Walt Disney Co. and Time Warner Inc. have renewed their contracts to carry National Basketball Association games through 2025, according to people familiar with the matter.
The NBA will receive about twice as much in fees as the prior contract, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the terms are private. Time Warner’s TNT and Disney’s ESPN and ABC networks currently pay the NBA about $930 million a year combined in a deal that was set to expire at the end of 2015-2016 season.
Disney and Time Warner took advantage of an exclusive window to negotiate a new deal, locking in a key contract that represented the last major U.S. sports rights that were up for grabs until 2021. Live sporting events like the NBA are ratings gold mines, helping the networks boost viewership and licensing fees from cable and satellite-TV distributors. The deal is crucial to Time Warner Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bewkes’ plan to turn around Turner Broadcasting, which includes TNT, and increase its fees.
The NBA and ESPN are planning a new online video service that will show live games and also be available to customers who don’t pay for cable or satellite-TV, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing unidentified sources.
Mike Bass, a spokesman for the NBA, declined to comment, as did Chris LaPlaca a spokesman for ESPN. A representative for Turner didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The NBA has scheduled a press conference for 10 a.m. New York time tomorrow to discuss new media partnerships.
–With assistance from Christopher Palmeri in Los Angeles.
