Warner Bros Discovery’s sports network TNT Sports said on Monday it would exercise its rights to match one of three bid to carry NBA games. The Warner Bros. fighting for the NBA media rights is in an effort to preserve its four-decade-long partnership with the league. Warner Bros. Discovery is targeting the deal carved out for Amazon Prime Video, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Warner Bros Discovery’s, TNT Sports’ announcement for NBA bid comes days after the league informed team owners it had finalized deals with Walt Disney’s ESPN, Comcast’s NBCUniversal and Amazon. The deal is reportedly valued at $76 billion, and takes effect after the 2024-25 season.
Warner Bros Discovery’s NBA bid
TNT Sports did not say which of the NBA programming packages it was seeking to match, however one source familiar with the offer said the company is seeking to match the Amazon Prime Video’s bid of $1.9B per season, on average, over the life of the 11-year contract.
The NBA has “received Warner Bros. Discovery’s proposal” and is “in the process of reviewing it,” according to a league spokesperson.
TNT matches Amazon bid
Warner Bros. Discovery acquired matching rights as part of its previous deal with the league, which expires at the end of next season. Those rights allow the company to match payment for any of the games that aired on TNT in the current deal.
The question for both the NBA and Warner Bros. Discovery is if the rights extend to an all-streaming package, as has been carved out for Amazon. Warner Bros. Discovery also owns a streaming service, Max, which it could use to air games.
Still, Amazon Prime Video has more than twice as many global customers, more than 200 million to Max’s roughly 100 million, which may make the service a more appealing platform for the league. The streaming rights are global, even though Warner Bros. Discovery is only bidding on U.S. rights, according to people familiar with the language in the contract.
Warner Bros and Amazon’s NBA bid
Amazon is also on firmer footing as a stand-alone company, with a market capitalization of nearly $2 trillion. Warner Bros. Discovery’s market valuation has fallen to about $20 billion, and CEO David Zaslav has repeatedly discussed his interest in more mergers or partnerships, putting the future of the company into question. That’s an added potential headache for the league, which wants stability in its broadcast partners.
NBA’s other deals
The league has also inked deals with Disney and Comcast’s NBCUniversal for two other packages of games. Both Disney and Comcast have market valuations of more than $150 billion.
What if NBA rejects Warner Bros. bid?
If the NBA rejects Warner Bros. Discovery’s right to match the Amazon package, remains unclear. There would be a possibility that Warner Bros. Discovery could sue the NBA. It is also possible the league could work out a settlement with the company. It is unclear if the NBA would ask Amazon to pay more money for its package.
NBA broadcast deal
All three partners plan to pay more money for fewer games than the NBA league is currently getting from either Disney or Warner Bros. Discovery in its current deal.
Disney will pay about $2.6 billion per year for its package, and NBCUniversal around $2.5 billion per year. Amazon’s deal is worth $1.8 billion per year. The less-expensive price tag is why Warner Bros. Discovery has targeted that package of games for its matching rights, according to people familiar with the matter.
Warner Bros. NBA bid, a risk
The bid is “a risky move that could anger the NBA and sour Warner Bros Discovery’s reputation among other sports leagues that it may be interested in doing business with,” said Emarketer senior analyst Ross Benes.
“However, the NBA is so valuable to the company that desperate measures may be warranted.”
The Warner unit has been bulking up its sports programming, in June announcing a six-year deal with the Big East Conference to carry men’s and women’s college basketball and a decade-long agreement with the French Tennis Federation to carry the French Open.
