Monday April 29, 2024 ((rezonodwes.com))–
Comcast’s NBCUniversal plans to pay an average of about $2.5 billion a year to broadcast a package of National Basketball Association (NBA) games, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Warner Bros. Discovery-owned TNT paid an average of $1.2 billion under its current contract, but was unable to reach a new pact with the NBA before an exclusive negotiating window expired last week, according to the report.
Warner began broadcasting the games in 1984, while Walt Disney’s ESPN sports network came into action in 2002.
Disney would have to pay an average annual fee of about $2.6 billion to renew its deal, according to the WSJ, citing sources, up from about $1.5 billion a year currently.
NBCUniversal and its parent company Comcast, Warner Bros. Discovery and the NBA did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters. ESPN, which is owned by Disney, declined to comment.
