Could the NBA Find a New Home If Fox Launches Its Own Sports Network?

According to Deadspin, Fox is in the market for its own sports network. Rupert Murdoch would be entering on the heels of hockey-dominator NBC Sports, and the two networks would challenge—or attempt to challenge—ABC/ESPN hegemony.

It is quite early in the game, so I am not certain what a world with three national sports networks would look like. But here is what I do know:

• The sports TV rights market has exploded in value the last couple years. This was probably a motivating factor for these emergent networks. NCAA conferences are multiplying their old TV deals times four, and the NHL tripled their last national television deal with their latest. 
• The NBA has yet to negotiate their next national television rights contract, which expires in 2016. The current one requires ESPN and TNT to pay the league $930 million per year.   
• Both sides, players and owners, can opt out of the newly signed NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement in 2017.  

So, there are some interesting dynamics at play.

It remains to be seen if Murdoch would even want the NBA or if he'll even pull this off. But if there are three future bidders vying for NBA television rights, the league should profit handsomely. That would mean players and owners would have a much bigger pie to fight over in 2017.