NBA Players Vote To Resume Playoff Games

The NBA and players have agreed to continue the 2020 NBA Playoffs, according to several media reports.

On Wednesday afternoon, the NBA and the NBA Players Association voted to postpone three playoff games after the Milwaukee Bucks boycotted their scheduled game. The protest was in response to the Aug. 23 shooting of Jacob Blake by a Kenosha police officer.

According to ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski, NBA games will resume either Friday or Saturday. Teams are still trying to figure out ways to make social justice statements while games take place.

What Investors Need To Know: NBA games are broadcast across Walt Disney Inc's DIS ESPN, AT&T Inc.'s T TNT and NBATV. Those companies are hoping to see strong advertising revenue for the games as sports return to televisions. Last year’s NBA playoffs brought in $932 million in advertising revenue.

The return of sports has also helped casino and sports betting stocks.

DraftKings DKNG refunded all sports bets made from Wednesday on canceled or postponed sporting events. The company has spent a lot of money on promotional efforts to gain new subscribers and took another hit Wednesday from minimal sports being played.

Why It’s Important: The loss of NBA games could lower advertising revenue for media companies. After missing out on many of the regular season games, broadcasters look to recoup some of the losses with advertisers seeking anxiously waiting fans who want sports content. Disney had reported that NBA games were seeing advertising strength with 25 new customers signed up.

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Giannis Antetokounmpo. Photo credit: Erik Drost, Wikimedia