On Friday, Warner Bros Discovery initiated a lawsuit against the NBA following the loss of its media rights to Amazon.
WBD, the company that owns TNT, claims that the league violated its contract by rejecting WBD’s proposal for a new media rights agreement and opting instead for a deal with Amazon, as per documents sourced by ESPN.
“In response to the NBA’s unwarranted dismissal of our matching of a third-party bid, we have taken legal steps to protect our rights,” TNT Sports stated on Friday. “We firmly believe this action is not only our contractual right but also serves the best interests of fans who wish to continue enjoying our premier NBA content along with the choice and flexibility provided through our extensively available WBD video-first distribution platforms, which include TNT and Max.”
NBA spokesman Mike Bass commented on Friday, stating that WBD’s allegations “lack merit, and our legal team will address them.”
The lawsuit from WBD follows just two days after the NBA revealed an 11-year media rights agreement valued at nearly $76 billion with Disney, NBC, and Amazon Prime Video, set to take effect from the 2025-26 season and running through the 2035-36 season.
WBD announced on Monday that it had matched Amazon’s annual offer of $1.8 billion, an increase from the current $1.4 billion it is paying under a nine-year deal that concludes after the 2024-25 season. With the NBA choosing not to accept WBD’s proposal, this will bring an end to a partnership that has existed for almost four decades, starting in the 1984-85 season.
