A view of the NBA logo on TNT on the broadcast camera before the start of the third quarter of Game 4 of the Western Conference second round playoffs between the Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center on May 12, 2024 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
David Berding | Getty Images
Warner Bros. Discovery It has agreed to end its quest to own a lineup of live National Basketball Association games in the United States for the 2025-2026 season and beyond, and to settle all of its legal disputes with the league.
Warner Bros. has raised Discovery sued the NBA in July, claiming the league failed to allow the media company to use so-called matching rights on a package of live games.
The league chose three media partners – Disney, Comcast NBCUniversal and Amazon Prime Video – to be the US distributor of live games for 11 years starting next season. The total value of the deal, including WNBA games, was about $77 billion, CNBC previously reported.
Settlement with Warner Bros. Discovery, announced Monday, along with a separate agreement between WBD and ESPN, will keep the company in the mix with some NBA content, production partnerships and licensing deals. However, it officially ends Turner Sports' 40-year relationship with the NBA as the carrier of live games in the United States after this season.
Turner Sports has had the NBA package since 1984, with games broadcast on cable network TNT since 1988. The NBA decided to move away from Warner Bros. Discovery as a media partner for several reasons, including a loss of confidence in the long-term future of cable. Television as a means of reaching a younger audience.
Disney and Comcast have streaming networks to show NBA games, and the Amazon package airs exclusively.
The terms of the settlement give WBD's TNT Sports free access to highlights of the company's digital news site Bleacher Report and social media platform House of Highlights for the next 11 years, according to a person familiar with the details. The deal also allows Warner Bros. Discovery licenses, creates and distributes new and existing NBA content across its media assets and includes live game rights in the Nordics, Poland and Latin America, excluding Brazil and Mexico.
The agreement also extends the partnership between NBA Digital and TNT Sports for five seasons, allowing the NBA to engage Warner Bros. Discovery to provide promotion and “a variety of services, including production services, content development and sales operations,” according to a statement. .
The settlement gives Warner Bros. Discovery years of guaranteed revenue from the NBA. The league is not paying any additional money to WBD for these services beyond the terms of the settlement, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked to speak anonymously because some details of the agreement are private.
“Inside the NBA”
TNT's popular studio show “Inside the NBA” will be licensed to Disney's ESPN and ABC for regular-season NBA games and the playoffs, including the Finals. ESPN's current NBA studio show, “Countdown,” will continue to feature other regular season games on ESPN.
Charles Barkley on Inside the NBA
Source: NBA on TNT
TNT Sports will continue to produce “Inside the NBA” starring Ernie Johnson Jr., Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O'Neal. The four hosts will remain with the show for the duration of their contracts and may develop other new content for Warner Bros.' cable and streaming platforms. Discovery, including programs like the “Inside Sports” show currently in development for next season, according to the company. ESPN has protections in the deal that allow it to stop licensing the show if the lead hosts leave, according to two people familiar with the contract.
It's unclear whether “Inside the NBA” will have a TNT or ESPN branding when the show begins airing on Disney platforms next year, according to people familiar with the matter. While TNT Sports has full editorial control over the show, ESPN talent may collaborate with the hosts, the people said.
“The opportunity to continue the popular, Emmy Award-winning ‘Inside the NBA’ program is a huge win for basketball fans everywhere,” league commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “We look forward to building on our long-standing partnership with TNT Sports and working together to promote NBA content across key WBD and NBA platforms.”
Disney and Warner Bros. have teamed up. Discovery several times in the past year, including in a streaming bundle that links Max's WBD service to Disney+ and Disney's Hulu, and in a sports-focused joint venture called Venu that is currently in limbo due to antitrust concerns.
As a side part of the settlement that does not include the NBA, ESPN allows TNT to broadcast 13 Big 12 football games and 15 men's basketball games each season, starting in 2025. The deal gives the Big 12 greater linear television exposure through TNT. , since most games will be broadcast exclusively on ESPN+, according to people familiar with the matter.
ESPN has a similar sub-licensing deal with Warner Bros. Discovery for the College Football Playoff first-round and quarterfinal games earlier this year.
Consolation prize
The deal allows the CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery's David Zaslav has been asked to give up something after failing to reach an agreement with the league during an exclusivity negotiating period earlier this year.
“Together, these agreements ensure fans continue to enjoy TNT's 'Inside the NBA' program and create tremendous value for our entire portfolio as we accelerate the growth of TNT Sports, Bleacher Report, House of Highlights, and our global sports business,” Zaslav said in a statement. .
Silver told CNBC last month that the league could “definitely” reach an agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery But the leadership on both sides never agreed.
“It wasn't a long-term relationship with the people who currently run Warner Brothers Discovery,” Silver said. “Ideally, in these partnerships, people don't pull out a contract and say page eight, paragraph three. You're saying that you understand the spirit of what you're trying to achieve, and that you're willing to adapt based on changes that maybe were unexpected, so when you actually look at contract, this is a sign that the partnership is not going well.”
Disclosure: Comcast's NBCUniversal is the parent company of CNBC and co-owner of Hulu.
