Jimmy Pitaro: ESPN and NBA/WNBA ‘completely aligned’ in prioritizing digital and streaming

So much of the attention surrounding the NBA’s new media deals is being paid to streaming service Amazon, renewed partner NBCUniversal, and (mostly) spurned former partner Warner Bros. Discovery/TNT Sports.

It’s one of the rare instances involving major sports media rights deals where ESPN is the one flying under the radar.

Perhaps it’s because it was always a foregone conclusion that Disney and ESPN would remain an NBA broadcasting partner. Or perhaps it’s because ESPN’s story here isn’t “sexy” in the same way Amazon’s involvement, NBC’s “Roundball Rock” return, or WBD’s legal threats are.

Regardless, it’s fair to imagine ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro is just fine with that. With so much focus being paid to ESPN’s future in recent years, it gives them a chance to focus on why they wanted to secure NBA and WNBA rights to begin with.

“The great thing about this negotiation with the NBA and WNBA was that we were completely aligned in terms of prioritizing digital and prioritizing streaming,” Pitaro told The Hollywood Reporter last week after the NBA officially announced their new broadcasting deals. “So, yes, the linear television business remains important to us. It has been important, it will continue to be important to us, but at the same time, we’re running parallel paths here, we’re significantly invested in streaming.

“Because, again, they understand that this is where our audience is migrating — to these direct-to-consumer platforms – and so we need to be there. At the same time, cable and broadcast are still important to the NBA and the WNBA.”

Pitaro also added that, even though they lost some of the coveted WNBA playoffs of Finals exclusives, it was extremely important for the Worldwide Leader to remain at the forefront of pro women’s basketball coverage.

“The league has been a priority for ESPN for decades, and we take a lot of pride in how much we’ve invested in the league,” Pitaro said. “We love to see the current momentum, especially coming out of the recent All-Star Game — I’m sure you saw the ratings, but close to 3.5 million viewers — we maintain rights to the All-Star Game going forward for all 11 years of the new deal, but keeping the WNBA as a part of this deal was critical for us.

“We’re looking at a rising tide right now, where we’re seeing our competitors in the industry really get behind women’s sports in general and behind the WNBA, and that’s a good thing.”

ESPN is currently preparing to launch two massive ventures as they expand their services way beyond linear. Their streaming service Venu Sports (which includes WBD and Fox) is planning a fall launch while they’re eying fall 2025 to launch their direct-to-consumer (DTC) service. Having NBA and WNBA rights secured is going to be extremely helpful in those efforts as it attempts to sell consumers on their value.

[THR]