NBA TV will look and feel a bit different this season.
After 17 years under the purview of TNT Sports, NBA TV has reverted its operations back to the league as a result of the NBA’s new set of media rights agreements beginning this season. Earlier this summer, Puck’s John Ourand reported that the channel would look “a lot different” under the NBA’s operation, suggesting that the network would lean into more live games from both its own league and international leagues.
Now, we’re getting some of the specifics.
According to a new report by Austin Karp in Sports Business Journal, NBA TV will broadcast 60 regular season games this season. All 60 games will avoid the league’s national windows allocated to ESPN/ABC, NBC/Peacock, and Prime Video under the new deals. Additionally, these games will be non-exclusive, meaning they will also air on regional sports networks in the local markets of the competing teams. The first game slated for the network this season is the Oklahoma City Thunder-Atlanta Hawks matchup on October 25.
Beyond its own games, NBA TV will begin leaning heavily into live international games. “The future of NBA TV is focused on being the global hub of basketball, global home of basketball,” Sara Zuckert, Head of NBA App told Sports Business Journal.
What does that look like? Per Karp, NBA TV will look to source “new and existing international rights deals” from leagues including Australia/New Zealand’s NBL, France’s LNB, Germany’s BBL, Spain’s Liga ACB, China’s CBA, and South Korea’s KBL. Along with working on new international deals, NBA TV will continue to air Basketball Africa League games, NBA G League, and select high school games branded “Future Starts Now.”
In addition to a new focus on live programming, NBA TV will launch a new studio show called The Association to air weeknights out of Los Angeles. The show will feature Rudy Gay, John Wall, Chris Haynes, David Fizdale, and MJ Acosta-Ruiz, as well as “a number of remote contributors,” per Karp. NBA TV will also begin airing video podcasts from select content creators to fill its programming hours.
Crucially, the league itself is also overtaking operations of the NBA League Pass app as part of the overhaul to its media properties.
Leaning into live programming, especially from leagues outside the NBA, will help superserve diehard basketball fans. However, without any playoff inventory or exclusive games, like NBA TV had under the old agreements, the network will become less essential for most sports fans.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.