Disney has announced that it has reached a brand new eleven-year deal with the National Basketball Association and Women’s National Basketball Association for NBA and WNBA media rights that will be in effect from the 2025-26 through 2035-36 NBA seasons and 2026 through 2036 WNBA seasons.

As part of the agreement, ESPN continues its longstanding position as the primary media rights partner of the NBA and the WNBA, as well as the exclusive home of the NBA’s crown jewel event, the NBA Finals.

ESPN’s full package of NBA and WNBA live events and programming, including the championship events, will be available on ESPN’s upcoming flagship direct-to-consumer platform, launching in the fall of 2025, which will also be available within Disney+ in the United States.

ESPN will also continue its rights to robust NBA Playoffs and regular-season live event packages, including the NBA Saturday Primetime on ABC series – the marquee, national game of the week. In addition, ESPN platforms will exclusively broadcast five WNBA Finals series during the 11-year extension at a transformative time in league history.

In a new initiative starting with the 2025-26 NBA season, Disney’s international package of NBA and WNBA games will be available to stream on its digital platforms, including on Disney+ in select markets around the world, making this Disney’s most significant global sports expansion.

Disney will distribute NBA games on ESPN-branded assets in several international markets, including Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, Oceania and the Netherlands, and via Disney+ in select markets in Asia and Europe.

ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in a statement:

“As the media landscape continues to evolve, this forward-thinking agreement represents a significant and bold step in our mission to serve sports fans, anytime, anywhere, including opportunities to successfully navigate the global digital transition. Through a premium collection of regular and post-season game rights, culminating with the NBA Finals and WNBA Finals, plus studio and original content initiatives, we look forward to building upon our legacy of innovation with the NBA and continuing to play an important role in the extraordinary growth trajectory of the WNBA.”

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver also said regarding the new deal:

“Disney and ESPN have been part and parcel of the growth and coverage of the NBA over the past 22 years. And we are eager to build on this terrific partnership, which is one of the league’s most extensive and longest-standing relationships.”

With WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert adding:

“Our partnership with Disney has been instrumental to the growth of the WNBA and women’s basketball, as Disney networks have been the home of the WNBA since the league launched 28 years ago. We look forward to building on the incredible momentum we have accomplished together to enhance the visibility of the players and teams and providing more engaging experiences for our fans in the years to come.”

As part of the new deal, here are some of the highlights of the deal:

• WNBA Finals exclusively for five out of 11 seasons
• Exclusive WNBA Semifinals series in eight of 11 seasons
• Extensive regular-season and postseason WNBA game packages for ESPN and ABC
• Expanded WNBA Countdown rights
• Exclusive WNBA All-Star Game broadcast annually
• Exclusive WNBA Draft and WNBA Draft Lottery broadcasts annually
• More highlight rights across platforms

• All 11 NBA Finals exclusively, plus 10 exclusive NBA Conference Finals series through 2035
• Exclusive packages of NBA Playoffs first and second round games
• Rights to launch new NBA studio show featuring whip-around coverage on game nights
• NBA Saturday Primetime on ABC and NBA Sunday Showcase packages
• Exclusive home of the NBA Draft, NBA Draft Lottery and NBA All-Star Celebrity Game
• Wednesday and select Friday NBA games on ESPN
• All five NBA Christmas Day games annually; exclusive national coverage of regular-season’s final day
• Widespread ESPN Radio and ESPN Deportes coverage, including NBA Finals, NBA Draft, NBA Playoffs, Conference Finals and regular-season games
• Development of the official The Bubble documentary – a behind-the-scenes look at the 2020 Pandemic-era NBA Playoffs and NBA Finals in quarantine at the Walt Disney World Resort
• More alternate-cast opportunities that will utilize the tremendous depth and breadth of Disney’s global brands and platforms
• Extensive slate of G League and summer league games, including the championship games

As part of this deal, ESPN has secured the rights to expand its NBA studio coverage via new whip-around programming. The rights include the ability to establish coverage on Disney nights, starting with enhanced game access, player arrivals and interviews. Additionally, rights include highlighting live action from around the league with real-time highlights and live cut-ins. In addition to whip-around coverage of the night’s games, the show will also include segments focused on different aspects of basketball, including culture and fashion, player arrivals, produced features and breakdowns from ESPN’s leading analysts. ESPN will continue to air its NBA Countdown pregame show and its weekday studio show NBA Today.

