The NBA is expected to announce as early as next week a package of new TV deals that would predominantly move its games to cable television.

The league has reached an agreement in principle on a deal with ABC and ESPN, two sources familiar with the negotiations said on condition of anonymity. The Walt Disney Co., parent of both ESPN and ABC, has not confirmed the report.

If finalized, ABC and ESPN reportedly will televise NBA games beginning with the 2002-2003 season. NBC's four-year, $1.75 billion deal as exclusive network right-holder expires after the current season.

In addition, the league is prepared to put other games on a new all-sports cable channel it will own with AOL Time Warner, the parent of current league cable partner Turner Sports. Under that deal, believed to be worth approximately $1 billion, NBA games would air on both the new channel and TNT or TBS.

The new deals could be as long as six years, The New York Times reported.

An NBA spokesperson refused to discuss the league's negotiations with the networks. NBC Sports director of communications Cameron Blanchard also declined to comment.

NBC, which has televised NBA games for 12 years, has scheduled 33 games this season. Under a new deal with ABC and ESPN, 55 regular-season games will be televised by ESPN and another 15 on ABC. TNT will show a similar number of games to ESPN's proposed schedule.

NBC also had aired NFL and Major League Baseball games until recently. Its contract with the NFL expired in 1998, as did its deal with baseball last year. The network's most significant remaining sports are the Olympics -- for which it owns the U.S. television rights through 2008 -- golf, and horse racing's Triple Crown series.

ABC and ESPN currently have deals to televise NFL games through 2006 and NHL games through its 2003-2004 season.

The Associated Press contributed to this report