Next year, the NBA’s new television rights contract goes into effect as the league agreed to a deal with ESPN/ABC, Amazon and NBC. There was a lot of excitement and also some concern after the announcement, especially with many being concerned that the popular “Inside The NBA” show would be no more, but that situation was rectified.
With Amazon and NBC now on board, they will obviously want some exclusivity and priority with certain things, and broadcasting playoff games is one of them. These networks want as many eyes on them as possible and unfortunately, that means local networks are going to lose some of their playoff broadcasting.
According to Alex Silverman and Tom Friend of the Sports Business Journal, all first round playoff games will be exclusively shown on national television and won’t be allowed to air on local team networks:
As part of the NBA’s new three-pronged national package with ESPN/ABC, Amazon and NBC, all first-round playoff games will be exclusive national telecasts that cannot air on teams’ local networks. NBC is guaranteed at least 15 first-round games, while Prime Video is to stream no fewer than nine games in the first round.
It is an unfortunate but not uncommon situation here as the league wants to appease its new partners and those networks don’t want anything taking away from fans subscribing. The NBC games shouldn’t be much of a problem for fans to tune in on, but for those without Amazon Prime, they could miss some important matchups if they aren’t subscribed.
This is similar to what is being done in the NFL, also with Amazon, as certain games are exclusively on the streaming service including some playoff games. It will be an adjustment period without a doubt, but fans will have to simply get used to the new normal with this rights deal.
JJ Redick & Rob Pelinka earn votes in NBA Coach & Executive of the Year awards
A couple members of the Los Angeles Lakers family received some recognition as both head coach JJ Redick and general manager Rob Pelinka were among those receiving votes for NBA Coach of the Year and NBA Executive of the Year.
Both Redick and Pelinka finished sixth overall, but were deserving candidates who got at least a little love for what they did to help the Lakers take a step forward this season. Kenny Atkinson of the Cleveland Cavaliers won NBA Coach of the Year while Sam Presti of the Oklahoma City Thunder was named NBA Executive of the Year.
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage from events, participate in live shows, and more!
