Warner Bros. Discovery sues NBA over new media rights deal, saying it matched Amazon
Warner Bros. Discovery filed a lawsuit Friday against the NBA over the new media rights deal that cuts out the league’s longtime TV partner Turner Sports.
The suit filed in New York Supreme Court asserts that the NBA breached its current deal by allegedly refusing to honor Turner’s rights to match an offer from Amazon in the new contract that pays the league $77 billion over 11 years starting in the 2025-26 season.
Amazon won rights to stream NBA games in the contract, which also awarded packages to Comcast Corp.-owned NBCUniversal and longtime TV partner ESPN. Amazon is believed to be paying about $1.8 billion a year in its deal, which Turner believed it had the right to match.
The suit claims Turner’s rights agreement with the NBA covers “non-broadcast television,” which includes any method of video distribution other than over-the-air TV. The contractual definition includes distribution by internet, which Turner believes gives it the right to match Amazon’s offer.
Turner said it submitted a matching offer agreeing to pay the same fees for the same number of games in the Amazon offer. The deal would have put NBA games on Turner’s TNT channel and Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max streaming service.
The NBA told Turner it could not match the Amazon deal because the tech giant’s proposal only included the Prime Video streaming platform, according to the suit. But Turner asserts that its offer to put games on TNT and Max was comparable.
Warner Bros. Discovery’s attempt to match Amazon bid is rejected, ending TNT’s run as an NBA partner after next season.
“[Turner] timely exercised these matching rights by accepting a third party offer on the same material terms and conditions that the NBA was willing to accept from Amazon,” the suit said. “The NBA, however has breached the agreement and deliberately refused to honor [Turner’s] rights.”
“Warner Bros. Discovery’s claims are without merit and our lawyers will address them,” the NBA said in a statement.
Turner’s cable channels TNT and TBS have carried the NBA since the 1980s and TNT is known for its highly regarded studio show “Inside the NBA.” But parent company Warner Bros. Discovery did not renew its package during an exclusive negotiating period, enabling the league to put it out in the open market.
Warner Bros. Discovery Chief Executive David Zaslav publicly said the company did not need the NBA, suggesting the company was not going to overpay in the new deal.
After the NBA reached new agreements, Turner tried to match Amazon’s offer.
When the deal was announced Wednesday, the NBA indicated that including a streaming service as one of its media partners was done to “maximize the reach and accessibility of our games for fans.”
“Our new arrangement with Amazon supports this goal by complementing broadcast, cable and streaming packages that are already part of our new Disney and NBCUniversal arrangements,” the league said. “All three partners have also committed to substantial services to promote the league and enhance the fan experience.”
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