In the bustling city of Paris, well past midnight, NBC Sports president Rick Cordella was feeling exhausted and in desperate need of sleep as he wrapped up final preparations for the Olympics.
Meanwhile, in New York, the official confirmation that the NBA had returned to NBC after a quarter-century absence was breaking, six hours ahead in a different time zone.
Working in his room at the Sofitel Paris Baltimore Hotel, Cordella labored until 1:30 a.m. before finally calling it a night. Anxious about the NBA news, he set his iPhone alarm to wake him every half hour.
His eager bosses and negotiating team bombarded him with texts, asking for updates throughout the night.
At 3 a.m. Paris time, Cordella’s alarm jolted him awake. He checked his phone and saw a text from the NBA’s lead negotiator, Bill Koenig, revealing that TNT had exercised its matching rights for Amazon Prime Video’s streaming package, not NBC’s. Cordella erupted in celebration, informing his bosses and the deal team before finally getting some much-needed rest.
With the NBA back in the fold, NBC had successfully outbid TNT, securing a surprise distribution plan and a lucrative financial offer that had been months in the making.
The landscape of media was rapidly changing, with cable on the decline, streaming services on the rise, and uncertainty looming over the industry. Despite the focus on digital giants taking over, there were few major sports rights available in the near future besides the UFC.
The NBA deal was a significant win for NBC, adding another pillar to its growing sports portfolio alongside the NFL and the Olympics.
ESPN had also been aggressive in securing sports rights, committing nearly $80 billion to create a vast array of programming for its network and streaming service.
Amazon Prime Video emerged as a major player in the sports media landscape, striking an impressive $77 billion deal with the NBA, positioning itself as a dominant force in the industry.
As NBC, ESPN, and Amazon solidified their positions as the top destinations for sports content, other digital players like Apple, Netflix, and Google remained on the sidelines, largely shut out of the lucrative sports rights deals.
The era of “The Great Rebundling” was upon us, with consolidation, mergers, and acquisitions shaping the future of how fans consume sports content for years to come.
With the NBA deal secured for the next decade, NBC, ESPN, and Amazon were poised to lead the way in the evolving landscape of sports media, setting the stage for a new era in broadcasting.
The NBA’s partnership with these three media giants marked a significant shift in the industry, with lasting implications for the future of sports viewing.
As the dust settled on the negotiations and deals were sealed, the winners and losers of the media industry’s transformation were beginning to emerge, setting the stage for a new chapter in sports entertainment.