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SBD/Issue 145/Sports Media
NBA Signs Deal With DirecTV Giving NBA TV Wider Distribution
Published April 16, 2009
The NBA has signed a multi-year deal with DirecTV that widens NBA TV's distribution. The deal moves NBA TV from its Premier Package and Sports Pack to its Choice Xtra Package, which has about 9 million more subscribers, sources said. As part of the deal, NBA TV will move from channel 601 to channel 216. The deal comes after news broke that Comcast was close to a deal that would see it move NBA TV onto its digital basic tier by the start of next season. Sources said that a deal with the country's second biggest cable operator, Time Warner Cable, could be close. NBA TV currently is in about 15 million homes.
