NBC Prepping Bid To Grab NBA Rights From TNT

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Comcast's NBC Universal is prepping a huge bid to take over TNT's role of the NBA national broadcaster. The Wall Street Journal broke the news Monday, with Deadline reporting details afterward. Turner has broadcast NBA games since 1988, starting with random prime-time games on TBS before eventually moving them to TNT for marquee games. NBC Universal is reportedly planning to offer $2.5 billion, with hopes that a struggling Warner Brothers Discovery may not be willing or able to match.

The NBA has already worked out initial agreement with Disney (ESPN and ABC) and Amazon (Prime streaming) for game broadcasts. If NBC gains rights, it's unclear if this will feature exclusive games on Peacock, NBC linear channels (such as local networks and USA), or both. If this deal matches the ones made with Disney and Amazon, it will likely span ten years.

If this deal is reached and Turner loses NBA coverage, it's unclear what would happen to TNT's flagship show, Inside the NBA. However, John Tesh as publicly stated that NBC's old NBA theme song, Roundball Rock, is available for licensing.

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