Beyond Basketball: NBA Entertainment and the Sports League as Global Media Empire, 1982–1990

Through the case of the National Basketball Association (NBA), this article charts the early transformation of sports leagues into global media conglomerates from 1982 to 1990, as reflected in the creation and growth of NBA Entertainment. As an internal production, distribution, and archival outfit, the division enabled the NBA to produce and distribute its own television and promotional content, leveraging new opportunities in cable television and global satellite distribution. Following a renegotiation with broadcast partner CBS in late 1985, the NBA reacquired its own international media rights, which allowed the league to further use NBA Entertainment to self-produce international game edits for overseas distribution. During this period, the NBA reached new heights as an integrated media producer-distributor, culminating in late 1989, when NBA Entertainment left CBS for NBC, which promised greater control over network production and promotion. Ultimately, as sports were increasingly conceived and produced as television content, sports leagues such as the NBA evolved from primarily administrative bodies into vertically integrated media conglomerates. This article establishes a historical basis for the further integration of the sports and media industries on a global scale, as sports programming continues to grow into a fundamental component of the multiplatform media landscape.