From the beginning of the 2025-26 season, NBA fans will experience the biggest media coverage overhaul in its entire history. After months of intense negotiations, the NBA has finally signed a staggering 11-year deal with The Walt Disney Company (ABC/ESPN), NBCUniversal, and Amazon Prime Video.
The $76 billion deal is a whopping 160% increase in average annual value, compared to the previous contract. The new contract will start from 2025-26 and will go on till the 2036-37 season. With this deal, the NBA ended a near 36-year domestic broadcast run with Warner Bros.’ TNT Sports. But what do the new stakeholders get?
NBA Media Deal: Who Gets What?
Disney will pay for the largest chunk of shares, with $2.6 billion annually to ensure that ABC and ESPN continue hosting major events like the NBA Finals, offering at least 80 regular-season games per year.
For Amazon Prime Video, the deal means that they will be providing exclusive global coverage of select regular-season games. The deal, meanwhile, also includes in-season tournament knockouts, the Play-In Tournament, Playoff games. Prime will even host the NBA Finals for six seasons as part of the deal.
After a 23-year hiatus, NBC returns to the NBA landscape. With the return, they bring marquee matchups to both its broadcast network and the Peacock streaming service.
Besides the traditional TV, all national games will be now streaming on Prime Video, Peacock, and ESPN’s future direct-to-consumer app. This allows fans to watch across various devices. The NBA App also wishes to become a unified entry point, that would seamlessly connect the fans to whichever platform has the game they would look for.
Local Blackouts, Simulcast Controversies: Fans Divided
The NBA’s shift to expand national exposure also means that there will be some major changes on how and where the games can be watched. The deal has given a big blow to the regional sports networks (RSNs). Probably from the upcoming season onwards, the RSNs won’t get to simulcast first-round playoff games alongside national telecasts.
Therefore, this also means that local stations that have got their own local announcers to fans will slowly get ruled out of the business. National partners now get to have the monopoly to air all the Playoff games, therefore these local broadcasting announcers will slowly perish from the business.
Therefore, playoff teams (especially with passionate home markets), may see a significantly lower revenue for the local media. But the league overall benefits quite a lot from this mega-billion deal. But the regional perspectives provided by the local providers will be missed by many fans, who tend to grow a bond with the same.
How Social Media Reacted to the NBA Media Deal
Unsurprisingly, the deal has triggered a debate across social media. Fans are divided on the deal across X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram. Some welcomed the convenience of broader streaming access with a unified NBA App experience.
Meanwhile, others debate over the loss of local voices, sharing their concern that “blackouts” and exclusive streaming windows can make these cherished games less accessible. This can be a hindrance for older fans or households who do not have access to multiple streaming services.
The vibe around these changes is palpable. The debates amongst the sports fans on various social media accounts with trending hashtags reflect strongly about multiple things. For the ones who got it and can afford, this deal has been welcomed with open hearts. But on the other side, the transition shifts from cable to digital, with RSNs losing out on opportunities. Fans will miss the familiar TNT crew, as they raise broader questions about affordability.
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