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06-30-2007, 09:15 PM
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http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA062907.whattowatch.28c27dd0.html
NBA hauls in richest contract
Jerry Garcia
Express-News Staff Writer
The NBA rebounded very well this week.
After the Finals posted the lowest TV ratings in their prime-time history, this week’s draft ushered in one of the strongest classes in recent history while the league extended its TV contract with its current partners until the 2015-16 season.
The new deals included extensive digital media rights giving the NBA its richest contract ever, estimated at $7.4 billion. Sources told the Associated Press and Mediaweek that the league will pocket $930 million a year, a 20 percent increase from the $767 million average the NBA currently receives from its TV partners.
The current contract with ABC/ESPN, TNT and NBA TV was a six-year deal for $4.6 billion that ends after the 2007-08 season.
The new eight-year deal (2008-09 to 2015-16) looked past the ratings trouble and to the future of digital rights. Current TV partners ABC/ESPN, TNT and NBA TV all use NBA content on their respective Web sites. While he never said digital rights were becoming more important that TV rights, NBA commissioner David Stern said digital media information tells him Web hits instead of TV ratings may be a better measurement of its fans.
“I go down to the basement and check our servers, and we get these extraordinary counts — in April, 30 million fans streamed NBA highlights,” he said. “Additional millions of fans were tuning in on Airplay and Amp in a wireless way. We have fans on video games and growing online and ultimately on their handheld devices.”
“Throughout the playoffs, we averaged over a million unique visitors to ESPN.com per day to get NBA content,” ESPN executive vice president of content John Skipper said. “We had 700,000 wireless visitors a day to get NBA content and 32 million video starts of NBA highlights on ESPN.com.”
In addition to the digital rights, TV-wise, what does $930 million a year buy you? Here’s the breakdown:
• National TV games all season: The NBA will have games available on a nationwide basis every day of the week during the regular season — Mondays, Tuesdays and Saturdays on NBA TV, Wednesdays and Fridays on ESPN/ESPN2, Thursdays on TNT and Sundays on ABC.
• ABC/ESPN: Both are owned by Disney, with ESPN being the primary outlet for games — remember ABC Sports ceased to exist last September when all sporting events on ABC became branded as “ESPN on ABC.”
Beginning with the 2008-09 season, a minimum of 30 games will be put on ABC. ABC will stick with the same regular season plan it’s currently using, showing 15 regular-season games starting Christmas Day and on Sunday afternoons beginning in January. The number of times one team can be featured in a national TV game goes up from five appearances to six. Come playoff time, ABC will showcase more early round games with a minimum of 15 playoff games and all of the Finals games.
ESPN/ESPN2 gets 75 regular-season games, mostly on Wednesdays and Friday, up to 29 playoff games with exclusive coverage of the conference semifinals and “showcasing” a conference finals series. ESPN also gets to show the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game, the NBA draft, the draft lottery and pre-draft camp coverage on ESPNU.
The new wrinkle comes from digital rights. All NBA content can be used across 17 platforms (including ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Classic, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, ESPN Deportes, ESPN360.com, ESPN Mobile TV, ESPN Radio, ESPN.com, ESPN podcasts, ESPN International). ESPN gets permission to stream NBA games either live, tape-delayed or on-demand on all those platforms. The deal also lets ESPN use NBA content on any new media platform its enters into or creates until 2016.
• TNT: Like ESPN, TNT’s deal also includes extensive digital rights that will let it distribute NBA content on the Internet (TNT Overtime), wireless, broadband and video-on-demand platforms shortly after the original broadcast and fantasy games licenses.
Game-wise, TNT gets 52 regular-season games, including a doubleheader on the regular-season opening night and Thursday night doubleheaders; the NBA All-Star Game and All-Star Weekend events; and 52 playoff games with exclusive coverage of a conference finals series on an alternating basis each year with ESPN.
