NBA to announce 9-year, $24 billion TV deal with ESPN, Turner

The NBA’s impending television deal with ESPN and Turner will be more lucrative than initially expected. The league is expected to announce a whopping nine-year, $24 billion arrangement that will kick in before the 2016-17 season, according to Rich Sandomir of the New York Times.

That’s nearly three times as much as the current deal, which runs for $930 million a season and expires in 2016. Under that arrangement, ESPN pays $485 million per season, while Turner pays $445 million. Under this arrangement, ESPN will pay $1.4 billion per year, while Turner will pay $1.2 billion, according to Sports Business Journal.

The price was expected to rise given the league’s growing popularity, but this is still a surprise. Previous estimates suggested the new contract would be worth close to $2 billion a season, but these new figures are closer to $3 billion.

The league also won’t invite a new rights holder into the proceedings, spurning FOX Sports, who were rumored to put in a bid. However, it plans to introduce a new live streaming service in partnership with ESPN, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The league also laid plans in partnership with ESPN for a new online video service that would show live regular season games, the people said. In a significant move for ESPN, which derives its huge profits from the pay-TV ecosystem, that service will be open to people who aren’t cable or satellite TV customers.

The new deal is expected to lead to significant rises in the salary cap, though it’s unclear whether the league introduces the gains immediately or attempts to spread them out over time. The salary cap is determined by basketball-related income from sources that include national television arrangements. Teams and players have been expecting a bump with the new TV contract, but likely didn’t budget for one as large as this.

The new contract is expected to be announced at 10 a.m. Monday.