The upcoming expiration of the NBA’s media rights deals with ESPN and TNT has ignited excitement about the league’s next move. In recent news, Amazon Prime Video and the NBA have finalized a deal that will see Amazon become a significant platform for game telecasts starting from the 2025-26 season. The agreement is expected to last at least 10 years, with potential global broadcast rights.
The financial details of this agreement have not been disclosed, but comparisons have been made to ESPN’s reported $1.6 billion per year and TNT’s $1.2 billion per year agreements. This new partnership with Amazon may lead to fewer games being televised on ESPN, raising questions about whether these games could go to TNT or NBC.
NBC, which lost NBA broadcast rights in 2002, is interested in securing NBA broadcasts for its streaming platform Peacock. TNT, owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, has the right to match any deal to retain NBA telecasts. Losing these games would leave a significant gap in their prime-time schedule. Amazon’s NBA broadcasts may be streamed on Thursday nights, potentially overlapping with the NFL’s Thursday Night Football broadcasts. Google is also reportedly interested in carrying NBA League Pass, the league’s out-of-market broadcast package.
