The NBA has reached a major television deal with ESPN and TNT that is sure to impact the league.
The NBA reached a long-term media rights deal with ESPN (Walt Disney Co.) and TNT (Time Warner Inc.’s Turner Broadcasting), and the numbers are reportedly larger than originally expected.
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Both the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times have reports, though the deal has yet to be officially announced by either party. An announcement is expected Monday.
A lot of us watch NBA games using NBA League Pass, a service made available through NBA.com (a Turner property). However, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that the league is partnering with ESPN for “a new online video service that would show live regular season games.” That service will likely be available through ESPN’s growing Watch ESPN site, which is available for free.
NBA to announce $24 billion/9 year deal w/ ESPN and TNT on Monday. Annual average value nearly 3x current deal.
— Richard Sandomir (@RichSandomir) October 6, 2014
The Sports Business Journal previously reported that the expected new deal was estimated to be more than $2 billion per year on average, up from the current $900,000 annually. These numbers certainly jive with those expectations.
The NBA television deal has a major impact on how NBA teams operate. First and foremost it will raise the salary cap and, in effect, player salaries. Grantland reported in July that the cap could jump by as much as 30 percent over the next two years.
That is why LeBron James decided to sign a two-year deal rather than the current maximum contract. James expects to re-sign in Cleveland, but will do so on a larger maximum salary once this new TV deal goes into effect.
Be sure to check FanSided’s official NBA page to keep up to date on the latest news and rumors from around the league as we get you ready for the start of the 2014-2015 season.
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