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UPDATE—5:48 p.m.:
Following the NBA’s statement that it had rejected Warner Bros. Discovery’s attempt to match Amazon’s media rights offer, WBD fired back with a statement of its own from TNT Sports.
“We have matched the Amazon offer, as we have a contractual right to do, and do not believe the NBA can reject it,” the statement reads. “In doing so, they are rejecting the many fans who continue to show their unwavering support for our best-in-class coverage, delivered through the full combined reach of WBD’s video-first distribution platforms—including TNT, home to our four-decade partnership with the league, and Max, our leading streaming service.”
The statement continued, with TNT adding that the league has “grossly misinterpreted” its contractual rights and the company will “take appropriate action.”
PREVIOUSLY:
If Warner Bros. Discovery wants to keep broadcasting NBA games, it may need to go to a non-hardwood court to make it happen.
Top line
Just days after WBD insisted that it had exercised its “matching rights provision,” allowing it to counter a competitor’s offer and keep NBA broadcasts on its TNT network, the league responded by rejecting said offer at the rim.
“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 in its statement.
Between the lines
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.
With Amazon’s share of games streaming on Prime Video and NBCU believed to be reserving 50% of its NBA slate for the Peacock streaming platform, they’d join ESPN in giving the league’s fans and advertisers a wide assortment of broadcast options.
“Throughout these negotiations, our primary objective has been to maximize the reach and accessibility of our games for our fans,” the league’s statement continued. “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.”
