The NBA formally rejected Warner Bros. Discovery’s attempt to exercise its matching rights on Wednesday and the league officially announced its anticipated media rights deals with ESPN, NBC and Amazon beginning in the 2025-26 season and running through the 2035-36 season.
The league said it rejected WBD’s attempt to match the package going to Amazon, noting it did not match the terms of Amazon Prime Video’s offer. Thus, the league entered into its agreement with Amazon and will sever ties with WBD’s TNT Sports, which has carried NBA games since 1989.
“Throughout these negotiations, our primary objective has been to maximize the reach and accessibility of our games for our fans,” the league said in a statement. “Our new arrangement with Amazon supports this goal by complementing the broadcast, cable and streaming packages that are already part of our new Disney and NBCUniversal arrangements. All three partners have also committed substantial resources to promote the league and enhance the fan experience.”
According to an NBA release, ESPN/ABC will carry a total of 80 regular-season games per season, including more than 20 on ABC, including all five NBA games on Christmas Day. As expected, ESPN will carry a Conference Finals in 10 of the 11 years covered by the new deal and will continue to be the exclusive home of the NBA Finals.
NBC will return to the NBA for the first time since 2002, offering up to 100 NBA regular-season games per season, with more than half of the games airing on NBC (on Sunday and Tuesday nights) per the league’s release. Peacock will stream a doubleheader each Monday night of the season and every Tuesday night, NBC will telecast two regional games. NBC will also pick up the league’s All-Star festivities, including the Saturday Night events and the game itself. The league notes that NBC will telecast one of the two Conference Finals series in six of the 11 years of the deal on a rotating basis with Amazon, beginning with the 2025-26 season.
Amazon’s package will include 66 regular-season games on Prime Video each season, including Thursday night doubleheaders beginning in January, Friday evening doubleheaders, select Saturday afternoon games, at least one game on Black Friday. Amazon will also carry the quarterfinals and semifinals in the Knockout Round of the Emirates NBA Cup as well as the tournament’s championship game. In addition to carrying one of the two Conference Finals series in six of the 11 years on a rotating basis with NBCU, Amazon will also be the home of the SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament.
“Our new global media agreements with Disney, NBCUniversal and Amazon will maximize the reach and accessibility of NBA games for fans in the United States and around the world,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in the release. “These partners will distribute our content across a wide range of platforms and help transform the fan experience over the next decade.”
As for WBD, The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand notes that the company is threatening to sue over its matching offer being rejected.
UPDATE: Warner Bros. Discovery says TNT Sports will indeed “take appropriate action” to assert what it believes to be its contractual rights.
So stay tuned, as this saga could move from the basketball court to a court of law.
The Crown Is Yours: Sign up for DraftKings and experience the ultimate host for games and betting experiences!
