Disney has a strong relationship with the NBA. ESPN carries the bulk of the company’s inventory with the league while the Finals air on ESPN. Doris Burke likes it that way, but she isn’t counting on it staying the same forever.
The league will hear pitches from potential suitors this summer as negotiations begin for the league’s next media rights deal. The price tag to carry the games is expected to climb significantly. Not only is the league hoping to triple its rights revenue but the involvement of big tech companies that want NBA games on their streaming platforms are expected to push the dollar amounts discussed to new heights.
Burke said the timing of these negotiations isn’t great for herself and her co-workers.
“The New York Post recently came out with a story sort of documenting that we can expect layoffs,” she told Owen Poindexter on the Front Office Sports Today podcast. “We can expect layoffs from coworkers. You can expect that from fellow announcers. I’ve lived through it once, and you know, it’s not good.”
ESPN has dedicated significant air time to the NBA. Games and studio programming are a centerpiece, but NBA content being rolled into other shows matters too.
The significance of that isn’t lost on Doris Burke. She said it gives her a lot of hope as the NBA gets set to meet with Disney.
“Business is business,” she said. “You’re hoping and pulling for us to do the right things to get the contract renewed, but I’ll say this to you. In light of all the business implications for Disney and us, I’m optimistic we get it. But until we sign that contract, I take nothing for granted. Absolutely nothing.”
In addition to Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery, which are the league’s current rights holders, NBC, Apple, and Amazon have all expressed a desire to land some amount of NBA games during these negotiations. It is expected that, at the very least, a third, streaming-exclusive package of games will be made available to bidders.
