How the NBA will move on with NBA TV, League Pass

Without Warner Bros. Discovery involved, NBA Digital assets were fully up for grabs in the league’s new broadcast rights package .

Where WBD partnered with the NBA on its NBA TV cable network, League Pass product, and digital distribution through Bleacher Report under the previous deal struck in 2015, the new package announced this week will see the NBA partner with Disney and Amazon on these products while taking ownership of some aspects itself.

NBA fans know to expect the smallest market or least popular team in the first round of the playoffs each season to be relegated to NBA TV. With the network likely to be phased out, all three of ESPN, Prime Video, and NBC will air first-round games to make up the difference starting when the deal begins in 2025-26.

In its press release announcing a new, 11-year deal with the NBA, ESPN teased “increased rights to utilize NBA and WNBA highlights” to be used in its ESPN Bet sports betting content as well as a new whiparound show featuring “real-time highlights and live cut-ins.” This mirrors Bleacher Report’s extensive digital partnership with the NBA and WBD’s NBA CrunchTime whiparound show coproduced with the league on its app.

Amazon Prime Video announced it will be “the strategic partner and third-party global channels store destination” for League Pass.

“We are proud to be the first exclusive streaming partner for the NBA, bringing Prime members across the globe one of the most exciting and most popular sports in the world,” said Prime Video global head of sports Jay Marine in a statement. “With 66 regular season games, the NBA Cup, the Play-In Tournament, more than 20 playoff games every year, and NBA League Pass, we’re giving basketball fans around the world more ways than ever to watch the action.”

The NBA struck a deal with Microsoft in 2020 to use the computing company’s Azure cloud platform to deliver live games to fans online. It also relaunched the NBA App in partnership with Microsoft in 2022, where it has streamed AAU and international basketball.

The league will likely continue to operate the app and League Pass streaming platform in-house, with Microsoft technology and Amazon as a partner.

In the past, leagues needed partners to own a cable network and manage content. Now, league media apparatuses are bigger than ever and they are confident in distributing their own content. At the same time, the value of that content is higher than ever as media companies bid for footage and conversation starters to enhance their own products.

The NBA prioritized global and digital distribution in its new package, which can be seen through the league boxing WBD out of it. Its approach with NBA TV, League Pass, and highlights rights follows the same strategy.

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