NBC Sports intends to make a strong bid to resurrect the NBA.

Play "Roundball Rock" by John Tesh - "The NBA on NBC" may return if NBC Sports has its way.

According to people familiar with the situation, Comcast's NBCUniversal is preparing to make a strong bid to reclaim National Basketball Association broadcast rights after losing them to Disney and Turner Sports more than 20 years ago.

According to the people who asked not to be identified, because the discussions are private, NBCUniversal executives have informed the NBA of their interest. According to two of the sources, NBC Sports wants a package that includes playoff games that will air on NBC's broadcast network. Some regular-season games may be exclusive to NBCUniversal's Peacock streaming service. The NBA may also decide to compel media companies to simulcast games.

According to people familiar with the situation, Apple and Amazon have also expressed interest in purchasing carved-out streaming packages from the NBA. Amazon currently has a partnership with the NBA that allows it to stream games in Brazil.

According to people familiar with the situation, no formal discussions with non-incumbent bidders can take place unless Warner Bros. Discovery, which owns Turner Sports, and Disney agree to waive their exclusive negotiation windows, which expire in April 2024.

An NBA spokesperson confirmed that no discussions have taken place with NBCUniversal regarding national rights at this time, but added that the league has "a longtime relationship with Comcast/NBA as a previous NBA national TV rightsholder and through many of our teams' partnerships with NBC Sports regional sports networks."

The NBA rights are held by Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery until the end of the 2024-2025 season, which is more than two years away. It's possible that the NBA will simply re-sign with both existing parties and will never enter into negotiations with outside bidders. That's what happened in 2014, the most recent renewal of the league.

But, according to the sources, that is unlikely to happen this time because streaming has taken over as the dominant distribution method for TV viewing. According to two sources, the NBA is likely to create one or two new packages for bidders, increasing the number of media rights partners from two to three or four.

According to the sources, Disney is expected to bid on a package of rights for ESPN, ESPN+, and ABC.