Matching Amazon
Still, unlike Amazon’s Prime Video streaming service, Max plans to tier its sports offerings to customers, forcing them to pay more and potentially diminishing reach, which the NBA may not prefer.
It’s possible Zaslav’s focus on Amazon may be a strategic move to get a settlement from the league by focusing on a package specifically designed for a big tech streamer.
Zaslav has told colleagues he believes NBCUniversal is overspending for the NBA, based on his company’s research into ratings and potential subscriber value for a subscription streaming service, according to a person familiar with the matter.
An offer of $2.5 billion or more would more than double the NBA’s previous asking price of $1.2 billion, and the new package would contain fewer games because of the introduction of a third media partner.
The NBA on NBC
A member of NBCUniversal’s music licensing team recently reached out to John Tesh, the owner of “Roundball Rock,” the old “NBA on NBC” theme song, to express interest in bringing the jingle back to NBC if the company gets the media rights, according to a person familiar with the matter.
NBCUniversal also owns Peacock, its domestic-only streaming service, which could also become a platform for NBA games.
Disclosure: NBCUniversal is the parent company of CNBC.
