The $76 Billion HEIST by Adam Silver: Inside the NBA's New Media Rights Deal

The $76 Billion NBA New Media Rights Heist that the NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is about to pull off will change the media landscape forever.

Silver is in the process of closing a deal that will move the NBA from a $24 billion media rights deal to a $76 billion media rights deal. While overall ratings for the NBA nationally televised games are up just 1% in 2023-24, I wonder if Silver moonlights as a magician in Las Vegas.

Imagine Silver on stage in Las Vegas saying, "Watch me pull an additional $52 billion out of my hat."

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The competition for the NBA TV rights was always expected to be a major sports story in 2024, but its magnitude has surpassed expectations. With the basketball league expanding its broadcast partners from two to three, rumors suggest that the new deal could be worth a staggering $76 billion over 11 years, more than 2.5 times the current deal.

Disney, Amazon, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Comcast are all reportedly vying for a share of the broadcasting rights. According to Bloomberg, Amazon and Disney are close to securing deals worth $2.6 billion and $1.8 billion per year, respectively.

Recently, Comcast joined the fray, offering $2.5 billion per year in an attempt to outbid Warner Bros. Discovery-owned TNT. Losing the rights could have serious consequences for WBD; following reports of Comcast's interest, WBD's stock fell by 9%.

CEO David Zaslav addressed the issue early Thursday during WBD’s first quarter earnings call, saying conversations were ongoing and noting that WBD had “matching rights that allow us to match third-party offers before the NBA enters into an agreement with them.”

We will update the article as updates happen: