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NBC urged to make major broadcasting change for NBA ahead of Super Bowl after billion dollar basketball investment
NBC shelled out $2.5 billion for NBA media rights
AFTER winning NBA media rights, NBC Sports has an opportunity to get a major broadcasting win in their first season.
NBC Sports won the bidding war for a slice of the NBA media rights, but won't start their coverage until the 2025-26.
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With a new sports package coming to the network, NBC Sports will need to cook up a special way to promote their coverage of the NBA.
John Ourand, sports media insider at Puck, suggested NBC Sports utilize a nice coincidence to boost their coverage.
NBC Sports is hosting the Super Bowl in 2026, the same year as their first season of the NBA.
While many networks will use the Super Bowl to boost ratings for a new prime time show, NBC could use it to boost ratings for the NBA.
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If they scheduled a high-stakes NBA game immediately after the Super Bowl, many fans would leave the TV on the channel after the game and keep watching the NBA game.
An NBA game has never been scheduled after the Super Bowl, but the matchup could reap huge rewards for the network.
One issue facing the NBA schedule would be the festivities following the Super Bowl.
The NBA game following the Super Bowl would be at the liberty of however long the trophy ceremony takes.
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The NFL would ultimately have the final say on when the NBA game could start.
It would take a huge amount of scheduling and strategizing to allow an NBA game to start, but it would be a huge payoff for NBC after they splurged to get the media rights.
'I wish I had a job,' claims Charles Barkley as he addresses Inside the NBA's future on TNT and makes LinkedIn joke
NBC is committing a reported $2.6 billion a year to get a slice of this cycle's media rights.
ESPN is dishing out $2.6 billion per year to keep a smaller package of games but retain its postseason coverage.
Amazon is dishing out $1.8 billion per year to steal away rights from TNT Sports.
It appeared that TNT Sports was on the cusp of retaining their rights after sending a matching offer to the NBA, but it was rejected in favor of Amazon.
Inside the NBA host Charles Barkley claimed that the NBA didn't want TNT to continue its coverage of the league anymore.
What the new TV deal means for the NBA?
By The U.S. Sun's Assistant Sports Editor Damian Burchardt.
THE new TV rights deal is promising to be a humongous win for NBA players.
The league is set to more than double the revenue coming from its media partners, pocketing about $6.9 billion per year, which will inevitably lead to a huge salary cap spike in 2025-26.
That is going to send the value of player contracts skyrocketing.
Projected figures suggest we might see the first $100 million-per-year deal being signed soon.
Currently, Boston Celtics All-Star Jayson Tatum is projected to earn the highest single-season salary in NBA history, collecting $71.5 million in 2029-30.
If TNT Sports successfully matches one of the offers to maintain its decades-long partnership with the league, hoops fans will be on the winning side too.
The network's flagship, Inside the NBA, is a one-of-a-kind sports entertainment show, as evidenced by ESPN's ongoing failure to come up with its own version of the program in recent years.
The NBA wouldn't be the same without Kenny and Ernie trying to make sense of Shaq and Chuck's never-ending bickering every Tuesday night.
"I'm not sure TNT ever had a chance," the Inside the NBA analyst wrote in a statement via Bleacher Report.
"TNT matched the money, but the league knows Amazon and these tech companies are the only ones willing to pay for the rights when they double in the future."
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"The NBA didn't want to piss them off.
"It's a sad day when owners and commissioners choose money over the fans. It just sucks."
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