NEW YORK—In a last ditch effort to retain rights to air NBA games, Warner Bros. Discovery’s TNT Sports has issued a statement saying it has submitted paperwork to match an existing offer for NBA media rights.
WBD has long argued that its current NBA contract allows it to retain rights if it provides a matching offer for a package of games.
The NBA has already negotiated rights deals believed to be worth around $76 billion for an 11 year period following the upcoming 2024-25 season. Those agreements include a $2.6 billion a year deal with ESPN, a $2.5 billion package with NBCUniversal and a $1.8 billion a season agreement for Amazon to stream a package of games. TNT Sports and its predecessor Turner Sports have aired NBA games since 1984 but its current deal expires at the end of the 2024-25 season.
WBD's management was severely criticized by TNT commentator Charles Barkley for its failure to negotiate a new deal. “These people I work with, they screwed this thing up, clearly; and we have zero idea what's gonna happen,” Barkley said in May. The company had $43.1 billion in debt at the end of Q1 2024 and has been struggling to reduce costs.
“"We have reviewed the offers and matched one of them," a statement from TNT Sports said. "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. Our matching paperwork was submitted to the league today. We look forward to the NBA executing our new contract."
TNT Sports did not say which offer it matched but published reports indicate that it was matching Amazon’s $1.8 billion package.
Since the Amazon package is for streaming games and TNT Sports would obviously like to continue to air games on both its cable networks and the MAX streaming services, it is not clear how the NBA will respond or if the controversy will now move into the courts.
