Officials at Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) have criticized the National Basketball Association for rejecting its last-minute bid for the rights to some nationally-televised basketball games.
On Wednesday, the league announced a multi-year agreement with Comcast’s NBC Sports and Amazon’s Prime Video that will effectively move nationally-televised games from TNT Sports to their broadcast and streaming platforms, starting next year.
WBD has held the rights to NBA games since the late 1980s, and assumed expanded broadcast responsibilities for professional basketball after the games left NBC in 2002. Under its existing telecast agreement, WBD had the right to make a competing or higher bid for games in the face of a competing offer, which Comcast and Amazon made.
Last week, after the NBA’s Board of Governors approved its multi-year deal with Comcast and Amazon, WBD executed its right to make a competing offer, submitting a multi-billion dollar bid for games that were destined for Prime Video. The league rejected the bid this week and awarded games to Prime Video, Comcast and ESPN.
In a statement on Wednesday, a spokesperson for WBD said they disagreed with the NBA’s decision to reject their offer, and hinted that the broadcaster may sue over the decision.
“We have matched the Amazon offer, as we have a contractual right to do, and do not believe the NBA can reject it,” the spokesperson said. “In doing so, they are rejecting the many fans who continue to show their unwavering support for our best-in-class coverage, delivered through the full combined reach of WBD’s video-first distribution platforms — including TNT, home to our four-decade partnership with the league, and Max, our leading streaming service.”
“We think they have grossly misinterpreted our contractual rights with respect to the 2025-26 season and beyond, and we will take appropriate action,” the spokesperson continued. “We look forward, however, to another great season of the NBA on TNT and Max including our iconic Inside the NBA.”
