NBA to extend TV deal.

From Reuters, via ABCNews.com:

National Basketball Association Commissioner David Stern said on Tuesday he expects to sign a new television deal, one that includes a “healthy” increase over the current $4.6 billion terms, before the end of the current 2006-07 basketball season. … [T]he new deal would likely be an expansion of the current contract [possibly including] digital assets and overseas markets, and [will] run over six years.

“I would say it’s going to be a larger deal,” Stern said, referring to the current terms, which pays the league $4.6 billion over the life of the contract, or $767 million a year. “We expect a healthy increase.”

Another six year deal would ensure that ABC had the NBA for as long as NBC has the rights to it; from a cable television standpoint, a new deal with current partners is a no brainer. TNT and ESPN have both been doing very well ratings wise with NBA coverage. On the broadcast side, this is almost asinine. ABC barely promotes the NBA and barely airs any games. The ratings have shown that basketball fans don’t turn to ABC for NBA coverage; three out of the last four NBA Finals have averaged single-digit ratings (which never happened in the twelve year history of The NBA on NBC).

Economically, this comes on the heels of several NBA owners writing a letter to Commissioner Stern asking for the league to start revenue sharing; owners complained that “[i]f appropriately managed teams can’t break even, let alone make a profit, we have an economic system that requires correction. The needed correction is serious revenue sharing, not just modest revenue assistance, and we urge you to address this issue on an urgent basis this year.”

A new television deal with a “healthy increase” might quell some complaints for the time being. Remember, everything is a conspiracy when David Stern is involved.