TNT Sports Hits NBA With Wild Accusation Over Media Deal Decision

TNT Sports isn't letting go of its NBA rights easily. That much is clear after the media company issued a statement highlighting its plan to take action after Amazon won the bidding for a piece of the league's national media rights.

On Wednesday, the NBA announced that it has signed a new 11-year media deal with ESPN, NBCUniversal and Amazon Prime for the rights to air its games starting in the 2025-26 season.

TNT Sports said that it would match Amazon's offer to be the third partner in the deal, but the league claimed that the former failed to meet the terms of the bid submitted by the latter.

In a statement released after the NBA confirmed its new media partners, TNT Sports accused the league of "grossly" misinterpreting its "contractual rights." As a result, the media company promised to take "appropriate action."

“We have matched the Amazon offer, as we have a contractual right to do, and do not believe the NBA can reject it. In doing so, they are rejecting the many fans who continue to show their unwavering support for our best-in-class coverage, delivered through the full combined reach of WBD's video-first distribution platforms — including TNT, home to our four-decade partnership with the league and Max, our leading streaming service," TNT Sports said in its statement.

"We think they have grossly misinterpreted our contractual rights with respect to the 2025-26 season and beyond, and we will take appropriate action. We look forward, however, to another great season of the NBA on TNT and Max, including our iconic Inside the NBA."

By the looks of it, TNT Sports plans to enforce its contract and right to match, which it believes it did.

It remains to be seen how the NBA will respond to the accusation, but things could certainly get messy as two billion-dollar organizations collide.

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