To give you an idea of just how astronomical that is: It’s roughly 10x the
$20 million payout the Heat currently generates from its own longstanding TV rights deal. In fact, the average annual payout on the Lakers’ deal is more than
what the Heat currently generates in total revenues!
The Heat is at a substantial disadvantage when it comes to negotiating the payout on its TV rights deals. That’s because the size of a team’s local television rights deal is directly proportional to the projected number of television households tuned into its broadcasts. The Heat, by the NBA’s own definition, is a small-market team.
It may shock you to know just how small the Heat’s designated market area (DMA) truly is.
The Heat has just 1.66 million TV households in its DMA.(1) By contrast, the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets have 7.46 million in their shared DMA, the Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers have 5.67 million in their shared DMA, and the Chicago Bulls have 3.53 million. In fact, the Heat has a smaller TV market than even the Minnesota Timberwolves. Its DMA is good for just 17th overall, among the league’s 30 teams.
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