NBA games could be back on the Peacock channel, NBC, according to a CNBC report. Comcast’s (NASDAQ: CMCSA) NBC could be making a strong bid to win back its broadcast rights for the National Basketball Association games more than 20 years after the media giant lost out on these rights to Disney’s ESPN and ABC (DIS) and Turner Sports (WBD).
However, NBC could have to wait for these rights as Disney and WBD have exclusive negotiation rights with the NBA till April next year. Disney is likely to push for rights on a package for ESPN, ESPN+, and ABC.
NBC Sports is looking at a package that includes playoff games that will be aired on NBC’s broadcast network while some regular season games would be exclusive to NBCUniversal’s streaming service, Peacock.
Even Apple (AAPL) and Amazon (AMZN) have evinced a keen interest in buying rights to the NBA.
An NBC spokesperson told CNBC that the league, “had a longtime relationship with Comcast/NBA as a previous NBA national TV rightsholder and through many of our teams’ partnerships with NBC Sports regional sports networks.”
Analysts are cautiously optimistic about CMCSA stock with a Moderate Buy consensus rating based on 10 Buys, five Holds and one Sell.
