NBA commissioner Adam Silver has been very clear about the league’s plan to eventually launch a national platform for local broadcast rights. Now, a timeline for that platform is emerging.
According to a report by Tom Friend of Sports Business Journal, “all signs point to a 2027-28 national RSN launch date.” Heading into the 2027-28 season, as many as 18 NBA clubs will be available to pool their rights together and create a national streaming platform, per Friend. Prior to that, however, several teams will still be locked into prior deals with regional sports networks.
Specifically, the Milwaukee Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Atlanta Hawks, and Miami Heat all extended their deals with FanDuel Sports Network following the 2024-25 season, with the new agreements lasting through the 2026-27 season. Three other franchises — the Charlotte Hornets, Memphis Grizzlies, and Orlando Magic — have deals with FanDuel Sports Network that expire after the upcoming season. Those teams, Friend suggests, could either look to re-up a one year deal with FanDuel to get them to 2027-28, or go the over-the-air plus streaming route for a season before the national platform launches.
Five other franchises — the Los Angeles Clippers, Indiana Pacers, San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Minnesota Timberwolves — have prior deals with FanDuel Sports Network that also expire following the 2026-27 season, making for 12 current FanDuel teams that could hypothetically be available for a national RSN platform come 2027-28.
In addition, the Brooklyn Nets’ deal with YES Network expires after 2026-27, while five more franchises that have already transitioned off of RSNs into over-the-air plus streaming combos (the New Orleans Pelicans, Utah Jazz, Dallas Mavericks, Phoenix Suns, and Portland Trailblazers) will likely welcome joining onto the national platform which promises to be more lucrative than their individualized setups.
Per Friend, there seems to be an appetite among many franchise executives to get this done. Many teams have taken substantial reductions in local media rights fees in recent years. Every team that has gone the “stream and beam” route is making considerably less than they did with prior RSN deals, and the increased reach hasn’t necessarily paid off either. “Some of those over-the-air teams have been disappointed in the level of reach they’ve been able to attain,” a league governor told SBJ.
Even teams that have stuck with RSNs have faced diminishing rights fees. The four clubs that extended with FanDuel Sports Network following this past season (the Bucks, Cavs, Hawks, and Heat) all received between $7 million and $14 million less than what their deals paid in 2023 prior to Diamond Sports Group’s (now Main Street Sports Group’s) emergence from bankruptcy. Those teams will see their fees level off during the two-year extension, but likely see a national RSN platform as an opportunity to start growing that revenue stream again.
“I’m just praying there’s a template for a national deal soon,” a team exec told SBJ on Sunday.
It seems that the league already has the gears turning on how the platform would look. “NBA League Pass on steroids,” is how Friend described it. The streamer would have the games, of course, but also avenues to buy merchandise, bet on the action, or watch alternative broadcasts.
After its eventual launch, the NBA would look to add more teams incrementally as more RSN deals expire. The challenge will be to attract big brands, like the New York Knicks (whose deal with MSG Network goes through 2029), or the Los Angeles Lakers (whose Spectrum SportsNet deal goes through 2032).
At a certain point, a national RSN platform could hit critical mass. While the league’s biggest brands may hold out as long as they can, the vast majority of teams will likely reap the benefits of pooling their local rights together.