The conflict between the NBA and Warner Bros. Discovery continues to heat up as the NBA moves to dismiss the lawsuit filed against it by Warner Bros. Discovery. The legal battle centers on Warner Bros. Discovery's allegations that the NBA breached its contract by rejecting their matching offer for a new media rights deal, which has now culminated in the NBA securing a lucrative 11-year media rights deal worth nearly $76 billion.
Breaking Ties and Forming New Alliances
Spanning the 2025-26 season through the 2035-36 season, the NBA's new contract highlights partnerships with industry giants Disney, NBC, and Amazon Prime Video. This groundbreaking deal marks the end of an almost 40-year relationship between the NBA and Turner, signaling a significant shift in sports media landscapes.
The NBA made its stance clear through a 28-page motion and accompanying documents, pushing for the dismissal of Warner Bros. Discovery’s lawsuit with prejudice. Central to the NBA’s argument are claims that Warner Bros. Discovery extensively modified critical elements of Amazon’s offer, attempting to tailor it to fit their own distributions needs, thus disqualifying it as a legitimate match.
Warner Bros. Discovery's Response
According to the NBA, Warner Bros. Discovery amended significant portions of Amazon's offer by making substantive revisions to 8 of Amazon’s 27 sections, redefining 11 terms, striking out nearly 300 words, and adding over 270 new words. These alterations included swapping Amazon’s escrow requirement—an upfront payment of approximately $5.4 billion—for syndicated letters of credit, altering the foundational financial structure proposed by Amazon.
Despite these changes, Warner Bros. Discovery claimed that their response was a successful match to Amazon’s offer when presented to them on July 17. However, the NBA rejected Warner Bros. Discovery's claim just five days later, pointing out the discrepancies in this matching attempt.
Warner Bros. Discovery now faces a crucial deadline of September 20 to file its response, setting the stage for the next chapter of this high-stakes legal confrontation.
NBA's Perspective on the Dispute
As the NBA clarified, "TBS chose not to match NBCUniversal's offer, which would have enabled TBS to continue distributing games via its TNT linear cable network." Instead, according to the NBA, "TBS purported to match the less-expensive Amazon offer, but only after revising it to include traditional distribution rights and making numerous other substantive changes." The NBA further asserted that these revisions amounted to a counteroffer rather than a match. "Far from accepting each term of Amazon's offer, TBS's revisions constituted a counteroffer that the NBA was free to reject," they stated.
Bill Koenig, the president of NBA global content and media distribution, emphasized the divergence in Warner Bros. Discovery's approach, noting, "The response made by TBS does not qualify as a match."
Amazon’s Expansive Role in the New Deal
Amazon Prime Video emerges as a major player in the new media rights landscape. Under the terms of the deal, Amazon will broadcast games on Friday nights, select Saturday afternoons, and feature Thursday night doubleheaders following the NFL’s "Thursday Night Football." This arrangement includes exclusive coverage of pivotal NBA Cup stages and the NBA League Pass package, integrating Amazon more deeply into the fabric of the league's media distribution.
Implications for Viewers and the Industry
Fans of TNT are particularly impacted by this new agreement. Although the NBA-Turner partnership has been terminated, TNT Sports maintains a strong market presence. TNT Sports, in their defense, argued for their role in the evolving media landscape, stating, "Not only is it our contractual right, but it is in the best interest of the fans who want to continue to enjoy our industry-leading NBA content with the choice and flexibility we offer them through our widely distributed platforms including TNT and Max."
As the legal saga unfolds, the sports media world will be closely watching how this case may set precedents for future media rights negotiations and partnerships. For now, the NBA’s leap into new media territory with Amazon, Disney, and NBC marks a transformative moment, possibly reshaping how basketball fans consume their favorite sport for the next decade and beyond.