NBA To NBC: “Is That Your Final Offer?”; Bid At $1.4B

NBC on Tuesday "submitted its 'final offer' to re-up on a new" four-year deal for NBA TV rights, according to a source close to the situation cited by David Goetzl of ADAGE.com. The offer is "said to be less than the current four-year figure and has been reported at" $1.4B. NBC's current deal is worth $1.75B (ADAGE.com, 12/12). On Long Island, Steve Zipay reports the NBA is "set to announce, perhaps as soon as today, that it has agreed to a new four-year TV deal," as negotiations "were said to be in the final stages yesterday." Zipay notes NBC's $1.4B bid is for the same 32-34 game schedule it currently has. Meanwhile, AOL Time Warner has "reached an agreement in principle to televise 100 weeknight games a season on a new cable channel," which would be jointly owned by Turner and the NBA (NEWSDAY, 12/13). USA TODAY's Rudy Martzke reports while the incumbent NBC is "considered the favorite to join Turner" in a new four-year deal with the NBA, the league "met Wednesday with Disney officials on an ESPN-led proposal." ESPN "seeks cable telecasts on two nights, probably Friday and Sunday, and would put about 20 games on ABC." NBC, whose $1.4B bid is "believed similar to ESPN's, would televise about 30 games a season." Meanwhile, Turner "basically has agreed to pay more than" $1B for 50 games a season on TNT (USA TODAY, 12/13).

PARTNERS IN TIME? In Atlanta, Matt Kempner noted the NBA's potential partnership on a new cable channel with Turner, which would be a makeover of CNN/SI, and writes CNN/SI "has been struggling to get into more homes and reach profitability." AOL execs "hope the deal would transform the network into a major player." Kagan World Media Senior Analyst John Mansell: "This will virtually force cable operators to carry [the net]." Meanwhile, NBA execs "haven't determined whether" NBA.com TV would be "rolled into CNN/SI if there is a deal" (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 12/12). Pilson Communications President Neal Pilson said "there's real potential" with a new cable net. Pilson: "A channel that reaches 80 million homes is worth several billion dollars, so there is a real upside. The league gets increased distribution, it gets the opportunity for sharing in revenues from this distribution, and most important, it gets the opportunity for its equity to appreciate dramatically if the channel grows" (L.A. TIMES, 12/13).

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