Comcast’s NBC Offers $2.5 Billion a Year for NBA, WSJ Reports

Rob Golum, Bloomberg News

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 12: An NBA logo is shown at the 5th Avenue NBA store on March 12, 2020 in New York City. The National Basketball Association said they would suspend all games after player Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz reportedly tested positive for the Coronavirus (COVID-19). (Photo by Jeenah Moon/Getty Images) Photographer: Jeenah Moon/Getty Images North America , Photographer: Jeenah Moon/Getty Images North America

(Bloomberg) -- Comcast Corp.’s NBCUniversal division offered the National Basketball Association about $2.5 billion a year for rights to a package of games, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter.

The offer followed the expiration of exclusive talks the league was holding with Warner Bros. Discovery Inc., the newspaper reported. Warner Bros.’ TNT was unable to reach a new accord with the league before that window closed.

NBC’s package would include two prime-time games a week on the flagship broadcast channel, along with playoffs and coverage on the Peacock streaming service. TNT is one of the league’s longtime partners.

Walt Disney Co., the parent of ESPN and ABC, is the other major TV partner and is expected to pay an average per-year fee of about $2.6 billion to renew its deal, up from about $1.5 billion per year now, the Journal reported.

Amazon.com Inc. is also close to a deal to stream some games.

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