The money will/was paid to them up front but they have to pay it back with interest.
http://aol.sportingnews.com/nba/feed/2010-10/nba-labor/story/tv-dollars-give-nba-owners-advantage-over-players-during-lockout

One key point to bear in mind as the NBA and its players prepare to get back to the bargaining table in the wake of the lockout the owners called last week is this: The networks that air NBA games are still on the hook to pay rights fees even if the season doesn’t start as planned.

The NBA’s contract with ESPN/ABC is worth $485 million annually, while the contract with TNT is worth $445 million. That means the league will be paid $930 million -- or $31 million per team -- in national broadcast rights for this season. Owners, of course, are already losing substantial revenues, as sponsorships dry up and local broadcast rights stand unpaid. And deputy commissioner Adam Silver pointed out that the league gets the payment as a loan -- it would have to be paid back (with interest) if there are no games this year. But the national TV revenue stream does give the owners an advantage over players in the meantime.

Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley anchor TNT's NBA coverage. (AP Photo)
The NBA’s television contract has had a lockout/work stoppage clause in it going back to when it was originally extended, in 2007 (for the 2008-09 season). That’s important, because the NFL renegotiated its national television contracts over the last two seasons to include provisions that the league will he paid in the event of a lockout. A federal judge ruled that those contracts were not negotiated in good faith—that they were designed to make sure the owners were set up for this specific lockout, rather than to maximize the revenue that players and owners share.

The NBA won’t have that problem, because their lockout-payment clause has been in effect for a long time and the union could not argue that the current national deal was negotiated in bad faith. “Since 1987 or thereabouts,” commissioner David Stern said. “We have had that clause for 24 years.”

Having to pay the rights without being able to air games could be doubly damaging to the networks, which would be in position to cash in on the rising popularity of the league—last year’s postseason got the highest ratings in more than a decade. Instead of selling increasingly valuable ad time, though, the networks will have to scurry to figure out what to show should the lockout start eating into the season.

According to Adweek, ESPN/ABC and TNT could lose about $1.25 billion in ad sales if the NBA season is not played.

This is really unfare! These Owners are a trip. ESPN/ABC and TNT should try to find a way out of this deal! I can't believe they allowed the owners to get away with this over the last 24 years. My guess is the TV guys didn't think the league would really let an entire season slip away. This might change their thinking about that one clause in the contract.

TV networks will recover the loses in one month next season.
Their profit from only in-game comercials is in billions.
NBA is just one of many major sports.
In general not too many people cares about NBA existance.
Garden for example will lose only 25% of revenues as hockey, entertiment, and other sporting events will go on.
The Rangers attendance is picking up too. Most likely they recover this money as they let go a lot of BBal related personal.

I am not sure if this was the money that David Aldridge was talking about players getting because of BRI from last year or if this something else.

Source confirms this: RT @darrenrovell: NBA union tells players in memo they'll each get an additional $58K from nba b/c of a "shortfall."