Amazon is one of the frontrunners to get a chunk of the NBA’s next media rights deal, and it’s looking to bring some NFL flavor into the NBA.
According to a report by Front Office Sports, Amazon (AMZN) – Get Free Report is interested in creating an exclusive night to stream the NBA with the goal replicating its NFL “Thursday Night Football” formula.
The NBA’s current media rights deal with The Walt Disney Company’s (DIS) – Get Free Report ESPN/ABC and Warner Bros. Discovery Sports’ (WBD) – Get Free Report TNT ends after the 2024-25 season. It’s reportedly seeking around $50 to $75 billion for its next deal, up from its $24 billion during its last deal that kicked in at the start of the 2016-17 season.
The league is still within the window to negotiate exclusively with ESPN and TNT, but reports have suggested that the NBA could be looking to add a third partner.
With the shift to streaming across most live sports properties, experts believe the NBA will follow suit. The question is more on how much the NBA is willing to commit to streaming.
Related: The NFL has discussed plans to move the Super Bowl overseas
It will have options across both incumbents to move to add direct-to-consumer offerings. ESPN’s head honchos have already suggested that the company will soon integrate a direct-to-consumer platform to air its main offerings, while Warner has both Max and Bleacher Report.
But Amazon is more proven than both, even if it got off to a slow start during its inaugural season.
“Thursday Night Football” averaged just 9.6 million viewers last season, which was significantly less than the 16.7 million viewer average viewership the NFL saw among all its partners. However, Amazon has already seen a jump this year to 12.9 million viewers through six broadcasts, which is up 25% versus the first six games last season.
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