NBA wants to play on Team Amazon. Will TNT take fight to the court?

Jul 25

Simone Del Rosario Business Correspondent

By Simone Del Rosario (Business Correspondent), Brent Jabbour (Producer), Emma Stoltzfus (Editor)

The battle over the National Basketball Association’s broadcast rights looks like it is headed to court. On Wednesday, July 24, the league rejected TNT’s bid to match Amazon Prime Video’s $1.8 billion offer.

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It’s been quite a bit of back and forth over the last 10 days. On Tuesday, July 16, the NBA’s Board of Governors approved a massive 11-year, $76 billion deal for its media rights with Disney, Amazon and NBC.

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The following day, the league provided the details of the deal to its longtime partner TNT Sports and its parent company Warner Bros. Discovery. According to the previous broadcast deal, Warner had five days to match one of the offers.

TNT Sports' statement on NBA media rights: pic.twitter.com/PteJJKJO5x
— TNT Sports U.S. PR (@TNTSportsUS) July 22, 2024

On Monday, the network did just that and challenged Amazon’s bid, which offered hope for fans who love TNT’s NBA coverage and its studio show “Inside the NBA.” But the league rejected the offer on Wednesday.

“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 NBA said in a statement.

It appears the sticking point is the league’s move into streaming.

“Throughout these negotiations, our primary objective has been to maximize the reach and accessibility of our games for our fans,” NBA’s statement said. “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.”

Back in June, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver was adamant that streaming would be an important part of the next deal. While details of the Warner match weren’t made public, it’s been speculated that it included games streamed on Max. TNT Sports and Warner believe they have met the requirements.

TNT Sports' statement on NBA media rights: pic.twitter.com/9L3fiFXoDH
— TNT Sports U.S. PR (@TNTSportsUS) July 24, 2024

“We have matched the Amazon offer, as we have a contractual right to do, and do not believe the NBA can reject it,” TNT Sports said in a press release Wednesday. “We think they have grossly misinterpreted our contractual rights with respect to the 2025-2026 season and beyond, and we will take appropriate action.”

“The NBA was obviously advised by their high-powered lawyers that TNT did not match, perhaps due to a cable company having no ability to match a streaming service,” Andrew Brandt, a former professional sports executive and executive director of the Jeffery S. Moorad Center for the Study of Sports Law, told Straight Arrow News in an email. “As with everything, it comes down to the contract: did it address that TNT would have no ability to match a streaming service? Or did it not? In this case, it is not about the lawyers in the dispute; it is about the lawyers who drafted the ‘match.'”

Tags: ABC, Adam Silver, Amazon Prime, Amazon Prime Video, Charles Barkley, Disney, ESPN, NBA, NBC, Streaming, TNT, Warner Bros. Discovery

Simone Del Rosario:

Oh what a 10-day span it’s been for the NBA and its broadcast partners.

Last Tuesday the league’s board of governors approved an 11-year, $76 billion deal for media rights with Disney, Amazon and NBC.

The following day, the league provided its longtime partner TNT Sports and Warner Bros Discovery the details of the deal.

Just as it seemed TNT would be riding the bench starting with the 2025-2026 season, they threw up a prayer on Monday.

Or as the network said, they had executed their contractual option and “reviewed the offers and matched one of them.”

The “One of them” in question was Amazon’s $1.8 billion per year bid.

“Not so fast my friend.”

I know. I’m mixing my sports here.

Warner Bros. thought their offer was nothing but net. But the NBA blocked the shot. In a statement released Wednesday, they said “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.”

Time out.

According to the NBA, the deals they negotiated “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.”

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver had been adamant streaming had to be a big part of the deal. And while it was speculated some of the Warner Bros. match included games streamed on MAX, apparently the league didn’t think it did enough to meet the promise of a full time streamer in Amazon Prime Video.

For their part, TNT Sports says they matched the Amazon offer, as was their right, and now they’re calling foul on the NBA.

Andrew Brandt, a former Professional Sports Executive told Straight Arrow News in an email:

“The NBA was obviously advised by their high-powered lawyers that TNT did not match, perhaps due to a cable company having no ability to match a streaming service. As with everything, it comes down to the contract: did it address that TNT would have no ability to match a streaming service? Or did it not? In this case, it is not about the lawyers in the dispute; it is about the lawyers who drafted the ‘match.’”

You can bet on this heading to court – the legal one, that is – as TNT Sports says its contractual rights have been “grossly misinterpreted” and they will take “appropriate action.”

The NBA’s decision continues to throw TNT’s famed studio show “Inside the NBA” in limbo, and, for now, Charles Barkley won’t have to think too hard about going back on his promise of retiring from TV after the next season.

Charles Barkley:

“No matter what happens, next year is going to be my last year on television.