A foul was called in the NBA’s new Boffo rights packages that exclude host TNT.
On Wednesday, the league signed a multimillion-dollar media rights deal with Disney, NBC and Amazon. Warner Bros. Discovery’s Turner Sports, which has broadcast NBA games for more than three decades and hosts TNT’s studio show Inside the NBA, hasn’t been left out of the mix.
“As an ‘owner,’ TBS has the right to accept any ‘third-party bid’ for the long-term NBA broadcast rights,” reads the lawsuit (shared via our sister site Deadline)Array. “TBS exercised those quid pro quo rights in a timely manner through an agreement for a third party to offer on the same terms and situations that the NBA is ready to settle with Amazon. The NBA, however, violated the agreement and intentionally refused to respect TBS’s rights, forcing TBS and WBD to seek legal intervention.
Specifically, “on July 17, 2024, the NBA submitted TBS with a third-party supply that reflected the terms and situations the NBA was willing to accept from Amazon. . . . TBS responded by letter dated July 22, 2024, stating that TBS has chosen to align with Amazon’s offer and is committed to entering into a licensing agreement under the same terms and situations.
“However, the NBA refused to honor TBS’s game,” the lawsuit continues. “Furthermore, despite TBS’s transparent correspondence, the NBA sought to grant the rights to Amazon in direct violation of the agreement. “
In a statement to Deadline, an NBA spokesperson said: “Warner Bros. Discovery has no merit and our lawyers will answer to them. (At the time of this week’s deals, the NBA said in a statement: “Warner Bros. Discovery’s most recent proposal did not conform to the terms of Amazon Prime Video’s offer. “)
Meanwhile, Disney will pay $2. 6 billion a year for the league’s “A” package broadcast on ESPN and ABC, which includes the NBA Finals, playoff games (with convention finals), weekly prime-time games and a lot more.
NBC, which last aired NBA games in 2002, covering the glory days of Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls and L. A. Shaq and Kobe’s Lakers, would pay $2. 5 billion for package “B,” which includes playoff games, two primetime windows consistent with the week (Tuesdays and Sundays). as the Sunday night basketball program after the NFL season.
Amazon and NBC will alternately broadcast one of the two NBA Conference Finals.
Good for them. Good luck.
I don’t have any cable or streaming service. I only have TV broadcast with a loose antenna. So I haven’t watched the NBA since the Shaq/Kobe era. So I don’t care since I don’t have TNT or Amazon.