NBA Kings Ink Extension With NBC Sports Through '34 Worth At Least $690M

The NBA Kings have "signed a 20-year media rights extension with NBC Sports Group worth" $690-700M, according to Lombardo & Ourand of SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL. The new media rights deal "will keep the Kings on Comcast SportsNet California" through the '33-34 NBA season. Sources said that the deal is "worth an average" of $35M a year over the next two decades, an amount that represents a "significant windfall and long-term stability for a midmarket franchise that plays in the country’s 20th biggest designated market area." NBC Sports Group, which operates CSN California, will "pay the team " $25-26M next year, with close to a standard 4% increase "kicking in annually." Like most local NBA media deals, the agreement "includes a 'reset,' which would adjust the fee to match market rates." But it is "not clear when that reset kicks in." CSN California will now "sell all pregame, in-game and postgame advertising and sponsorships." The club "handled those sales in the prior deal." The deal also provides CSN California with "more Kings content," as the net will carry more games and produce "more shoulder programming around the team." The RSN has committed to "add 30-minute pregame and postgame shows for each game" and to "hire a reporter solely devoted" to the club. Furthermore, CSN California will "produce a monthly magazine show called 'Kings Central'" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 7/28 issue).