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Warner Bros. Discovery is taking a final shot at NBA media rights.
Top line
Earlier this month, The Athletic reported that the NBA had agreed to a media rights deal with NBCU, Amazon and ESPN worth roughly $76 billion over 11 years.
Now, Warner Bros. Discovery is exercising its matching rights provision to match a competitor’s offer and keep the NBA in its portfolio and on TNT.
Between the lines
Today, Warner Bros. Discovery’s TNT Sports released a statement noting its four-decade partnership with the NBA and adding that, though the league was looking to accept offers from competitors in the upcoming rights deal, it wasn’t going quietly.
“Regrettably, the league notified us of its intention to accept other offers for the games in our current rights package, leaving us to proceed under the matching rights provision, which is an integral part of our current agreement and the rights we have paid for under it,” the statement reads.
The company said it had reviewed the offers and matched one of them, which is reportedly Amazon’s portion, with a yearly price tag of around $1.8 billion.
“We have reviewed the offers and matched one of them. This will allow fans to keep enjoying our unparalleled coverage, including the best live game productions in the industry and our iconic studio shows and talent, while building on our proven 40-year commitment for many more years,” the statement continued.
The company said it sent its paperwork to the NBA to review and looks forward to the NBA executing the new contract.
Bottom line
Though Warner Bros. Discovery has said it’s matched a deal, it’s unclear how the NBA will proceed. After all, streaming TV was the star of the NBA rights deal, and Amazon’s contributions were a large part of that.
Bob Lynch, founder and CEO of SponsorUnited, previously told ADWEEK that Amazon, which already partners with the NBA for WNBA games, presented a unique opportunity to the league.
