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Comcast to put NBA TV on 'Digital Classic' tier

Comcast Corp. has reached an agreement to carry NBA TV on a level of service that's viewed by 10.8 million Comcast customers, sources say.

Comcast Corp. has reached an agreement to carry NBA TV on a level of service that's viewed by 10.8 million Comcast customers, sources say.

The new service is expected to start before the 2009-10 NBA regular season begins.

The NBA was the last major professional sport to get a deal for its 24-hour channel on Comcast's "Digital Classic" tier.

The NFL Network reached a deal last week, the NHL Network announced one yesterday, and Major League Baseball already had a deal.

Sources say an NBA announcement is expected tomorrow.

NBA TV also will be available to Comcast high-speed Internet customers through Comcast.net as part of a new feature that will make Comcast cable TV content available on the Internet, sources say.

At the moment, NBA TV can be purchased in a Comcast sports-themed package that costs an additional $7 a month. NBA TV will remain on the sports package for people who order Comcast's lower-priced Digital Starter service and would like to add the sports content a la carte.

NBA reportedly cut its price-per-subscriber to Comcast so it could obtain the broader distribution. In that case, the NBA followed the pattern set by the NFL, which cut the per-subscriber price to Comcast to 45 cents a month from about 75 cents for the NFL Network.

Contact staff writer Bob Fernandez at 215-854-5897 and bob.fernandez@phillynews.com.