TNT Sports to lose star reporter Chris Haynes as network’s legal battle with NBA over TV rights continues

SENIOR NBA Insider Chris Haynes is reportedly leaving TNT after his contract expires.

Haynes became a sideline reporter for TNT in 2019 covering games and also breaking news across all platforms.

David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images

Getty

Getty

Before working for TNT, Haynes was employed by ESPN and Yahoo Sports, The New York Post reported .

He also currently works at Bleacher Report as a senior NBA insider.

Haynes keeps himself busy as he hosts an NBA podcast, called #thisleague UNCUT, with fellow NBA insider Marc Stein.

His departure comes after the parent company of TNT, Warner Brothers Discovery, sued the NBA over a matching rights clause in its previous TV contract.

The U.S. Sun has reached out to Haynes for comment.

WBD filed the motion last month in New York County Supreme Court and is being represented by the law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges, The NYP reported .

The NBA chose Amazon over TNT as the league’s third TV rights partner along with ESPN and NBC.

Last month, TNT Sports released a strongly worded statement stating that it would continue its NBA coverage after matching the offer from one of the networks.

Amazon was not mentioned, but multiple publications have named the streaming service the network in question.

“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,” TNT Sports said.

“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. Our matching paperwork was submitted to the league today.

“We look forward to the NBA executing our new contract.”

But the NBA rejected WBD’s proposal and now the two are facing off in a legal showdown.

In a statement, the NBA said that WBD’s “proposal did not match the terms of Amazon Prime Video’s offer.”

What the new TV deal means for the NBA?

By The U.S. Sun's Assistant Sports Editor Damian Burchardt.

THE new TV rights deal is promising to be a humongous win for NBA players.

The league is set to more than double the revenue coming from its media partners, pocketing about $6.9 billion per year, which will inevitably lead to a huge salary cap spike in 2025-26.

That is going to send the value of player contracts skyrocketing.

Projected figures suggest we might see the first $100 million-per-year deal being signed soon.

Currently, Boston Celtics All-Star Jayson Tatum is projected to earn the highest single-season salary in NBA history, collecting $71.5 million in 2029-30.

If TNT Sports successfully matches one of the offers to maintain its decades-long partnership with the league, hoops fans will be on the winning side too.

The network’s flagship, Inside the NBA, is a one-of-a-kind sports entertainment show , as evidenced by ESPN’s ongoing failure to come up with its own version of the program in recent years.

The NBA wouldn’t be the same without Kenny and Ernie trying to make sense of Shaq and Chuck’s never-ending bickering every Tuesday night.

WBD issued a strong response after seeing its matching offer rejected, saying the league “grossly misinterpreted our contractual rights with respect to the 2025-26 season and beyond” while vowing to “take appropriate action.”

With that, the league proclaimed Amazon as the new media partner alongside ESPN and NBC as part of a landmark 11-year deal worth nearly $77 billion, which is set to start after the 2024-25 season.

The history between TNT and the NBA dates back as far as 2000.

Then-Turner Sports took over NBA TV’s operations with the channel’s programs being produced at the company’s Atlanta studios to this day.

Last year, TNT Sports became the home of the NBA in the UK after launching in the British market – with most of the programming coming from Atlanta.

This could also mean the end of TNT’s popular basketball show Inside The NBA .

The show is hosted by Ernie Johnson, a broadcaster for TNT Sports, and features former basketball stars Shaquille O’Neal , Kenny Smith, and Charles Barkley .

If WBD is unable to win in its legal battle with the NBA the show will no longer broadcast after the 2024-2025 NBA season.