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NBA Basketball Games Now on Amazon Prime Video
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Intermediate
Intermediate
FILE - An NBA logo is seen on an official game ball before a basketball game, Feb. 1, 2014, in New York. The NBA said Wednesday, July 24, 2024 that it is not accepting Warner Bros. Discovery's $1.8 billion per year offer to continue its longtime relationship with the league and therefore has entered into a deal with Amazon Prime Video, a move that would mean this coming season would end a nearly four-decade run of games being on TNT. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow, file)

NBA Basketball Games Now on Amazon Prime Video

July 24th, 2024

The NBA is starting a new deal with Disney, NBC, and Amazon. They said "no" to Warner Bros. Discovery's offer. This means no more NBA games on TNT after almost 40 years. The new deal with Amazon is for 11 years and will give the NBA about $76 billion. Amazon Prime Video will show NBA games on different days, like Friday nights and some Thursday nights. They will also have special games on Black Friday and more. Amazon adds NBA games to their sports, like NFL and soccer. ESPN and ABC will keep showing the NBA Finals, which they have done since 2003. They will also have lots of regular season and playoff games. NBC is coming back to show NBA games, too. They will have Sunday night games and some that you can watch on their streaming service, Peacock. They will also show special events like the All-Star Game. The NBA is excited about their deals. They want to make sure fans can watch games in many ways. This new plan will help the NBA reach more people all over the world.
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💭 Discussion Questions


1
. What companies has the NBA recently started a new deal with?
2
. After how many years will NBA games no longer be shown on TNT?
3
. What are some of the special days that Amazon Prime Video will show NBA games?

📖 Vocabulary


🌐 Cultural context


The NBA is a major professional basketball league in the United States. TNT is a TV network that used to show games. Disney is a large entertainment company, and ESPN and ABC are part of it. NBC is another big TV network. Amazon is an online store that also streams shows and sports. Black Friday is a big shopping day in the U.S. after Thanksgiving.

🧠 Further reading


Broadcasting of sports events
People can watch or listen to sports games live on TV, radio or online. This is called a "sportscast." Special reporters called sports commentators talk about the game as it happens. They work in booths or special rooms at TV and radio stations. Their work is very busy. They have to talk right away about the game and cannot miss any action. They also interview players and coaches. This job is important around the world. Sports commentators need to know a lot about sports history and game facts. It's important for their job. They make the game fun to watch or listen to. A long time ago, in 1899, a man named Guglielmo Marconi did the first sportscast. He talked about a boat race in New York. In 1911, people in Kansas made the first recorded sports show about football, but it was not live. Later, in 1921, the very first live sports on the radio talked about a boxing match in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Then, in 1939, people in the United States watched sports on TV for the first time when they saw the summer Olympics. Broadcasting sports is still a big deal today.

Endeavor Streaming
Endeavor Streaming is a company that helps share sports and fun shows over the internet. It is in New York City. This company started in 2019 when it changed its name from another company called NeuLion. NeuLion began in 2004 and did similar things, like helping people watch sports online. NeuLion worked with a lot of big sports groups. For a while, it helped the National Football League (NFL) in America and other sports in different countries to show games online. But some other companies started doing the same things, and NeuLion had to try new things to stay special. They even worked on making really clear videos that look great on big TV screens. They also tried making live sports look better, like a very important fighting event they showed in 2016 that was the clearest live event ever at the time. NeuLion joined with some other companies to learn more and grow. In 2018, a bigger company named Endeavor decided to buy NeuLion for a lot of money. After that, they kept many workers from NeuLion and made it part of their business. Now, Endeavor Streaming continues to help people watch sports and shows easily on the internet.

Esports
Esports are when people play video games in a competition. This is not just playing at home with friends; it is very serious and professional. People can play these games by themselves or in teams. Nowadays, we can watch these games online through websites like YouTube and Twitch. A lot of people enjoy watching these games, and many players can make money from playing them. In places like China and South Korea, esports are very big. In South Korea, they even have special rules for professional video game players. Esports are not as big in Japan because of laws about gaming and money. People in Europe and the Americas like to watch and play esports too. They have big competitions there. There are different kinds of games in esports. Some are about fighting, some are about shooting, and others are about strategy. Some famous games in esports are League of Legends, Dota, and Overwatch. There are big tournaments for these games where the best players in the world compete. Most of the people who watch esports are men, but women watch too. Some people think that esports should be part of the Olympics because they are like sports. But not everyone agrees that playing video games can be a sport.