• NBA TV: The channel, owned by the league and Turner Sports, will pay a small fee for games, but the channel gets 96 regular-season games, up to nine playoff games and digital media rights. The new deal closely mirrors the deal it currently has in place.
Contracts used to be negotiated in four- to six-year increments. In a teleconference this week announcing the new contract, Stern stated the eight-year deal was reached because the network partners “are making such a substantial and long-term commitment,” and this deal is “simply the latest in a string of deals but will be flowed by subsequent deals” that will better support the investments they’re making “on a digital and global scale.”
Previous NBA TV Rights Deals
BROADCAST NETWORK
Seasons, Network ... Contracts
1953-54, DuMont ... $39,000/13 games
1954-55/1961-62, NBC ... N/A
1962-63/1972-73 , ABC ... N/A
1973-74/1975-76, CBS ... $27 million/3 years
1976-77/1977-78, CBS ... $21 million/2 years
1978-79/1981-82, CBS ... $74 million/4 years
1982-83/1985-86, CBS ... $91.9 million/4 years
1986-87/1989-90, CBS ... $173 million/4 years
1990-91/1993-94, NBC ... $601 million/4 years
1994-95/1997-98, NBC ... $892 million/4 years
1998-99/2001-02, NBC ... $1.616 billion/4 years
2003-03/07-08, ABC/ESPN ... $2.4 billion/6 years
CABLE NETWORKS
Seasons, Network ... Contracts
1979-80/81-82, USA ... $1.5 million/3 years
1982-83/83-84, USA/ESPN ... $11 million/2 years
1984-85/85-86, TBS ... $20 million/2 years
1986-87/1987-88, TBS ... $25 million/2 years
1988-89/89-90, TBS/TNT ... $50 million/2 years
1990-91/93-94, TNT ... $275 million/4 years
1994-95/97-98, TNT/TBS ... $397 million/4 years
1998-99/2001-02, TNT/TBS ... $840 million/4 years
2002-03/07-08, TNT ... $.2 billion/6 years
Source: NBA
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA062907.whattowatch.28c27dd0.html
NBA hauls in richest contract
Jerry Garcia
Express-News Staff Writer
The NBA rebounded very well this week.
After the Finals posted the lowest TV ratings in their prime-time history, this week’s draft ushered in one of the strongest classes in recent history while the league extended its TV contract with its current partners until the 2015-16 season.
The new deals included extensive digital media rights giving the NBA its richest contract ever, estimated at $7.4 billion. Sources told the Associated Press and Mediaweek that the league will pocket $930 million a year, a 20 percent increase from the $767 million average the NBA currently receives from its TV partners.
The current contract with ABC/ESPN, TNT and NBA TV was a six-year deal for $4.6 billion that ends after the 2007-08 season.
The new eight-year deal (2008-09 to 2015-16) looked past the ratings trouble and to the future of digital rights. Current TV partners ABC/ESPN, TNT and NBA TV all use NBA content on their respective Web sites. While he never said digital rights were becoming more important that TV rights, NBA commissioner David Stern said digital media information tells him Web hits instead of TV ratings may be a better measurement of its fans.
“I go down to the basement and check our servers, and we get these extraordinary counts — in April, 30 million fans streamed NBA highlights,” he said. “Additional millions of fans were tuning in on Airplay and Amp in a wireless way. We have fans on video games and growing online and ultimately on their handheld devices.”
“Throughout the playoffs, we averaged over a million unique visitors to ESPN.com per day to get NBA content,” ESPN executive vice president of content John Skipper said. “We had 700,000 wireless visitors a day to get NBA content and 32 million video starts of NBA highlights on ESPN.com.”
In addition to the digital rights, TV-wise, what does $930 million a year buy you? Here’s the breakdown:
• National TV games all season: The NBA will have games available on a nationwide basis every day of the week during the regular season — Mondays, Tuesdays and Saturdays on NBA TV, Wednesdays and Fridays on ESPN/ESPN2, Thursdays on TNT and Sundays on ABC.
