Communication Professional │ Journalist │ Social Media & Multimedia Specialist │
The NBA media deal negotiations are a fascinating insight into what the leagues are looking for in a media deal as the world continually gets more digital. Linear television and who can get the most people no longer appear to be the primary focus of these deals, especially the NBA. This article lays out why Comcast is such an important and interesting player in this battle for the final spot. Instead, the focus is now on collecting as much data on the consumer as possible. That is what streaming services provide. The NFL got tons of data from the TNF deal and will continue getting data from the wild card game on Peacock. This data is worth more than a normal person may think on the business level. Amazon and ESPN/Disney already appear to have deals in place for the next NBA media deal, so it is between WB Discovery/TNT and Comcast/NBC/Peacock. TNT is the traditional broadcaster who, while having the streaming service, does not have the financial power or the data-gathering of Comcast/NBC/Peacock. The latter, meanwhile, has a greater ability to collect data, has more money and is much more stable in terms of ownership. The results of this WB Discovery vs Comcast war will showcase where the future of sports broadcasting is heading. Keep your eyes out for what happens.
