NBA expected to lose $900 million if season gets cancelled

The NBA will potentially lose 900 million US dollars (over 831 million GBP in broadcasting rights alone if they cancel the 2019-2020 playoffs. The league signed a nine-year $24 billion television deal with ESPN and TNT in 2014 that accounts for the majority of the league's TV revenue for years to come.

Going into the third month of the suspension due to the coronavirus pandemic, the NBA and its member teams have already lost millions in ticket sales and refunds. To date, the league has not announced if the remaining regular season games will be cancelled, and if the season will go straight to the playoffs. With time running out, it's becoming more unrealistic to complete all the games without conflicting with the 2020-2021 season.

According to RealGM.com, the league is looking into creating a bubble environment in Disney World, Orlando or at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas. However, the plan is still in the negotiation phase. The logistics of creating such an environment to complete the season are still being ironed out while prioritising everyone's safety.

It's a given that setting up either place to accommodate the needs of the NBA will also take some time. That alone lowers the possibility of completing the remaining regular season games. There is an average of 17 games left to play for each team. In the Western Conference, six teams can still make it to the postseason but will be eliminated if the league uses the current standings. Only the injury-riddled Golden State Warriors have no chance of making it, but they want to use the remaining games to get their superstar Stephen Curry back in the groove.

It would also be unfair to a lot of teams to lose out on the broadcasting revenue if it goes straight to the playoffs. But realistically speaking, the NBA believes that the pandemic will not make it possible to complete all the remaining games.

There are also NBA events during the off-season, such as the NBA draft. That needs to be scheduled before starting the 2020-2021 season. Without an accurate projection on the "new normal" created by the pandemic, the NBA can't create a timetable that would please everyone.