Adam Silver on rising cost of watching NBA games: ‘This is very much a highlights-based sport’

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver provided an interesting response when asked about the rising cost of watching games during a press conference on Wednesday.

Asked about the cost of all the subscriptions required to watch games under the NBA’s new media rights agreements with Prime Video, NBC/Peacock, and ESPN, which start next month, Silver highlighted the league’s presence on free social media platforms, discussing how the NBA is a “highlights-based sport.”

“There’s a huge amount of our content that people can essentially consume for free. And this is very much a highlights-based sport. So, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, you name it, any service … there’s an enormous amount of content out there, YouTube is another example that is advertising-based that consumers can consume,” Silver told reporters.

That’s not exactly a satisfactory answer for fans who would like to watch the actual games. But in the league’s defense, its new agreements should make game inventory more accessible than the previous deals. For the first time in the league’s history, it will have a season-long weeknight package available for free on over-the-air broadcast television every Tuesday on NBC. Additionally, the league is broadcasting more games than ever, with NBC launching a Sunday Night Basketball package after the football season, and ABC continuing to air games on Saturdays and Sundays.

Under the old deals, the vast majority of national NBA games required a cable subscription.

However, several subscriptions will still be required for NBA fans who want to catch all the action. Peacock and Prime Video will be essential come playoff time as both streamers will carry postseason inventory. Then, of course, there’s the local rights struggle. The vast majority of NBA teams still air local games through a regional sports network, which requires either a cable subscription or a separate streaming subscription, typically priced between $20 and $30 per month. These costs accumulate, even with more national inventory available for free than ever before.

And the suggestion from Silver that the NBA is a “highlights-based sport” is pretty concerning in its own right. It’s a self-defeating attitude. By saying you’re a “highlights-based sport,” you’re essentially admitting that your full-game product isn’t worth viewing. That’s a remarkably candid admission from the NBA’s own commissioner, especially considering the league is poised to generate $76 billion over the next 11 years from its full-game product.