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One of the more overlooked components of the NBA’s new set of domestic media deals has led to a reconstruction of the league’s NBA TV and NBA app.
As the $77 billion in rights agreements with Amazon, ESPN, and NBC begin, the league has redeveloped two of its core in-house platforms between the television network and mobile app. The NBA reassumed full operational control of NBA TV and the app after 17 years, when those assets were not included in the revised deal the league struck with TNT Sports parent Warner Bros. Discovery.
After WBD did not keep live game rights in the U.S., setting off a legal battle, an eventual settlement with the league included a new agreement focused instead on highlights and international game rights. That deal, however, still contained some discord, as WBD was not able to come to an agreement with the NBA on continuing the prior model for NBA TV and the app.
“We were unable to agree on a path forward that recognized the value of our expertise, quality content, and operational excellence that our fans and partners have come to expect from TNT Sports,” network chairman and CEO Luis Silberwasser wrote in a company memo about those platforms.
Key elements of NBA TV and the app in the revised structure include:
- The creation of The Association, a new daily flagship program on the two platforms. The show will include news, highlights, and analysis, and it will “guide fans to the must-watch action across the league.” That program, based in a Los Angeles studio, will essentially replace the prior NBA Gametime Live.
- A nonexclusive live game package of 60 games, consisting of contests not part of the other national rights deals, or also shown regionally in the competing teams’ home markets.
- Heightened coverage of international basketball, including Australia’s National Basketball League, France’s Ligue Nationale de Basket, Germany’s Basketball Bundesliga, Spain’s Liga ACB, the Chinese Basketball Association, and the Korean Basketball League.
- A collection of top NBA podcasts and other creator-driven content.
The NBA, meanwhile, has also taken over operations of its out-of-market game package, NBA League Pass. The service carries a base price of $109.99 for the season, and $159.99 for the premium-level tier, equal to pricing from last season in the final year of the TNT Sports operation. NBA League Pass is also now being sold through Amazon’s Prime Video Channels as part of their agreement, and that product, along with NBA.com and the NBA app, are running on Amazon Web Services technology.
The 2025–26 NBA regular season will begin Oct. 21.
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