Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer is weighing a deal with cable channel Prime Ticket that would allow the team to retain streaming rights, The Post has learned.
If the Clippers and Prime Ticket ink the TV rights deal, it would be the first among the four major sports leagues where the team kept streaming rights, sources familiar with the prospective deal said.
Fox Sports’ Prime Ticket, whose traditional cable TV rights deal recently expired in June, responded to Ballmer’s request to split the TV and streaming rights by recently giving the former Microsoft chief executive a take-it-or-leave-it proposal lasting two years, one source said.
There’s a better than 50-50 chance Ballmer will sign the deal, the source said. The NBA is expected to give the deal a thumbs-up.
The Clippers’ past deal with Prime Ticket ended in June.
Under terms, the Clippers would only be able to offer a streaming service to Prime Ticket customers. The NBA retains out-of-market streaming rights.
The Clippers and Prime Ticket did not return calls. The NBA declined to comment.