WBD makes another big move in NBA broadcast rights saga

After months of uncertainty regarding the future of the NBA on TNT , parent company Warner Bros. Discovery on Monday officially exercised its matching rights for Amazon Prime Video’s portion of the NBA’s new media rights package.

Monday was the deadline for WBD to match after the NBA Board of Governors approved the package last week. The company’s decision to do so means the package, which is set to begin during the 2025-26 season, could be held up in court.

“In an effort to continue our long-standing partnership, during both exclusive and non-exclusive negotiation periods, we acted in good faith to present strong bids that were fair to both parties,” WBD said in a statement .

“Regrettably, the league notified us of its intention to accept other offers for the games in our current rights package, leaving us to proceed under the matching rights provision , which is an integral part of our current agreement and the rights we have paid for under it.”

Reports suggested during negotiations between the NBA and its broadcast partners that WBD’s lack of a streaming platform to show games was a weakness in its pursuit of a new rights deal. That factor could loom large over any legal dispute between the NBA, WBD and Prime Video given that Prime Video’s “C” deal in the new NBA rights package is, of course, exclusive to streaming.

Amazon also did its best to fend off a match by WBD. According to longtime NBA analyst Bill Simmons of The Ringer , Amazon agreed to pay a large portion of its deal in the first three years in an attempt to discourage the cash-poor WBD from pursuing the deal.

Also hanging in the balance is the future of the allegedly retiring Charles Barkley as well as his Inside the NBA colleagues Ernie Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith. The beloved studio show would either end or jump ship should WBD’s last-ditch bid for NBA rights fail.

Beyond Inside the NBA , even a failed bid from WBD would hold up Amazon from staffing its NBA broadcast booths and production crews before the fall of 2025.

Now, the pro basketball world waits as lawyers and judges rule on the fine text of WBD’s contract with the NBA as Amazon is left in a lurch after its big push into hoops broadcasting.

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