Posted in: Amazon Studios, NBA, NBC, Sports, TNT, TV | Tagged: espn, nba, nbc, prime video, tnt sports, warner bros discovery

NBA Nears Deals with NBC, Prime Video, ESPN; WBD Can Match: Report

Report: The NBA is looking to finalize deals with NBC, ESPN, and Prime Video, but Warner Bros. Discovery's TNT Sports gets a chance to match.

If what Andrew Marchand from The Athletic/The New York Times is reporting is true, CEO David Zaslav's Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) could find itself either having to match a deal to keep itself in play when it comes to NBA broadcasting rights or prepare itself to be on the outside, looking in at NBC, Amazon's Prime Video, and ESPN as they finalize deals that could reportedly be (according to sources) for 11 seasons and be worth $76 billion. So here's what happens next: once the respective deals are finalized, they head to the league's governors for approval – which is expected to be drama-free, at least at this point. Once the NBC, Prime Video, and ESPN contracts are finished, they head on over to TNT Sports – and that's where it could get interesting.

Once WBD has the contracts, they have five days to either match the offers that are in front of them or take a pass. If WBD passes, the NBA, NBC, Prime Video, and ESPN have a chance to formally announce the news and enjoy some headline attention before NBC's Summer Olympics coverage kicks off. Zaslav has gone on record as expressing a willingness to match the offers that the NBA has received, with reports that WBD's legal team has been going through the existing contract for any language that could keep the company in the hunt for broadcast rights.

Though both the NBA and TNT Sports declined to comment on Marchand's reporting, the three new deals (if approved) would see the NBA spotlighted in national telecasts nearly seven days a week. In terms of when games will air, Prime Video is expected to shift its Thursday focus to the NBA after the "Thursday Night Football" season and will also air games predominantly on Friday nights and Saturdays. The same idea is in play with NBC, with Sunday nights shifting to the NBA after the "Sunday Night Football" season and Tuesdays earmarked for games. NBCUniversal streaming service Peacock is eyeing exclusive games on Mondays (and simulcasting all of NBC's games).

As for ESPN, it would see the number of regular-season games it airs drop "from around 100 now to the range of 80," according to the report. During the NFL season, ESPN will air games on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays (with its Saturday night game part of a special ABC window) – adding Friday to the lineup after the NFL season wraps. NBC, Prime Video, and ESPN would all have a piece of the playoff pie. Prime Video would stream the In-Season Tournament and alternate with NBC for the conference finals. ESPN would have a conference final and the NBA Finals during each season of the deal.

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