NBA basketball franchise the Los Angeles Clippers has agreed a multi-year extension to its partnership with cable television channel Prime Ticket in a deal that reportedly doubles the value of its local rights.
Terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but the Los Angeles Times newspaper said the deal will earn the Clippers between $50m (€44.7m) and $55m per season over a six-year term spanning 2016-17 to 2021-22.
The 2016-17 season will mark Prime Ticket’s 21st season as regional telecast partner and eighth season as the sole television home for the Clippers. The previous contract expired following the 2015-16 campaign and was said to be worth $25m per season. The Times added that Prime Ticket, which is operated by the Fox network, and the Clippers hold the option to open new talks after two seasons of the fresh agreement.
The contract, which is pending league approval, grants Prime Ticket the right to broadcast all regular season games not selected by a national broadcaster, first-round post-season Clippers games, plus selected pre-season games. All games televised by Prime Ticket will again be made available for streaming on Fox Sports Go to customers with a pay-television subscription.
Furthermore, the Clippers said that the team will be conducting in-market tests for new, innovative digital offerings on a trial basis to a targeted number of fans. In recent months, the Clippers had been linked to a new local rights deal with Prime Ticket that would allow it to retain streaming rights.
The New York Post newspaper, citing sources close to the prospective deal, last week said closure of an agreement would make the Clippers the first franchise among North America’s four major sports leagues to exploit its own streaming rights.
Commenting on the new deal, Clippers president of business operations Gillian Zucker said: “Our new partnership provides us the ability to pursue (owner) Steve Ballmer’s vision of developing revolutionary digital products, while continuing to supply our fans with the comprehensive Clippers coverage and distribution Fox Sports Prime Ticket has provided for over 20 years.”
In addition to coverage throughout Southern California, Nevada and Hawaii, all Clippers games will again be available to fans located in the San Diego market on Fox Sports San Diego. The Clippers open their 2016-17 regular season with a trip to face the Portland Trail Blazers on October 27.