The NBA is looking to package all of its rights to one digital platform

Quotes from an interview with Bill Koenig, the NBA's president of global content and media distribution make it sound like they are aiming to bundle all the rights, National, Local, and International for one digital platform like Apple, Amazon, Google.

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Don’t be surprised if a digital company winds up with one of the main packages.

...“The definition of reach is changing,” Koenig said. “There’s a lot of opportunity that change will bring.”

That change could go as far as using linear TV to supplement digital packages, Koenig suggested.

“Historically, we thought of a simulcast as something that aired on linear television and then maybe had another telecast or also re-aired the simulcast on digital,” he said. “We’re going to probably flip it around where you’ll see the games — because of personalization and other things — be based on a digital distribution with simulcast opportunities on linear.”

Another way the NBA will pitch digital companies is with the sheer volume of its live events. Koenig said it has enough live programming for about 320 nights per year when the WNBA is included.

Rather than risking production budgets on entertainment shows that may — or may not — become hits, digital companies can invest in sports programming that already has proved itself.

“They’re striving to have consistent hit programming throughout as many months as possible to avoid churn,” he said.

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There's more detail in the article, including why Apple/Amazon/Google may be prime targets, but this is the quote that makes me think they are hoping to sell all of the primary rights to one company.

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Koenig explained: “The day will come where you’ll come to the NBA app, and you’ll click on the Wizards-Celtics game; and if you’re in Washington — and if you’re an authenticated subscriber to Monumental — you’ll go straight into that game.

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Aside from the obvious question of why you'd use league pass if you could just watch the game on Netflix, Monumental is clearly a codename for whatever comes next. It seems like a telling code name considering the context provided by the other quotes of having a proven global hit product aimed at companies spending Billions trying to find their next global hit.

Keep in mind, Turner and ESPN get first negotiating rights starting in March, so this could just be posturing, but it really seems like the plan and fits how streaming platforms want to do business.

From the Pels fan perspective, they got the rights back from Bally's next year for a reason. If negotiations start in March and they can lock Monumental up this summer, I bet we could see the local games switch to the new streaming partner next season.