An eight-year contract extension between the NBA and ABC/ESPN and TNT announced today will really give each broadcast entity more Internet content and global rights as the league that can't get enough ratings for its finals has the juice to keep expanding.
No where in the fine print does it require each entity to show more of Jessica Alba or Eva Longoria when they attend an NBA game. It's up to the digression of each network.
Here's how it breaks down:
TNT: 52 regular season games, on an exclusive basis, 48 of which will be part of doubleheaders generally on Thursday nights, as well as Opening Night and holidays (e.g. MLK Day); up to 52 playoff games featuring exclusive coverage of its conference semifinals games and one full conference finals series; exclusive presentations of All-Star Game and All-Star Saturday events; enhanced digital media opportunities, including streaming TNT NBA games on a live, delayed and on-demand basis across all of its multimedia platforms such as TNT OverTime, which includes replays of the Inside the NBA studio show; interactive online elements such as selected camera angles, statistic feeds and video to complement TNT’s game telecasts; exclusive broadband and other content, including highlights and studio shows, for digital platforms.
ABC: A minimum of 15 regular season games beginning on Christmas Day and continuing on Sunday afternoons starting in January; exclusivity for all regular season, playoff and finals broadcasts; best-of-seven finals broadcast in primetime.
ESPN: Up to 75 regular season games primarily on Wednesday and Friday nights; up to 29 playoff games featuring exclusive coverage of its conference semifinals games and one full conference finals series; exclusive presentations of the NBA Draft, Draft Lottery and NBA All-Star Celebrity Game, as well as the yearly NBA Pre-Draft Camp via ESPNU; enhanced digital media rights to have the NBA deliver content for 17 platforms, including: ABC; ABC HD; ESPN; ESPN HD; ESPN2; ESPN2 HD; ESPNEWS; ESPN Classic; ESPN Deportes; ESPN International; ESPN Radio; ESPN.com; ESPN360.com; ESPN Mobile Publishing; ESPN Mobile TV; ESPNU; and ESPN podcasts; opportunities to stream ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2 games on a live, delayed and on-demand basis across all of its multimedia platforms; expanded international rights for game and studio telecasts to Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, Oceania, cruise lines and studio programming to Europe; extension of agreements covering ESPN Radio, ESPN Classic and ESPN Deportes.
NBA TV: 96 regular season games on Mondays, Tuesdays and Saturdays; up to nine playoff games; enhanced package of digital media opportunities.
And here, for one more time, is a shot of Jessica Alba you won't see on ESPN, ABC or TNT. Probably: