Sports Business Journal reports that the Nets and YES have quietly settled their local TV rights dispute with the Nets receiving a big bump-up --about double what the team received this season-- and YES retaining the Nets' rights through 2031-32, a ten year extension of their original deal.
The Nets will receive a $20 million-a-year increase immediately with increases through the end of the deal. Previously, the Nets were receiving around $10 million, putting them near the bottom of NBA local rights deals. The Nets have had the NBA's lowest local TV ratings the last two seasons, but the move to Brooklyn should improve them.
SBJ reports, citing sources, that YES and the Nets had been negotiating a new deal earlier this year. They appeared to reach an agreement in February, but Mikhail Prokhorov ordered the Nets to walk away from the deal, resisting the 10-year extension. The team opted to seek an arbitrator to set the price, but the deal was settled without an arbitrator's ruling.
- Settlement puts Nets games on YES Net through 2031-32 - John Ourand & John Lombardo - Sports Business Journal
- Nets Reportedly Sign TV Rights Extension With YES Network, Doubling Annual Revenue - Tom Ziller - SB Nation
- Revised TV deal for Nets doubles current rate, worth at least $200 million; yet another factor ignored in the cost-benefit analyses - Norman Oder - Atlantic Yards Report