Luka Doncic wearing number 77 of the NBA Dallas Mavericks takes a shot against the Boston Celtics during Game 5 of the 2024 NBA Finals at TD Garden on June 17, 2024 in Boston.
Nathaniel S. Butler | National Basketball Association | Getty Images
The NBA rejected a longtime media partner Warner Bros. DiscoveryThe intention is to continue broadcasting games next season and beyond.
The league has told media companies that it does not believe it has legal matching rights to new media deals. Instead, Amazon The company is the third partner after ESPN and NBCUniversal to sign an 11-year deal worth about $77 billion.
“Warner Bros. Discovery’s most recent proposal did not match the terms of Amazon Prime Video’s proposal, so we have entered into a long-term agreement with Amazon,” the NBA said in a statement on Wednesday.
Warner Bros. Discovery acquired the rights as part of its current media rights deal with the league, which expires at the end of next season. The clause allows the company to pay the same amount for any games aired on TNT, something the company tried to do on Monday.
The NBA doesn’t expect Warner Bros. Discovery’s rights to extend to the full streaming package carved out for Amazon. Warner Bros. Discovery also owns the streaming service Max, which it could use to broadcast games, but the company has told the NBA it plans to simulcast TNT games on Max, rather than making them exclusive to Max.
The NBA sent a letter to Warner Bros. Discovery on Wednesday to TNT Sports Chairman and CEO Lewis Silberwasser explaining why it cannot match Amazon’s package, citing the language of the original matching clause, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The NBA cited a provision that allows an incumbent media partner to exercise corresponding rights “only through a particular form of combined audio and video distribution.” (For example, if the particular form of combined audio and video distribution is Internet distribution, then an incumbent may not exercise rights for such games through television distribution.)
“Throughout these negotiations, our primary objective has been to make our games more accessible and accessible to our fans. Our new agreement with Amazon supports this goal by complementing the broadcast, cable and streaming packages already included in our new agreements with Disney and NBCUniversal,” the NBA said in a statement.
“All three partners have committed significant resources to promoting the league and enhancing the fan experience,” the league added. “We thank Turner Sports for their award-winning NBA coverage and look forward to another season of NBA coverage on TNT.”
Warner Bros. Discovery announced on Monday that it had struck a deal to match one of the NBA’s three media rights packages, a $1.8 billion annual deal earmarked for Amazon Prime Video, according to a person familiar with the matter. Disney and ComcastNBCUniversal has inked deals for the remaining two packages that are part of the league’s 11-year, $77 billion media rights renewal.
“As a contractual right, we matched Amazon’s offer and do not believe the NBA can refuse,” Warner Bros. Discovery said in a statement Wednesday. “In doing so, the NBA is rejecting the legions of fans who continue to demonstrate unwavering support for the best-in-class coverage delivered through the full integration of WBD’s video-first distribution platforms, including TNT, which has a 40-year partnership with the league, and leading streaming service Max.”
“We believe they have materially misinterpreted our contractual rights for the 2025-26 season and beyond, and we intend to take appropriate action,” the statement continued, “However, we look forward to another great NBA season on TNT and Max, including the iconic ‘Inside the NBA.'”
Warner Bros. Discovery’s Turner Sports has been broadcasting live NBA games for nearly 40 years, and cable network TNT airs the popular studio show “Inside the NBA,” featuring Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal. The show’s future is uncertain if the NBA doesn’t strike a deal with Warner Bros. Discovery.
The league also wants maximum reach from its streaming partner. Amazon Prime Video has more than 200 million customers worldwide compared with Max’s roughly 100 million, making it a potentially more attractive platform for the league. Warner Bros. Discovery is only bidding for U.S. rights, but the streaming rights will be global, according to a person familiar with the deal language.
Warner Bros. Discovery may have to sue the NBA to assert its equal rights, and lawyers for the company and the NBA have been scrutinizing the contract language for the past few months, according to people familiar with the matter.
Details of the new NBA broadcast rights deal
Disney will pay $2.62 billion annually for the games package, while NBCUniversal will pay $2.45 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. The new rights agreement will begin with the 2025-26 season and run through the 2035-36 season.
The NBA app will be a central portal for games, driving consumers to every national game across broadcast, cable or streaming services. Approximately 75 regular season games will be televised each season, up from 15 under current rights agreements. The NBA will have two additional broadcast partners: Disney’s ABC and NBCUniversal’s NBC.
“Our new global media agreements with Disney, NBCUniversal and Amazon will maximize viewership and accessibility of NBA games to fans in the U.S. and around the world,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “These partners will distribute content across a wide range of platforms and help transform the fan experience over the next decade.”
Disney will stream 80 NBA regular season games each season, with at least 20 on ABC and up to 60 on ESPN. ABC and ESPN will broadcast one of the two conference finals for 10 of the 11-year agreement. ABC will retain exclusive broadcast rights to the NBA Finals, a program it has held since 2003.
NBCUniversal is returning as the league’s broadcast partner after losing its NBA rights in 2002. CEO Mike Cavanagh said NBCUniversal plans to air 100 NBA games per regular season, about 50 of which will be exclusive to its streaming platform Peacock.
“We are proud to once again partner with two iconic brands, the NBA and WNBA, and the home of the best basketball in the world,” Cavanagh said in a statement. “With innovative programming and distribution plans through NBC and Peacock, we look forward to delivering best-in-class coverage of both leagues to entertain fans and grow the game of basketball.”
WNBA games are also included in all three packages. The partners will stream more than 125 regular season and playoff games nationwide each season: Disney will broadcast a minimum of 25 regular season games, NBCUniversal will stream 50 regular season and playoff games on its platforms, and Prime Video will stream 30 regular season games (assuming Warner Bros. Discovery can’t match Amazon’s package).
Disclosure: NBCUniversal is the parent company of CNBC.
