analyst. Amazon Prime Video has placed the voice of the Final Four, CBS/TNT/Yes’s Ian Eagle, at the top of its play-by-play wish list and is expected to hire two or three game callers.
(Photo: David Birding/Getty Images)
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