Apple interested in NBA streaming rights for Apple TV+

Apple and Amazon have expressed interest in buying streaming package rights to the National basketball Association (NBA), sources have told CNBC.

Alex Sherman for CNBC:

Comcast’s NBCUniversal is preparing to make a bid to win back National Basketball Association broadcast rights more than 20 years after the company lost them to Disney and Turner Sports, according to people familiar with the matter.

Some regular season games could be exclusive to NBCUniversal’s streaming service, Peacock. The NBA could also decide to force media companies to simulcast all games on streaming to increase reach, the people said.

Apple and Amazon have also expressed interest to the NBA in buying carved-out streaming packages, said people familiar with the matter. Amazon currently has a deal with the NBA allowing it to stream games in Brazil…

Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery own the NBA rights until the end of the 2024-2025 season — more than two more years from now. It’s possible the NBA could simply re-up with both existing parties and never open negotiations to outside bidders… But that’s not likely to happen this time as streaming has taken over as the dominant distribution method of TV watching, the people said. The NBA is likely to carve out one or two new packages for bidders, pushing their media rights partners from two to either three or four, two of the people said.

MacDailyNews Take: As always, the idea of bringing live, exclusive sports like the NBA to Apple TV+ is pure genius.

Cook should consider bidding for and winning NFL Sunday Ticket away from DirecTV, buying rights to Premiere League and La Liga games, etc. and making them Apple TV exclusives. Go directly to the sports leagues with boatloads of cash. — MacDailyNews, May 6, 2014

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