- The NBA’s global media rights are set to be shared between Amazon Prime Video, NBC, & ESPN/ABC for over a decade.
- US$76 billion (AU$115.9 billion) is expected to be generated for the premier basketball league over the course of this agreement.
- Officially approved by the NBA Board of Governors, active from the 2025-26 season.
With the soon-to-be-litigated dissolution of its 35-year partnership with Warner Bros Discovery’s TNT, the NBA has signed a landmark 11-year media rights deal with Amazon Prime Video, alongside Comcast’s NBC and ESPN/ABC parent company The Walt Disney Co.
This follows a similar model to how the NFL’s broadcast coverage is currently divvied up between CBS (Paramount Global), NBC (NBCUniversal), ESPN/ABC (Disney), and FOX.
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Beginning with the 2025-26 season, you’ll be able to stream 66 regular-season NBA games every year. Additionally, there will be an opening week doubleheader, a new Black Friday NBA game, and the Knockout Rounds of the Emirates NBA Cup; exclusive coverage of the post-season SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament; plus the first & second-round NBA playoff games via Amazon Prime Video.
The platform will also be a destination to watch the NBA Conference finals for six of the 11 years; as well as 30 WNBA regular-season games each season worldwide, exclusive WNBA postseason games for the very first time, seven Semi Final series, and three WNBA Finals throughout the agreement’s duration.
The rest of the games have been claimed by Disney’s ESPN/ABC (the top tier “A” package) and NBC/Peacock (the so-called “B” package), with ABC retaining its status as the sole home of the NBA Finals. The NBA App will be a “universal access point” that seamlessly directs viewers to the action.
“Our new global media agreements with Disney, NBCUniversal, and Amazon will maximize the reach and accessibility of NBA games for fans in the United States and around the world,” said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.
“These partners will distribute our content across a wide range of platforms and help transform the fan experience over the next decade.”
“Over the past few years, we have worked hard to bring the very best of sports to Prime Video and to continue to innovate on the viewing experience,” Jay Marine, Amazon Prime Video’s Global Head of Sports, expressed via statement.
“We’re thrilled to now add the NBA to our growing sports lineup, including the NFL, UEFA Champions League, NASCAR, NHL, WNBA, NWSL, Wimbledon, and more. We are grateful to partner with the NBA, and can’t wait to tip-off in 2025.”
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This 11-year deal is expected to bring the league approximately US$76 billion (AU$115.9 billion) across its entire lifespan, far outweighing the reported US$1.8 billion (AU$2.7 billion) per year bid made by Warner Bros Discover, which the NBA indicates “did not match” Amazon’s end of the bargain alone.
The only international territories that have slipped through the cracks for the latter, so to speak, are Greater China, Poland, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and the Netherlands; with Canada set to enter the fold a year later for the 2026-27 season.
How bloody good.
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