Report: Amazon Prime Could Be Potential Suitor For Thunder Television Rights Down the Road

Per the Sports Business Journal, the NBA has reportedly agreed to allow Diamond Sports — otherwise known as Bally Sports — to broadcast the remainder of the 2023-24 season.

But it seems likely Bally Sports and the Thunder will go through a split once the season is over. Diamond Sports is reportedly going through bankruptcy, meaning the Thunder will look for a new media home to carry games after this season. Several other NBA teams also use Bally Sports to broadcast games, meaning it might be time for a complete shift in NBA television rights.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Amazon Prime could be waiting to snatch up those markets. The website wrote that Prime "is in talks to invest in the biggest regional-sports programmer, a move that would advance the e-commerce giant’s aggressive push into sports content as it takes on streaming rivals like Disney and Netflix."

These talks are in very preliminary stages and nothing is even close to set in stone. Oklahoma City, along with other teams, will have to make it through the duration of the season with Bally Sports.

The Thunder has been with Bally Sports since March of 2021, but it has been a rocky relationship between the television provider and Thunder fans. In the first weeks of the current season, Bally Sports had several instances when it couldn’t broadcast Thunder games on its platform, and the technical difficulties date back to the beginning stages of taking over for Fox Sports.

NBA League Pass has been a solid option for Thunder fans living out-of-market, but locals aren't able to use the service to stream Thunder games. Prime recently struck a deal with the NFL’s “Thursday Night Football” matchups, and the partnership has looked smooth so far. The service costs $14.99 a month.

Again, nothing will take place until this offseason, and everything is still up in the air. The Amazon Prime rumor is the first Thunder television rumor we've heard to this point, though.

Want to join the discussion? Like Inside the Thunder on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Thunder news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.