With word emanating out of the National Basketball Association’s Board of Governors meetings this week that two league committees will be tasked with analyzing the economic possibilities of potential expansion (our recommendation, of course, is to right the wrong done to Seattle back in 2008 - and bring back the Sonics) - it is an especially opportune time to dig into how local franchise media rights will or won’t drive revenues for both clubs and the greater enterprise in the coming years. The End Of An Era For RSNs For decades, regional sports networks (RSNs) were the backbone of local NBA viewing. If you wanted to watch your hometown team, you needed a cable subscription and access to the right RSN. But those days are quickly fading. The NBA’s massive new media rights deal, worth $77 billion over 11 years, is changing everything. This contract, which brings NBC, Amazon Prime Video, and ESPN/ABC into the fold, means that starting next season, the entirety of the two-month-long playoff season will be broadcast nationally. Local RSNs and over-the-air broadcast stations will no longer simulcast playoff games — a huge shift for fans used to tuning into hometown play-by-play on their local channels. The decline of RSNs isn’t just about the NBA’s new deal. It’s also about a broader trend: linear TV cord-cutting. Fewer households have traditional cable, satellite or telco TV, and RSNs are struggling to survive. Several NBA teams have already abandoned RSNs, turning instead to a mix of over-the-air broadcasts and their own direct-to-consumer streaming services. The Los Angeles Clippers (ClipperVision), Utah Jazz (Jazz+), Phoenix Suns (Suns Live), New Orleans Pelicans (Pelicans+), the Dallas Mavericks (MavsTV) and Portland Trail Blazers (BlazerVision) are leading this charge, and more teams are angling to follow. |
