Amazon Prime Video was the big addition to the NBA media rights partners in the league’s new deal, and as always, the company is thinking global as it plots out its broadcast team.
In the latest episode of his podcast Marchand Sports Media, Andrew Marchand of The Athletic noted that the streamer will likely prioritize international stars on-screen. That goes for both the teams it seeks to schedule in that slot as well as the broadcasters it hires.
The reason? Amazon’s big Saturday national slate of games is likely to be scheduled for the afternoon in the U.S. to air in the evening in Europe. The streamer wants faces that fans will recognize front and center.
“They might be, a little bit more, trying to get the international superstars in those games and maybe even the way they program it,” Marchand said. “Their desks might [have] a little more international flair to it, I think.”
Marchand specifically named Basketball Hall of Famer and native German Dirk Nowitzki as someone to watch as Amazon pursues this strategy.
Though Marchand did not expand beyond Nowitzki, other candidates who fit that mold could include Pau Gasol, Tony Parker, or even Canadian Steve Nash.
All along, both Amazon and the NBA were drawn toward the potential of making basketball more accessible to fans around the world. Prime Video will become an exclusive distributor of the NBA League Pass “channel” on its streaming service under the new media rights package, but it is not clear how it will soak up broadcast rights outside the U.S.
Currently, most countries watch NBA games through partnerships between the biggest sports network in that country alongside either ESPN or TNT Sports. With TNT out and Amazon in, that will change.
And as more fans move to Prime Video to watch the NBA, execs want them to see not only basketball stars but basketball analysts who they recognize and care about.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.