(Reuters) -Comcast's NBCUniversal is planning to pay an average of about $2.5 billion a year to broadcast a package of National Basketball Association (NBA) games, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Warner Bros Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD)'s TNT has paid an average fee of $1.2 billion under its current deal, but was unable to reach a new pact with the NBA before an exclusive negotiating window expired last week, according to the report.
Warner began airing the games in 1984, while Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS)'s ESPN sports network began broadcasting the NBA in 2002.
Disney is expected to pay an average per-year fee of about $2.6 billion to renew its deal, WSJ reported, citing sources, up from about $1.5 billion per year now.
NBCUniversal and its parent Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA), Warner Bros Discovery, and the NBA did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. Disney-owned ESPN declined to comment.