The NBA hit the jackpot with their new television deal with TNT and ESPN.
The deal would net the NBA an estimated $24 billion over 9 years. his is a staggering amount considering the last deal that was signed in 2007 paid them $930 million. This deal means that teams will see a dramatic increase in the amount of money they receive from the league. In addition, TNT nets 12 more games and exclusive coverage of All Star weekend while ESPN gets 10 additional regular season games, 750 new hours of NBA content, live national rights to summer league and D-league games and other contract points.
Two areas of interest are how this deal affects the future Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with the players, who can opt out in 2017, and how the NBA handles the large percentage of new television time; will they play teams from smaller markets who are emerging contenders or continue to pander to the larger media markets? This also plays into the battle between home and live entertainment. TNT execs seem to believe that they may be able to offer a more complete experience for fans than most arenas and we're sure ESPN is right behind them in offering fans additional ways to stay connected with the NBA, their favorite teams and players.
Adam Silver seems to be having a great start to the season that hasn't even tipped off yet.
