Warner Bros. Discovery sued the NBA on Friday for breach of contract after the league said the TNT owner failed to meet Amazon’s offer of $1. 8 billion for an 11-year distribution rights deal, according to multiple media outlets, Warner Bros. said. Discovery. com have provided a valid game and argued that the NBA cannot reject their offer because it has the corresponding rights written into its 2014 agreement with the league.
The complaint was filed under seal in New York County Supreme Court, according to Yahoo Finance, which received a copy on Friday.
Warner Bros. Discovery said Friday that “the NBA’s unwarranted rejection of our equivalent third-party offering” led them to take the league to court, adding that it believes TNT Sports’ broadcast of NBA games is its “contract right. “
The lawsuit reportedly aims to maintain TNT’s streaming rights to live NBA games on Amazon, which can stream 66 regular-season NBA games and more on Prime Video during the 2035-36 season as part of an 11-year deal, which was announced along with secondary deals with Disney and NBCUniversal earlier this week.
The NBA said Warner Bros. Discovery’s corresponding rights would only apply to conform to NBCUniversal’s more expensive $2. 5 billion deal, according to NBC News, arguing that Warner Bros. Discovery will simulcast NBA games on its cable network. , TNT, and its Max streaming service fits into Amazon’s agreement to stream only games on Prime Video, which is just a streaming service.
Former NBA player and “Inside the NBA” commentator Charles Barkley, who has increasingly spoken out about the contract dispute with the media, said in a statement that the NBA sought to break up with TNT “from the beginning,” adding that he wasn’t sure. if TNT still existed, an opposite possibility to Amazon.
Amazon did not respond to Forbes’ request for comment.
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“TNT matched the silver, but the league knows that Amazon and those tech corporations are the only ones willing to pay for the rights when they double down on their bet in the future. The NBA didn’t need to disappoint them,” Barkley said. It’s an unhappy day when owners and managers charge for fans. It just sucks.
The NBA is in a position to fight the lawsuit, as NBA spokesman Mike Bass told Forbes: “Warner Bros. they have no merit and our lawyers will answer to them. “
77 billion dollars. That’s the estimated price tag for the media rights deals the NBA will make with Amazon, Disney and NBCUniversal, according to NBC.
TNT and the NBA could see the end of a nearly four-decade-old partnership if the dispute ends in the league’s favor. TNT is paying $1. 2 billion for its NBA broadcast rights, which are set to expire at the end of next season. closed its deals with Amazon, NBCUniversal and Disney earlier this month, giving TNT a window to meet terms and retain its broadcast rights. The league announced this week that it would be leaving Warner Bros. Discovery, claiming that “the company’s most recent proposal does not have compatibility with the terms of Amazon Prime Video’s offer. “TNT released a statement shortly after the announcement, pledging to take “appropriate action” against the NBA. Turbulence between TNT and the league has been bubbling for months, with Barkley voicing his claim that network executives are to blame for the potential breakup and saying in May that the other people he works with “clearly messed this up. We have no idea what will happen. “
NBA ends deal with TNT, moves games to NBC and Amazon: TNT is ‘appropriate action’ (Forbes)
Will TNT’s “Inside The NBA” screen disappear? Here’s what we know: Charles Barkley calls leaders “clowns. “(Forbes)
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