USA: NBA extends domestic TV rights contracts with Disney and Turner for $24bn (€19.1bn) for 9 years

The NBA (National Basketball Association) has extended its domestic audiovisual rights contracts with the American pay-TV groups Disney and Turner for $24bn (€19.1bn) over 9 years (the 2016-17 through 2024-25 seasons), the league announced on 06/10/2014. The contracts amount to $2.67bn (€2.13bn) per season, or nearly triple the current annual amount for domestic rights ($930m; €740m) for the 2008-09 to 2015-16 period.

Disney will continue broadcasting NBA games on its pay-TV sports channel ESPN and its national free-TV channel ABC. ESPN and the NBA will also develop a new online video service to broadcast games live on the Internet and via ESPN mobile platforms. Turner, part of the Time Warner Cable group, will continue broadcasting NBA games on its pay-TV channel TNT. Turner and the NBA will also develop new online content via the Bleacher Report network of sports websites, which Turner acquired in 2012.

• The breakdown and separation of how much Disney and Turner will each pay specifically per year was not immediately announced by the NBA or the broadcastors on 06/10/2014.