TNT, Warner Bros. Discovery to match Amazon’s NBA media rights deal

TNT, Warner Bros. Discovery to match Amazon’s NBA media rights deal

On July 10, the NBA finalized TV deals with ESPN, NBC and Amazon for their new media rights deal, which is expected to begin in 2025-26. It allowed the opportunity for Warner Bros. Discovery (TNT) to potentially remain as a partner, though it was unclear whether or not they would budge.

Now, TNT is making an effort to keep their long-standing partnership with the NBA in-tact, releasing a statement Monday suggesting that they plan to match Amazon’s media rights package that they negotiated with the league. The statement reads as follows:

“We’re proud of how we have delivered for basketball fans by providing best-in-class coverage throughout our four-decade partnership with the NBA,” the statement read. “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.

“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.

“We have reviewed the offers and matched one of them. This will allow fans to keep enjoying our unparalleled coverage, including the best live game productions in the industry and our iconic studio shows and talent, while building on our proven 40-year commitment for many more years.

“Our matching paperwork was submitted to the league today. We look forward to the NBA executing our new contract.”

The NBA’s Board of Governors approved of the league’s proposed 11-year media rights deal last Wednesday, which began the five-day clock for TNT to match.

According to the new deal, Amazon was expected to air games on Thursday nights after the NFL season wrapped up–similar to what Turner’s done. Though they were expected to air games on Friday and Saturday plus be the home for the in-season tournament.

There are also complications with Amazon versus TNT in today’s day and age with streaming. TNT is a television station with an application that allows viewers to stream; Amazon has its own streaming service with Amazon Prime–one of the most popular nationwide, along with Hulu, Netflix, ESPN+ and Disney+.

According to Andrew Marchand of The Athletic, the NBA’s “preference is to honor” Amazon’s $1.8 billion per year package. Who knows what the pre- and postgame studio coverage looks like compared to TNT’s Inside the NBA; who also knows what the broadcasting coverage looks like, with Kevin Harlan, Reggie Miller and Stan Van Gundy heading the lead broadcasting crew.

This fight could lead to a lawsuit or even a brand new broadcasting package, though the latter feels more unlikely because of the complications with what’s already been negotiated. Nevertheless, this should be an intriguing storyline to follow over the next several months.

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