Report: NBC Is Preparing To Win Back The NBA

More than two decades after relinquishing media rights to the NBA, NBC is reportedly planning to make a bid in the next round of negotiations. 

The NBA is approaching the end of its current $24 billion media contract with ESPN and TNT, which expires in 2025. NBC is putting together a proposal for a future deal, according to CNBC.

• Since ESPN and TNT have an exclusive negotiating window until April 2024, NBC hasn’t made a formal bid yet.
• However, the league could decide to waive that window — opening up the floor to other networks.
• An NBA spokesperson reiterated to CNBC that the league still has a “relationship” with NBC through deals with regional networks.

The NBA is seeking a collective $50 billion to $75 billion from its next media rights deals, Front Office Sports previously reported.

Commerce

| by Doug Greenberg

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The Competition

Of course, NBC will have to compete with any bids from ESPN or TNT, but it’s unclear just how interested the latter are in re-upping. David Zaslav, president and chief executive officer of their parent company Warner Bros. Discovery, has said publicly that the NBA isn’t a requisite property for the company and refuses to “overpay.”

Meanwhile, the NBA could be eyeing deals with streamers like Apple, Amazon, or Google.