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Reuters

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Reuters

In a week, the league will officially launch the new era of its $77 billion broadcasting deal. For the next 11 years, NBA fans can look forward to watching games on Disney (ABC/ESPN), Amazon, and NBC. This means there will be televised NBA games every day of the week. However, the changes don’t stop there. As the partnership between the NBA and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) comes to an end, Adam Silver has found new ways to provide even more content for viewers.

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This comes as the league re-assumed full operational control of NBA TV and the app after 17 years. Yes, it was WBD who had the assets, but in the new revised deal, it lost that product too, alongside Inside the NBA. “We were unable to agree on a path forward that recognized the value of our expertise, quality content, and operational excellence that our fans and partners have come to expect from TNT Sports,” network chairman and CEO Luis Silberwasser wrote in a company memo about those platforms.

So, this will contain a nonexclusive live game package of 60 games, consisting of contests not part of the other national rights deals, or also shown regionally in the competing teams’ home markets. Apart from this, a new daily flagship program, The Association, will include news, highlights, and analysis, and it will “guide fans to the must-watch action across the league.” Plus, the league already has control over the operations of its out-of-market game package, NBA League Pass.

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In order to access it, the fans can choose from two available options. A base price of $109.99 for the season, and $159.99 for the premium-level tier, equal to pricing from last season in the final year of the TNT Sports operation. Most importantly, this also helps expand on Adam Silver’s vision. Yes, the reports have already confirmed that NBA Europe will be starting soon, as the talks are already underway. NBA TV will also deliver heightened coverage of international basketball, including Australia’s National Basketball League, France’s Ligue Nationale de Basket, Germany’s Basketball Bundesliga, Spain’s Liga ACB, the Chinese Basketball Association, and the Korean Basketball League.

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That’s why Eurohoops publishing director Aris Barkas tweeted, “So the new #NBATV app will also include games from Australia, China, ProA, German BBL, ACB, South Korea, and BAL. Suddenly, the NBA Europe project makes even more sense…” Let’s understand what the new project from the NBA commissioner is all about.

Adam Silver’s vision is taking shape

Let’s not forget that the 63-year-old is under scrutiny from fans for various reasons. First, the deal itself, with three different broadcasters, means the fans will have to pay for different platforms to watch their favorite teams. One will have to nearly shell out $120/month. Second seems to be an issue involving the Clippers owner and Kawhi Leonard and the alleged cap circumvention issue. So far, the league is investing, and everybody is hoping that if the allegations become true, the commissioner will take critical action.

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Third is the comment, where Adam Silver publicly called the NBA a “highlights” sport, which did not go down well with long-time viewers. Amid all these issues, the plan is already set to launch the “NBA Europe”, a direct competition to the EuroLeague. In March, the NBA and FIBA announced their joint exploration of a new professional men’s basketball league in Europe that would help accelerate the sport’s growth across the continent. For now, the new league won’t start soon.

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I will say it’s measured in years, not months,” he told Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press. So, we’re at least a couple of years away from launching. It would be an enormous undertaking…There’s a lot of work to be done.” The NBA’s commissioner revealed that despite them moving with urgency, it takes a lot of effort to launch a new competition. The NBA’s general manager for Europe and the Middle East, George Aivazoglou, shed light on the vision for NBA Europe. “Our vision is a semi-open competition with 16 teams — 12 permanent franchises and 4 qualifying from other competitions, with the Basketball Champions League as a central pathway.

So far, the potential teams could include Real Madrid, Barcelona, Fenerbahce, Galatasaray, Alba Berlin, and a London-based franchise. Plus, two Paris teams can come in, as one is backed by PSG, and another is from Paris Basketball, which already has close NBA ties.

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