• ABC/ESPN: Both are owned by Disney, with ESPN being the primary outlet for games — remember ABC Sports ceased to exist last September when all sporting events on ABC became branded as “ESPN on ABC.”
Beginning with the 2008-09 season, a minimum of 30 games will be put on ABC. ABC will stick with the same regular season plan it’s currently using, showing 15 regular-season games starting Christmas Day and on Sunday afternoons beginning in January. The number of times one team can be featured in a national TV game goes up from five appearances to six. Come playoff time, ABC will showcase more early round games with a minimum of 15 playoff games and all of the Finals games.
ESPN/ESPN2 gets 75 regular-season games, mostly on Wednesdays and Friday, up to 29 playoff games with exclusive coverage of the conference semifinals and “showcasing” a conference finals series. ESPN also gets to show the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game, the NBA draft, the draft lottery and pre-draft camp coverage on ESPNU.
The new wrinkle comes from digital rights. All NBA content can be used across 17 platforms (including ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Classic, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, ESPN Deportes, ESPN360.com, ESPN Mobile TV, ESPN Radio, ESPN.com, ESPN podcasts, ESPN International). ESPN gets permission to stream NBA games either live, tape-delayed or on-demand on all those platforms. The deal also lets ESPN use NBA content on any new media platform its enters into or creates until 2016.
• TNT: Like ESPN, TNT’s deal also includes extensive digital rights that will let it distribute NBA content on the Internet (TNT Overtime), wireless, broadband and video-on-demand platforms shortly after the original broadcast and fantasy games licenses.
Game-wise, TNT gets 52 regular-season games, including a doubleheader on the regular-season opening night and Thursday night doubleheaders; the NBA All-Star Game and All-Star Weekend events; and 52 playoff games with exclusive coverage of a conference finals series on an alternating basis each year with ESPN.
• NBA TV: The channel, owned by the league and Turner Sports, will pay a small fee for games, but the channel gets 96 regular-season games, up to nine playoff games and digital media rights. The new deal closely mirrors the deal it currently has in place.
Contracts used to be negotiated in four- to six-year increments. In a teleconference this week announcing the new contract, Stern stated the eight-year deal was reached because the network partners “are making such a substantial and long-term commitment,” and this deal is “simply the latest in a string of deals but will be flowed by subsequent deals” that will better support the investments they’re making “on a digital and global scale.”
Previous NBA TV Rights Deals
BROADCAST NETWORK
Seasons, Network ... Contracts
1953-54, DuMont ... $39,000/13 games
1954-55/1961-62, NBC ... N/A
1962-63/1972-73 , ABC ... N/A
1973-74/1975-76, CBS ... $27 million/3 years
1976-77/1977-78, CBS ... $21 million/2 years
1978-79/1981-82, CBS ... $74 million/4 years
1982-83/1985-86, CBS ... $91.9 million/4 years
1986-87/1989-90, CBS ... $173 million/4 years
1990-91/1993-94, NBC ... $601 million/4 years
1994-95/1997-98, NBC ... $892 million/4 years
1998-99/2001-02, NBC ... $1.616 billion/4 years
2003-03/07-08, ABC/ESPN ... $2.4 billion/6 years
CABLE NETWORKS
Seasons, Network ... Contracts
1979-80/81-82, USA ... $1.5 million/3 years
1982-83/83-84, USA/ESPN ... $11 million/2 years
1984-85/85-86, TBS ... $20 million/2 years
1986-87/1987-88, TBS ... $25 million/2 years
1988-89/89-90, TBS/TNT ... $50 million/2 years
1990-91/93-94, TNT ... $275 million/4 years
1994-95/97-98, TNT/TBS ... $397 million/4 years
1998-99/2001-02, TNT/TBS ... $840 million/4 years
2002-03/07-08, TNT ... $.2 billion/6 years
Source: NBA