According to new reports, the commissioners of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and Major League Baseball (MLB) have revealed that they could leverage opportunities to incorporate local broadcast rights in future centralized media deals. This development comes amid the heated turmoil rocking the regional sports network (RSN) space. The NBA and MLB leagues want to have a wider national presence due to growing concerns about shifting consumption habit trends. League commissioners see a great streaming future despite the RSN turmoil. Although the two leagues have TV contracts with several broadcasters, individual franchises have conventionally sold their in-market rights to cable-oriented RSNs, the majority of whom have relied on the appeal of local sports to improve fees from distributors. 

Although there is a profitable opportunity for all enterprises, cord-cutting has largely undermined economic models, resulting in a sharp decline in pay-TV viewers and carriage fees for regional sports network space. The exposure for teams has also reduced dramatically. Several team-managed RSNs have had to adapt to evolving market trends by running direct-to-consumer streaming services, but Warner Bros Discovery has left the market, with the Diamond Sports Group (DSG) entering bankruptcy protection and having to renegotiate most of their contracts.

U.S. national television contracts are valued at over $77 billion, with Amazon, NBC, and ESPN coming into full effect next year. Teams in the NBA league depend less on local broadcast revenues than their MLB counterparts. However, there are growing fears about insufficient income streams, so many teams are starting to view the RSN space with uncertainty. This is why many of them are taking their matches to free-to-air DTC channels.

Recently, the National Basketball Association (NBA) signed an agreement that enables Bally Sports to maintain the local rights to thirteen NBA teams, valid until the end of the 2024/2025 campaign for relatively lower fees. However, the rights will be transferred back to the league if DSG fails to exit bankruptcy protection.

Maintaining in-market rights will help the NBA gain the freedom to provide its own local streaming services and offer more inventory for nationwide partners. The league has produced additional national packages that include games that could have been broadcast locally. Overall, improving the revenue stream and national exposure will benefit many NBA teams. You can follow The Sports Prophets blog for more info on the latest NBA news, scores, match predictions, and betting trends.

Dubai Basketball Signs NBA Player Davis Bertans

Dubai Basketball has signed former NBA player Davis Bertans. He could join the side during their groundbreaking season in the European ABA league. The forward from Latvia played for the Charlotte Hornets in the NBA, and his side is on the verge of setting a record as the first UAE team to participate in a major European league. You can watch the inaugural match on September 22, 2024. This game will take place at the Coca Cola Arena, and tickets for the event are available now.

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