Luka Doncic, the 77th overall pick of the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA, shoots the ball against the Boston Celtics during Game 5 of the 2024 NBA Finals at TD Garden in Boston on June 17, 2024.
Nathaniel S. Butler | NBA | Getty Images
The NBA has rejected its longtime media partner. Warner Bros. DiscoveryIts quest to continue broadcasting matches after next season.
The league told the media company it did not believe it had the legal rights to the new media deal. Instead, it planned to move forward. Amazon As its third partner, alongside ESPN and NBCUniversal, in its 11-year deal worth about $77 billion.
“The recent offer from Warner Bros. Discovery did not meet the terms of Amazon Prime Video’s offer, and we have therefore entered into a long-term agreement with Amazon,” the NBA said in a statement on Wednesday.
Warner Bros. Discovery acquired the match rights as part of its current media rights deal with the league, which expires at the end of next season. That clause allows the company to match the payout for any games aired on TNT, which it tried to do Monday.
The NBA doesn’t believe Warner Bros. Discovery’s rights extend to the streaming package, which was allocated to Amazon. Warner Bros. Discovery also has a streaming service, Max, that it could use to stream games, but the company told the NBA it plans to stream TNT games on Max rather than putting them on Max only.
The NBA sent a letter Wednesday to Warner Bros. Discovery, addressed to TNT Sports Chairman and CEO Louis Silber Wasser, explaining why it could not match Amazon’s package, citing language from the original matching clause, according to people familiar with the matter.
The NBA cited a clause stating that an existing media partner may exercise match rights “only through the specified form of combined audio and video distribution (e.g., if the specified form of combined audio and video distribution is online distribution, the matched company may not exercise rights to such games through television distribution).”
“Our primary goal throughout these negotiations has been to maximize reach and accessibility for our games for our fans,” the NBA said in a statement. “Our new agreement with Amazon supports this goal by complementing the broadcast, cable and streaming packages that are already part of our new agreements with Disney and NBC Universal.”
“The three partners have also committed significant resources to promote the NBA and enhance the fan experience,” the league added. “We are grateful to Turner Sports for their award-winning coverage of the NBA and look forward to another season of NBA on TNT.”
Warner Bros. Discovery said Monday it has acquired one of three NBA media rights packages, which people familiar with the matter identified as the $1.8 billion-a-year deal earmarked for Amazon Prime Video. Disney And ComcastNBA parent NBCUniversal has signed deals for the other two packages, as part of a $77 billion, 11-year media rights renewal.
“We have accepted Amazon’s offer, as we have the contractual right to do, and we do not believe the NBA can refuse it,” Warner Bros. Discovery said in a statement Wednesday. “In doing so, they are rejecting the many fans who continue to show their unwavering support for our best-in-class coverage, delivered through Warner Bros. Discovery’s full range of video-first distribution platforms — including TNT, home of our four-decade partnership with the NBA, and Max, our flagship streaming service.”
“We believe they have misinterpreted our contractual rights for the 2025-26 season and beyond, and we will take appropriate action,” the statement continued. “However, we look forward to another great season of NBA on TNT and Max, including our popular Inside the NBA.”
Warner Bros. Discovery’s Turner Sports channel has aired live NBA games for nearly 40 years. The TNT cable network also airs Inside the NBA, a popular studio show starring Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal. The show’s future is in doubt if the NBA doesn’t strike a deal with Warner Bros. Discovery.
The league also wants its streaming partner to have maximum reach. Amazon Prime Video has more than twice as many global customers — more than 200 million versus about 100 million for Max — which could make the service a more attractive platform for the league. The streaming rights are global, though Warner Bros. Discovery is bidding on U.S. rights only, according to people familiar with the contract language.
Warner Bros. Discovery may need to sue the NBA for the rights to air the matched programming. Lawyers for the company and the NBA have been poring over the contract language for the past few months, according to people familiar with the matter.
Details of the new NBA rights deal
Disney pays $2.62 billion a year for its gaming package, and NBCUniversal pays $2.45 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. The new rights deal starts with the 2025-26 season and runs through the 2035-36 season.
The NBA app will serve as a central portal to the games, directing consumers to every national game, whether it’s on broadcast television, cable or streaming service. About 75 regular-season games will be televised each season, up from 15 in the current rights deal. The league will have two broadcast partners — Disney’s ABC and NBCUniversal.
“Our new global media agreements with Disney, NBCUniversal and Amazon will enhance the reach of NBA games to fans in the United States and around the world,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “These partners will distribute our content across a broad range of platforms and help transform the fan experience over the next decade.”
Disney will distribute 80 regular-season NBA games, including more than 20 on ABC and up to 60 on ESPN. ABC and ESPN will each have one of the two conference finals series in 10 of the 11 years of the agreement. ABC will remain the exclusive home of the NBA Finals, which it has aired since 2003.
NBCUniversal will return as the league's broadcast partner after losing NBA rights in 2002. NBCUniversal will air 100 NBA games each regular season, including about 50 that will be exclusive to the Peacock streaming platform, according to CEO Mike Kavanagh.
“We are proud to once again partner with the NBA and WNBA, two iconic brands and the home of the best basketball in the world,” Kavanagh said in a statement. “We look forward to delivering best-in-class coverage of both leagues through our innovative programming and distribution plan across NBC and Peacock to entertain fans and help grow the game.”
WNBA games are also part of the three packages. The partners will distribute more than 125 regular-season and playoff games nationally each season. Disney will air at least 25 regular-season games, NBCUniversal will air 50 regular-season and playoff games on its platforms, and Prime Video will get 30 regular-season games, assuming Warner Bros. Discovery can’t match Amazon’s package.
Disclosure: NBCUniversal is the parent company of CNBC.
