--- title: Should the NBA go all-in on streaming? - The Hustle description: With a new TV deal on the horizon, the NBA is at a crossroads. image: https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1068120068-HS-News-Brief_2022-10-25T234356.757Z.webp --- # Should the NBA go all-in on streaming? ![Samir Javer](https://53.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/53/assets/hubspot.com/web-team/WBZ/HubSpot%20Media/Blog%202021/Images/Nav/Optimized/TheHustle_Icon_Dark.svg) [Samir Javer](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/author/samir-javer) [Samir Javer Twitter profile ](https://twitter.com/samir_javer) Published: October 26, 2022 Updated: October 11, 2023 The NBA is arguably more popular than ever, with [viewership](https://frontofficesports.com/nba-viewership-increases-by-19-largest-audience-since-2018-19/) up 19% last season. ![Should the NBA go all-in on streaming?](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hs-fs/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1068120068-HS-News-Brief_2022-10-25T234356.757Z.webp?width=595&height=400&name=1068120068-HS-News-Brief_2022-10-25T234356.757Z.webp) With TV rights up for renewal in 2025, the league faces a big question: How deep should it go into streaming? #### **The NBA last struck a deal…** … with Turner Sports and ESPN in 2016 worth $24B. For the next one, the league is reportedly [seeking](https://frontofficesports.com/nba-seeks-75b-for-new-broadcast-rights/) $75B, per *Front Office Sports*. But cable ain’t what it used to be: - US households paying for cable are [down](https://www.forbes.com/sites/bradadgate/2022/08/01/streaming-video-viewing-will-surpass-cable-tv-before-the-end-of-this-year/?sh=6f1230fc2ebf) ~30% in the last decade. - Hoops fans have shown an appetite for streaming, with League Pass subscribers up 30% YoY. The trend raises the question: Does it make sense to double down on cable with cord cutting on the rise? #### **Complicating matters further…** … Sports consumption has major generational [differences](https://morningconsult.com/2020/09/28/gen-z-poll-sports-fandom/): - 53% of Gen Zers consider themselves sports fans, compared to 63% of all adults and 69% of millennials. - Among Gen Zers, 39% say they never watch live sports, compared to 28% of all adults and 20% of millennials. While streaming is more [popular](https://www.insiderintelligence.com/content/us-adults-across-age-groups-prefer-streaming-services-cable-tv) with younger audiences, watching sports is clearly more popular with older ones. **Our guess? **The NBA will land somewhere in the middle, like the NFL and MLB. They struck deals with streamers for select games but still air many on cable. Topics: [Sports And Esports](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/tag/sports-and-esports) [Streaming Media](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/tag/streaming-media) ## Follow us on social media prev next - ![‘The Rugby World Cup is on!’ says basically nobody in America](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/511032898-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-Rugby-v1-min_20231002002233.webp) ### ‘The Rugby World Cup is on!’ says basically nobody in America - ![The NFL is back, bigger than ever, and seriously, wow, it’s huge](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/285544470-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-US-Team-Value_20230907200355.webp) ### The NFL is back, bigger than ever, and seriously, wow, it’s huge - ![On Bob Iger’s to-do list: Fix ESPN, TV, Pixar, and more](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/290907383-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-espn_subs_20230807230900.webp) ### On Bob Iger’s to-do list: Fix ESPN, TV, Pixar, and more - ![So, can we stop calling it ‘the streaming wars’ now?](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1189252561-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-Streaming-Wars_20230724220432.webp) ### So, can we stop calling it ‘the streaming wars’ now? - ![Gone in 30 seconds: a whopping $6.5m](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/2029552987-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-superbowl_20230716214521.webp) ### Gone in 30 seconds: a whopping $6.5m - ![Why cage fight when you could paintball?](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/775880710-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-paintball_20230622224438.webp) ### Why cage fight when you could paintball? - ![The world’s subtitle use is speaking volumes](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/945883034-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-roku_subs_20230612225638.webp) ### The world’s subtitle use is speaking volumes - ![DraftKings versus FanDuel — Who are you betting on?](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/16586978-httpsthe-hustle.hubspot.comhubfsDaily20Newsletter20ImagesMay201202023Sports-Betting.webp) ### DraftKings versus FanDuel — Who are you betting on? - ![Steph Curry’s offseason: Saving Under Armour and joining the billionaire’s club?](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1875953692-httpsthe-hustle.hubspot.comhubfsDaily20Newsletter20ImagesMay2017202023steph_curry.webp) ### Steph Curry’s offseason: Saving Under Armour and joining the billionaire’s club? - ![Christopher Nolan is leaving Warner Bros. — the latest domino to fall in AT&T’s streaming misadventures](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/857604052-News-Brief_2021-09-17T011335.439Z.webp) ### Christopher Nolan is leaving Warner Bros. — the latest domino to fall in AT&T’s streaming misadventures Pop up for Subscribe to The Hustle Daily Newsletter Subscribe to The Hustle Daily Newsletter Get the 5-minute news brief keeping 2.5M+ innovators in the loop. Always free. 100% fresh. No bullsh*t. JOIN FREE ### 100% Free CRM Nurture and grow your business with customer relationship management software. Signup for a free account Close modal ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Samir Javer", "url" : "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/author/samir-javer" }, "datePublished" : "2022-10-26T06:53:18.000Z", "headline" : "Should the NBA go all-in on streaming?", "image" : [ "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1068120068-HS-News-Brief_2022-10-25T234356.757Z.webp" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/10262022-nba", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject" } } } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@id" : "#article", "@type" : "NewsArticle", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Samir Javer", "url" : "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/author/samir-javer" }, "dateModified" : "2023-10-11T19:45:52+0000", "datePublished" : "2022-10-26T06:53:18+0000", "headline" : "Should the NBA go all-in on streaming?", "image" : [ "https://7355427.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/7355427/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1068120068-HS-News-Brief_2022-10-25T234356.757Z.webp" ], "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "height" : 112, "url" : "https://fs.hubspotusercontent00.net/hubfs/53/assets/hubspot.com/web-team/WBZ/Blog%202021/Images/Logos/HubSpot%20Logo%20112X112.svg", "width" : 112 }, "name" : "HubSpot", "sameAs" : [ "https://www.facebook.com/hubspot", "https://twitter.com/hubspot" ], "url" : "https://www.hubspot.com" }, "speakable" : { "@type" : "SpeakableSpecification", "xPath" : [ "//title", "/html/head/meta[@name='description']/@content" ] } } ```