The NBA's exclusive TV rights negotiation with ESPN and Warner Bros. is predicted to end without a deal.

• It is likely that the NBA's exclusive negotiating window with incumbent media partners Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery will pass without a deal announcement, according to sources.
• The NBA is in discussions with both Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery, and those talks will continue beyond April 22 when the exclusive window ends.
• Last year, CNBC reported that Amazon, NBCUniversal, Netflix, YouTube TV, and Apple have shown preliminary interest in negotiations with the NBA to become a new partner and purchase a package of games.

It is likely that the National Basketball Association's exclusive media rights negotiating window with current partners will expire on Monday without a new deal, according to sources.

The NBA will be able to negotiate with new partners for game packages starting next week, as the exclusive negotiating window with the league's current partners ends on Monday. YouTube TV, NBCUniversal/Peacock, and others have expressed interest in partnering with the league.

Despite no agreement being reached by the deadline, Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery are still working with the NBA to find a streaming partner. The NBA wants a flagship streamer that will prioritize the games and use marketing and reach to make them a priority on their platform, as reported by CNBC last year.

Our media deals with Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery are being renewed through productive discussions, a league spokesperson stated in a CNBC statement.

Spokespeople for Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery declined to comment.

Since 1984, TBS has aired NBA games, while TNT has been broadcasting NBA games since 1988. ESPN and ABC have been the official broadcasters of the NBA since 2002. Both companies have expressed a desire to renew their contracts with the NBA and have partnered with Fox to launch a new streaming service aimed at sports fans who do not already have cable. The service will be launched in the fall, as announced earlier this year.

A more complex deal

The NBA aims to increase its revenue from media rights by $24 billion through new partnerships and higher fees, according to CNBC's report from last year. In 2014, the league renewed its rights with Disney and Time Warner just before the end of its exclusive negotiation period and doubled the price for its rights in that deal.

The negotiations between Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery have become more complex due to the possibility of a third party being involved. Both companies are reluctant to relinquish the rights they currently possess. However, the league is seeking a substantial increase in fees, which neither company is willing to bear entirely. According to sources, this has led to discussions about sharing the financial burden.

The NBA could sell its new in-season tournament package of games to a separate media company than its primary new streaming partner.

Live sports programming has become more valuable to advertisers, as it is still primarily viewed live and results in commercial exposure for viewers.

The 2023-24 NBA regular season was the most-watched in four years, with an average of 1.09 million viewers, up 1% from the previous year, across TNT, ABC, ESPN, and NBA TV, according to both Nielsen and SportsMediaWatch.

The average televised audience among standard cable and broadcast networks, including ABC, ESPN, and TNT, decreased by 1% this year to 1.56 million viewers, which is the lowest in three years. TNT's regular season viewership remained constant at 1.4 million viewers for its 65 games, according to a Warner Bros. Discovery spokesperson.

The first round of the NBA playoffs will start on Saturday.

Disclosure: Comcast's NBCUniversal is the parent company of CNBC.

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