The NBA has also announced that they’ve made deals with NBC Universal and Amazon for some additional packages for the United States and international markets.

NBCU (NBC/Peacock) will distribute up to 100 NBA regular-season games per season – with more than half of the games airing on NBC (on Sunday and Tuesday nights).  NBCU will telecast the league’s opening night doubleheader on NBC each year and at least two games on MLK Day on NBC and/or Peacock each season.

Peacock will stream a doubleheader each Monday night of the season.  Every Tuesday night, NBC will telecast two games across certain NBC affiliate broadcast stations in different regions of the country.  The first game will start at 8 p.m. ET and be available on NBC across affiliate stations in the Eastern and Central time zones.  The second game will start at 8 p.m. PT and be available on NBC affiliate stations across the Pacific and Mountain time zones.  All Tuesday games will be available on Peacock nationally and certain stations may choose to televise both games.

NBC will become the home of NBA All-Star, including Rising Stars, State Farm All-Star Saturday Night, featuring AT&T Slam Dunk, Starry 3-Point Contest and Kia Skills Challenge, and the All-Star Game.  In the playoffs, NBC and/or Peacock will telecast approximately 28 games in the first two rounds of the playoffs, with at least half of those games airing on NBC.  NBC will also telecast one of the two Conference Finals series in six of the 11 years on a rotating basis with Amazon, beginning with the 2025-26 season.

As part of the partnership, NBCU will distribute NBA games in several European markets through Sky Sports as well as in the Caribbean and sub-Saharan Africa.  Additionally, NBCU will distribute WNBA games and be the home of all USA Basketball Senior Men’s and Women’s National Team games.

Xfinity will become the Official TV Service of the NBA, WNBA and USA Basketball.  The partnership includes collaboration on marketing and storytelling opportunities, virtual signage during game telecasts and activations at marquee NBA, WNBA and USA Basketball events.

Amazon will distribute 66 NBA regular-season games on Prime Video each season, including Thursday night doubleheaders beginning in January, Friday evening doubleheaders, select Saturday afternoon games, at least one game on Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving), and the Quarterfinals and Semifinals in the Knockout Round of the Emirates NBA Cup.  In addition, Prime Video will stream the Championship Game of the Emirates NBA Cup.

Prime Video will also distribute all six SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament games.  In the playoffs, Prime Video will stream approximately one-third of the first and second rounds each year.  Additionally, Prime Video will stream one of the two Conference Finals series in six of the 11 years on a rotating basis with NBCU, beginning with the 2026-27 NBA season.

Amazon will distribute NBA games globally as part of Prime Video, with an expanded package of games in select territories, including Mexico, Brazil, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, the United Kingdom and Ireland.  This expanded package includes a minimum of 20 additional primetime regular season games each year, a Conference Finals series each year, and the NBA Finals in six of the 11 years.  Prime Video will also become the NBA’s strategic partner and third-party global destination of NBA League Pass – the league’s live NBA game subscription service, with expanded distribution rights for NBA League Pass in the U.S. and internationally.   Additionally, as part of the agreement, Prime Video will stream half of all NBA Summer League games as well as a package of WNBA and NBA G League regular-season and postseason games.

Roger’s Take:  This is a major deal for Disney and will keep the NBA on Disney’s networks for over a decade.  With the launch of the ESPN hub on Disney+ later this year and with this deal including international streaming rights, it looks like we are going to see ESPN becoming one of the major hubs of Disney+, similar to how it operates in Latin America.   With the NBA being one of the major franchises available on ESPN, Disney+ and linear television, though it will be sharing it with Amazon and Comcast.

What do you think of Disney signing this new deal with the NBA?  Let me know on social media!

Roger Palmer

Roger has been a Disney fan since he was a kid and this interest has grown over the years. He has visited Disney Parks around the globe and has a vast collection of Disney movies and collectibles. He is the owner of What's On Disney Plus & DisKingdom. Email: Roger@WhatsOnDisneyPlus.com Twitter: Twitter.com/RogPalmerUK Facebook: Facebook.com/rogpalmeruk

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