It sounds as if it may be time to get the lawyers involved, and when it comes to the NBA media rights deal, that appears to be precisely where we are headed. To the non-basketball kind of court.
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This follows the league's announcement that it had reached a new broadcasting and streaming deal with ESPN/ABC, newcomer NBC, and streaming giant Amazon Prime. That left TNT in the dust — though its parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, said it intends to fight the league's decision.
Warner Bros. Discovery/TNT attempted to match the Amazon portion of the deal, which reportedly is for 11 years and $76 billion overall. Amazon's reported bid is for $1.8 billion.
"We think [the NBA has] grossly misinterpreted our contractual rights with respect to the 2025-26 season and beyond, and we will take appropriate action," Warner Bros. Discovery wrote in response to the NBA rejecting its offer.
But the league indicated in its own statement that TNT technically did not match Amazon's bid.
"Warner Bros. Discovery's most recent proposal did not match the terms of Amazon Prime Video's offer and, therefore, we have entered into a long-term arrangement with Amazon," the statement read.
"Throughout these negotiations, our primary objective has been to maximize the reach and accessibility of our games for our fans. Our new arrangement with Amazon supports this goal by complementing the broadcast, cable and streaming packages that are already part of our new Disney and NBCUniversal arrangements. All three partners have also committed substantial resources to promote the league and enhance the fan experience.
"We are grateful to Turner Sports for its award-winning coverage of the NBA and look forward to another season of the NBA on TNT."
Basically, the NBA fully intends to move on from TNT, and regardless if this ends up in court, the league is likely destined to come out on top.
(This article originally appeared on Hoops Wire and was republished with permission.)
