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Forget the Lakers versus the Celtics. The NBA has a new rivalry on its hands.
Last week, Warner Bros. Discovery and Turner Broadcasting System sued the NBA, alleging that the league unjustifiably rejected the broadcaster’s bid for media rights and instead chose Amazon.
How did we get here? Earlier this week, the NBA finalized an 11-year media rights deal with Disney, Comcast, and Amazon worth a reported $77 billion that’ll kick in next season. Long-time NBA broadcast partner TNT had matched Amazon’s offer, but was rebuffed, and the NBA alleged in a statement that TNT’s proposal “did not match the terms” offered by Amazon and its Prime streaming platform.
“Throughout these negotiations, our primary objective has been to maximize the reach and accessibility of our games for our fans,” the league 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.”
Before the lawsuit was announced, TNT talent had already spoken up against the decision. “Clearly the NBA has wanted to break up with us from the beginning,” Basketball Hall-of-Famer, TNT broadcaster, and all-around-likable-dude Charles Barkley said in a statement. “I’m not sure TNT ever had a chance.”
Now, it looks as though TNT won’t be going down without a fight.
“Given the NBA’s unjustified rejection of our matching of a third-party offer, we have taken legal action to enforce our rights,” the broadcaster said in a statement. “We strongly believe this is not just our contractual right, but also in the best interest of fans who want to keep watching our industry-leading NBA content with the choice and flexibility we offer them through our widely distributed WBD video-first distribution platforms—including TNT and Max.”
Bigger picture: Live sports rights are a lifeline for broadcasters’ linear TV businesses, but streamers are increasingly encroaching on their territory. This year sports fans will be able to watch the NFL on Netflix, Prime, and Peacock; the NBA and WNBA on Prime; and Major League Baseball on Apple TV+ and Roku.
+1: Don’t expect Venu, the bundled sports package from ESPN, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery, to make life easier.