Amazon and NBC’s new NBA TV and streaming deals will elevate their ad businesses

The news: The NBA has finalized new partnerships with NBC and Amazon Prime Video, marking significant changes in its broadcasting landscape. These deals, valued at $76 billion, will see the NBA Finals continue on ABC/ESPN for the next 11 seasons.

• TNT Sports, a current NBA broadcast partner owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, may still contest these agreements, according to CEO David Zaslav.
• The deals await approval from the NBA's board of governors, expected to be a formality during its meeting in Las Vegas next week.
• NBC will broadcast games on Tuesdays and stream additional content on Peacock, while Amazon will feature games on Thursdays and weekends. ESPN retains a significant portion of the coverage, including exclusive rights to the NBA Finals.

Why it matters: Live sporting events, including NBA games, are one of the few remaining forms of appointment viewing, attracting significant ad spend.

• Our forecast calls for digital live sports viewers in the US to grow from 95.5 million in 2023 to 126.8 million by 2027—a 32.8% increase over four years.
• Younger audiences (ages 13 to 34) are leading the shift to digital, with 24% consuming sports via subscription video-on-demand (SVOD), compared with just 16% for those 55 and older.
• The worldwide media rights value of all sports properties is projected to rise from $51.21 billion in 2019 to $63.74 billion by 2026, highlighting the escalating importance and investment in live sports content.

Implications for Amazon: The tech giant’s new NBA rights will boost its advertising business and offer more value to Prime members—and at $1.8 billion per year, the deal is a manageable investment considering Amazon's $2 trillion valuation.

• The deal is seen as a defensive strategy to retain and bolster Prime members.
• NBA games will enable Amazon to promote Prime Video's original shows to a large audience. The more viewers watch those shows, the more advertising inventory the company will be able to serve.

Our take: The new deals represent a strategic diversification of the NBA’s broadcasting partners, potentially boosting viewership through varied platforms and schedules.

• In some ways, the move increases accessibility; in other ways, it increases friction for sports aficionados, who will need to remember which provider carries specific games.