In March 2021, the NFL signed an 11-year deal with Amazon Prime Video to give the company exclusive rights to Thursday night football. Is the NBA next? This mega agreement with television networks is worth more than 100,000 million dollars.
Of course, the multi-year deal includes Amazon, ESPN/ABC, Fox, CBS and NBC. After the 2024-25 NBA season, the US league’s media deal with Warner Bros. Discovery’s TNT and Disney’s ESPN/ABC expires.
According to multiple NBA betting sites, the Golden State Warriors are the favorites to repeat in 2023. However, some sportsbooks give the Boston Celtics the highest odds to win the championship.
Watch out for ESPN and TNT.
With the NFL in its pocket, Amazon now wants @NBA media rights, sources say @FOS.
Amazon has been cited as a bidder. But every week he defies expectations with ‘Thursday Night Football,’ that theory becomes more of a reality.https://t.co/mGn9E4rD5Z
—Michael McCarthy (@MMcCarthyREV) October 10, 2022
Amazon is paying the NFL around $1 billion per year to stream Thursday Night Football, and the NBA could join them in the near future. Last season, the NBA surpassed $10 billion in revenue for the first time.
According to Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports, the NBA is seeking between $50 billion and $75 billion for its next US media deal.
“The [NBA] he’s certainly done very well for a long time with ESPN and Turner. But the interest in the league, and its strategic importance, is only growing,” explained John Kosner, former NBA and ESPN executive.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is always looking for new ways to attract new sponsors and young fans. Considering the size of the global NBA market, Amazon might be the most logical choice for financial growth.
Will the NBA sign a US media deal with Amazon after the 2024-25 season?
Prime Video has more than 200 million Amazon Prime customers. Similar to the NFL, will the NBA remove viewing options for specific games? Fans can only hope that doesn’t happen. Otherwise, this move will only anger longtime fans.
NBA League Pass comes to mind. In September, the league lowered the annual price by 56%. Last season’s standard package was priced at $230. For the 2022-23 season, subscribers can pay $100 for the entire package.
Also, the premium package was priced at $280 per month. Now the premium is $130 per month. Also, the package has no commercials.
If a consumer is already paying for NBA League Pass, the games should be available there. Even then, blackout restrictions apply. This complicates things. So that’s exactly why some fans buy a VPN too.
In 2017, Amazon began simulcasting a total of 10 TNF games each year. The multi-million dollar company then broadcast an exclusive Saturday 2020 game between the San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals.
During week 4 of the 2022 NFL season, Amazon Prime Video averaged 11.7 million viewers for the Miami Dolphins-Cincinnati Bengals matchup. In Week 3, approximately 11.03 million people tuned in to watch the Pittsburgh Steelers take on the Cleveland Browns.
On all platforms, the Dolphins-Bengals game gathered 13.4 million viewers. If Amazon strikes a deal with the NBA, fans will definitely be tuning in to watch it via Prime Video.
However, NBA executives need to learn from the NFL’s past mistakes. Many football fans were angry when Thursday night football was removed from the NFL Network.
Imagine if NBA games were removed from League Pass and NBA TV to stream exclusively on Prime Video. This would upset millions of basketball fans. Everything is greed. Fans are already spending their hard-earned money on NBA packages and multiple streaming services.
