The National Basketball Association (NBA) has moved to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Warner Bros. Discovery, alleging the league breached its contract by declining their matching offer for a new media rights deal. Warner Bros. Discovery claims their offer matched Amazon Prime Video's proposition, which includes streaming rights for NBA games and a substantial upfront payment.
In response, the NBA signed an 11-year media rights agreement valued at nearly $76 billion, beginning with the 2025-26 season through the 2035-36 season. This new deal secured partnerships with Disney, NBC, and Amazon Prime Video, effectively ending a nearly 40-year relationship with Turner, Warner Bros. Discovery's partner.
The Lawsuit
Warner Bros. Discovery's lawsuit contends that the NBA unjustly rejected their matching offer. The NBA's legal response includes a 28-page motion and additional documents, requesting the case's dismissal with prejudice. The NBA contends that Warner Bros. Discovery's version of the Amazon offer had substantial differences, amounting to a counteroffer rather than an equivalent match.
Significant Revisions
The NBA's motion outlines that Warner Bros. Discovery amended significant portions of Amazon's offer, making substantive revisions to eight of Amazon's 27 sections, redefining 11 terms, striking out nearly 300 words, and adding over 270 new words. Bill Koenig, NBA's president of global content and media distribution, maintains that "the response made by TBS does not qualify as a match."
Warner Bros. Discovery’s attempt to suggest syndicated letters of credit instead of Amazon’s proposed $5.4 billion escrow requirement is just one of the discrepancies cited by the NBA. The NBA states that Warner Bros. Discovery responded to the Amazon offer with numerous changes, just five days after receiving it, thus making it a counteroffer that the NBA had the right to reject.
Media Rights Deal Details
The NBA's new media rights deal includes Amazon Prime Video broadcasting games on Friday nights, select Saturday afternoons, and Thursday night doubleheaders following "Thursday Night Football." This deal also involves exclusive coverage of crucial NBA Cup stages and the NBA League Pass package, bringing extensive content to Amazon's platform.
NBA’s Perspective
"TBS chose not to match NBCUniversal's offer, which would have enabled TBS to continue distributing games via its TNT linear cable network," the NBA stated. "Instead, TBS purported to match the less-expensive Amazon offer, but only after revising it to include traditional distribution rights and making numerous other substantive changes."
The NBA highlighted the clear distinction between Amazon's purely streaming-focused bid and NBC's inclusion of both streaming and traditional linear TV distribution. The league argued that Warner Bros. Discovery attempted to combine the cost benefit of Amazon's offer with NBC's distribution rights.
"Far from accepting each term of Amazon's offer, TBS's revisions constituted a counteroffer that the NBA was free to reject," the NBA asserted. They emphasized that if TBS, Warner Bros. Discovery’s network, wanted linear TV distribution rights, it could have matched NBC's more expensive offer rather than attempting to mix and match terms.
Warner Bros. Discovery’s Stand
Responding with a sense of urgency, Warner Bros. Discovery has until September 20 to file its counter-response. Their partners at TNT Sports have been vocal about their stance, stating, "Not only is it our contractual right, but it is in the best interest of the fans who want to continue to enjoy our industry-leading NBA content with the choice and flexibility we offer them through our widely distributed platforms including TNT and Max."
The ongoing legal battle underlines the complexities involved in media rights negotiations, particularly when transitioning from long-standing relationships to new, and sometimes unconventional, media landscapes. As the September deadline approaches, all eyes will be on Warner Bros. Discovery’s next move, and how it might reshape the future of NBA coverage.