Top Line
Warner Bros. Discovery sued the NBA on Friday for breach of contract, according to multiple reports. The NBA said TNT's owners did not match Amazon's $1.8 billion bid for an 11-year streaming rights deal, but claims Warner Bros. Discovery made a valid match offer and that the NBA cannot reject the offer because it has a match right in its 2014 contract with the NBA.
The lawsuit was filed in New York on Friday. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Key Facts
Warner Bros. Discovery said in a statement Friday that it was prompted to sue the NBA because of the “NBA's unjust refusal to match our third-party offers,” adding that it believes TNT Sports' broadcast of NBA games is a “contractual right.”
The lawsuit is reportedly aimed at keeping TNT's rights to broadcast live NBA games from Amazon under an 11-year deal announced earlier this week along with parallel deals with Disney and NBCUniversal, which allow Amazon to broadcast 66 NBA regular-season games and other content on Prime Video through the 2035-36 season.
According to NBC News, the NBA said Warner Bros. Discovery's matching rights only apply to NBCUniversal's more expensive $2.5 billion deal, and argued that Warner Bros. Discovery's plans to simulcast NBA games on cable network TNT and streaming service Max don't align with Amazon's deal to only show games on Prime Video, which is simply a streaming service.
Former NBA player and “Inside the NBA” commentator Charles Barkley, who has become outspoken on media contract disputes, said in a statement that the NBA has wanted to part ways with TNT “from the beginning,” adding that he is not confident TNT can compete with Amazon.
Amazon did not immediately respond to Forbes' request for comment.
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Important Quotes
“TNT paid the same amount, but the league knows that Amazon and these tech companies are the only ones willing to pay rights fees in the future when the rights double. The NBA didn't want to upset them,” Barkley said. “It's sad to see owners and commissioners put money above fans. It's really bad.”
Points to note
The NBA appears prepared to fight the lawsuit, with NBA spokesman Mike Bass telling Forbes, “Warner Bros. Discovery's claims are without merit and our lawyers will be responding.”
Big numbers
$77 billion. That's the estimated value of the media rights deals the NBA is trying to sign with Amazon, Disney and NBCUniversal, according to NBC.
Main Background
If the dispute ends in the league's favor, it could put an end to a nearly 40-year partnership between TNT and the NBA. TNT paid $1.2 billion for NBA broadcasting rights, which expire at the end of this season. The NBA finalized deals with Amazon, NBCUniversal and Disney earlier this month, giving TNT time to work out terms to keep its broadcast rights. The league announced this week that it was terminating its contract with Warner Bros. Discovery, saying the company's “latest proposal did not match the terms of Amazon Prime Video's proposal.” TNT released a statement shortly after the announcement, vowing to take “appropriate action” against the NBA. Bad blood between TNT and the league has been boiling over in recent months, with Barkley criticizing network executives for their possible breakup, saying in May that “the people we work with obviously screwed this up. I have no idea what's going to happen.”
References
NBA ends contract with TNT, moves games to NBC and Amazon — TNT vows to “do the right thing” (Forbes)
Is TNT's “Inside The NBA” on the way out? Charles Barkley calls executives “clowns,” here's what we know. (Forbes)
