NBA rejects Warner Bros. Discovery, will enter into rights deal with Amazon
The NBA said Wednesday that it is not accepting Warner Bros. Discovery's $1.8 billion per year offer to continue its longtime relationship with the league and therefore has entered into a deal with Amazon Prime Video, a move that would mean this coming season would end a nearly four-decade run of games being on TNT.
In a separate statement, the NBA said that it had signed 11-year agreements with Disney, NBC and Amazon to broadcast NBA games beginning with the 2025-26 season and running through the 2035-36 season.
The agreements are worth a combined $76 billion, sources previously told the Associated Press.
WBD had five days to match a part of those deals and said it was exercising its right to do so, but its offer was not considered a true match by the NBA.
"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 league said Wednesday. "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."
It's unclear how the new deals will impact "Inside the NBA," one of the most popular studio shows in sports, which has been on TNT with its current iteration since the late 1990s.
The new deal will see games televised on a mix of both broadcast TV and streaming services, that along with Amazon Prime will include Peacock and ESPN's upcoming standalone streaming service, expected to launch in 2025.
ABC will continue to broadcast the NBA Finals, as it has since 2003, while NBC will have the rights to the NBA All-Star weekend.
"Our new global media agreements with Disney, NBCUniversal and Amazon will maximize the reach and accessibility of NBA games for fans in the United States and around the world," NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. "These partners will distribute our content across a wide range of platforms and help transform the fan experience over the next decade."