The NBA said on Wednesday that it did not accept the offer of US$ 1.8 billion a year that was presented Warner Bros. Discovery to continue its years-long partnership with the league and instead struck a deal with Amazon Prime Video, a move that means this season marks the end of nearly four decades of games on TNT.
Warner Bros. He had five days to work out some of the details and said he would exercise his right to finalize it, but the NBA did not consider his offer to be truly fair.
“Warner Bros. Discovery’s most recent proposal did not match the terms of Amazon Prime Video’s offer, so we will enter into a long-term agreement with Amazon“the league said Wednesday.Our primary goal throughout these negotiations has been to maximize fan reach for the games. Our arrangement with Amazon will help accomplish this goal by complementing the broadcast and streaming packages already part of the new agreement with Disney and NBCUniversal. All three parties have committed substantial resources to promote the league and enhance the fan experience.”.
NBA signs with Disney, NBC and Amazon Prime
The NBA also announced Wednesday that it has signed 11-year agreements, beginning with the 2025-2026 season and running through the 2035-2036 season, with The Walt Disney Company, NBCUniversal and Amazon Prime Video.
With the new contracts, which have an estimated value of around US$76 billion, the streaming giant Amazon Prime Video will be able to broadcast the NBA Cup, the play-in and games on Thursday and Friday.
Disney will continue to be the platform for the NBA Finals through the ABC channel, the American league announced. It will also broadcast the Christmas Day games, those on Wednesday on ESPN and the Saturday primetime games on ABC.
The deal with Amazon, valued at US$1.8 billion, marks the end of the relationship between Warner Bros. Discovery and the NBA, which since 1988 was one of the league’s television strongholds with hit shows such as “Inside the NBA” with Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Knicks Smith on the TNT channel.
Warner Bros. Discovery announced on Tuesday that it had sent a last-minute proposal to the NBA that matched Amazon Prime Video’s. The proposal was not accepted.
NBC, meanwhile, will broadcast the opening day games of the season, the new Sunday night primetime slot, as well as regional Tuesday games, Monday matches on the streaming platform ‘Peacock’ and the NBA All Star.
The American league said in a statement that the new agreements will include the largest number of live domestic matches ever.
“Our new global agreements with Disney, NBCUniversal and Amazon will maximize the reach and accessibility of NBA games for fans in the U.S. and around the world. These collaborations will distribute our content across a broad range of platforms and help transform the fan experience in the next decade.“said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.
The Amazon package
Amazon will broadcast NBA games globally in countries including Spain, Mexico, Brazil, Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Ireland.
There will be 66 regular season games in total, including Thursday, Friday and Saturday afternoon matches. Amazon will also broadcast the NBA Cup quarter-finals, semi-finals and final.
In addition to the ‘play-in’, the tournament that gives access to the ‘playoffs’, Amazon will have “Nearly a third of the first and second round playoff games”.
For six of the 11 years of the agreement, Amazon will broadcast one of the two Conference Finals series alternately with NBC, starting in the 2026-2027 season.
“We are honored that the NBA has trusted Prime Video to provide a unique product to fans around the world. We look forward to continuing to innovate and evolve live sports coverage for our customers.“We are excited to announce that we will continue to deliver our next-gen streaming service to consumers around the world,” said Mike Hopkins, head of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios.
With information from AP and EFE
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Source: Gestion
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