Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) shoots at the basket as Philadelphia 76ers forward Tobias Harris, left, and guard De'Anthony Melton, behind center, defend during the second half of Game 7 in the NBA basketball Eastern Conference semifinal playoff series, Sunday, May 14, 2023, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
With All-Star Weekend now in the rearview mirror, the NBA’s focus returns to what its next media rights deal will look like, which could shape the future of the sport for the next decade.
In the fall of 2014, the league agreed to a pair of nine-year deals for a combined $24 billion. One agreement was with Disney, which owns ESPN, ABC and Hulu, while the other was with the company now known as Warner Bros. Discovery, home of TNT and Max.
Back then, Hulu was just a few months old, while Max and other streaming platforms including Prime Video, Peacock, YouTube TV and Paramount+ wouldn’t exist for years. Since their inception, those streamers have all dabbled in live sports to some extent, with varying degrees of success.
Amazon’s Prime Video saw its Thursday Night Football audience balloon by 24% this past season, while Peacock can now claim the most streamed event in U.S. history: a Kansas City Chiefs-Miami Dolphins NFL playoff game from this past season which drew an eye-popping audience of 23 million people.
The NBA is paying attention.
In a recent interview with NBA.com, league Commissioner Adam Silver revealed that the success of the NFL on streaming platforms has piqued his interest, saying:
“The early results were positive. It demonstrates something that’s been a truism in the content business for a long time. And that is: content is truly king, particularly premium live sports. That content always finds its audience.”
While the NFL dominates every other sport in the U.S. in terms of viewership, the NBA is in second place and has something even the NFL doesn’t: a young, diverse, global audience. A poll by The Athletic from this past October found that more than 57% of NBA fans are between the ages of 26-45, with a plurality between 26-35.
When you combine that with a player pool where nearly 30% of competitors were born outside the U.S. (the last five league MVPs were born outside North America), and game broadcasts that are distributed to over 200 countries and territories, you can see why so many companies are salivating over the possibility of a rights deal, and why the league is a target for so many marketers.
Live sports have always been a valuable bauble in the crown of any network, but in an age when customers are cutting the cord on cable, that value has only grown. The industry consensus is that the NBA will attempt to nearly triple the value of its last deal, which would see the new one come in around $75 billion. And when you consider the impact the league has off the court, in pop culture, fashion, entertainment and beyond, the number doesn’t seem so farfetched.
As of now, the expectation is that both Disney and WBD will pass on the exclusive negotiating window they have with the NBA this April, as they face pressure from investors to trim costs. The companies could still sign up for smaller packages, but NBA fans should be ready to watch games somewhere new for the first time in a decade.
While nothing is set in stone, it seems likely a portion of NBA games over the next 10 years will be exclusive to a streaming platform, considering the average age of its fanbase and the growth of streaming. Wherever NBA games end up, lots of fans will be watching. And every other league will be paying close attention to just how much it costs the winning bidder.
Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global, breaks down September’s CPI print and inflation trends, explaining what it means for markets.
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
The stunning indictment that led to the arrest of more than 30 people — including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and other NBA figures — has drawn new scrutiny of the booming business of sports betting in the U.S. The multibillion-dollar industry has made it easy for sports fans — and even some players — to wager on everything from the outcome of games to that of a single play with just a few taps of a cellphone. But regulating the rapidly-growing industry has proven to be a challenge. Professional sports leagues’ own role in promoting gambling has also raised eyebrows.
Tesla, the car company run by Elon Musk, reported Wednesday that it sold more vehicles in the past three months after boycotts hit hard earlier this year, but profits still fell sharply. Third-quarter earnings fell to $1.4 billion, from $2.2 billion a year earlier. Excluding charges, per share profit of 50 cents came in below analysts' estimate. Tesla shares fell 3.5% in after-hours trading. Musk said the company's robotaxi service, which is available in Austin, Texas, and San Francisco, will roll out to as many as 10 other metro areas by the end of the year.
