The 2025-2026 season was a success for the NBA in the first year of its new rights deals with ESPN, Amazon, and NBC. But the association is still undergoing layoffs, as it appears to be a major reorganization.
Ratings for the NBA Finals hit highs not seen since the Jordan Era, thanks to the first title for the New York Knicks in over 50 years. That followed a strong regular season and postseason with more games on national television and new stars rising to the forefront.
Below the surface, though, the NBA and every other major sports league not named the NFL are facing significant challenges, particularly in local rights deals. With the collapse of the regional sports network ecosystem, the NBA and peers like the NHL and MLB are looking to consolidate local rights and lose out on the millions of dollars in revenue that came with RSN deals.
As the NBA looks towards that future, Sports Business Journal reports that the association is eliminating dozens of jobs in light of the new local media era and the planned creation of NBA Europe.
“The changes today are a continuation of the strategy we announced in September, which will enable us to invest further — including in new positions and hiring — in key growth areas such as local media, programming and technology, the WNBA and the creation of a new league in Europe,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver wrote in an internal memo acquired by the publication. “These new investments will best position us to achieve our key objectives, including a better understanding of our fans, improving the game and viewership, and driving global growth across our leagues.”
Part of the NBA’s restructuring was the hiring of Matt Volk as the league’s new local media executive. The new position that Volk is filling will handle local media for both NBA and WNBA franchises. A completely centralized local rights platform could be in place for the 2027-2028 season.
While it’s unfortunate for any company to go through layoffs, it appears the restructuring is more about the NBA building for a new future where the sport can continue to thrive in a changing media environment than about fighting for survival.
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