[ad_1]
Rights for the NBA are set to expire in the next couple of years, following the 2024-25 season. So that means that broadcasters need to look at and see if they want to get rights to some games, or more games, in the next round of negotiations for the rights. And FOX’s CEO has said no thanks, basically.
FOX CEO, Lachlan Murdoch stated that he hates “to disappoint, but we are highly unlikely to bid on the NBA. We look at our sports portfolio and try to balance it overall. And in doing so, I think it’s highly unlikely that we would bid on the NBA.”
Remember, FOX does already have nearly half of the NFL games, it has College Football games from the Big Ten and Big 12 conferences. It also has the exclusive rights to the MLB World Series, as well as broadcasting baseball games every Saturday night. On top of that, it is also the exclusive broadcaster for the MLS, besides the MLS Season Pass. So it does have a good amount of sports already.
Murdoch does bring up a big point though, and while leagues are moving to streaming because streamers are spending more money on sports, he thinks broadcast TV is where sports should be. Stating that “Broadcast is still the best place for sports; and frankly, if I were an NFL owner or an NBA owner or a team owner, I would want to be on broadcast TV.” Why? Because of the reach. Everyone has access to broadcast channels like FOX, since it is free over-the-air. But that’s not the case with streaming.
This opens space for NBC to negotiate
The best option is likely going to be NBC. As they do streaming and broadcast with NBC’s family of channels as well as Peacock. Comcast, the owner of NBCUniversal, wants the NBA back. From 1990-2002, the NBA on NBC was iconic and a staple in sports broadcasting. In fact, just reading this, you can probably hear the NBA on NBC song.
Now, with FOX dropping out of the race, it gives NBC a bit more space for negotiations, as there’s one less competitor. However, the NBA does have exclusive negotiations with its current partners first. Which are Disney and Warner Bros Discovery. However, for the NBA, it would be smart to put games on even more channels. Giving more teams and more games a primetime spot.
[ad_2]
Source link