New York (CNN) — The NBA on Wednesday rejected Warner Bros. Discovery’s offer to match a $1.8 billion per year bid from Amazon Prime Video to broadcast the league’s games, setting up a potential legal showdown between the media company and its longtime sports partner, which owns TNT.
“Warner Bros. Discovery’s most recent proposal did not match the terms of Amazon Prime Video’s offer and, therefore, we have entered into a long-term arrangement with Amazon,” the NBA said in a statement.
The league said that its new 11-year media deal with Amazon will complement its latest slate of broadcast, cable, and streaming packages, which were also inked with NBCUniversal and Disney’s ESPN through the 2035-36 season.
“All three partners have also committed substantial resources to promote the league and enhance the fan experience,” the NBA said. “We are grateful to Turner Sports for its award-winning coverage of the NBA and look forward to another season of the NBA on TNT.”
The announcement comes less than 48 hours after WBD, CNN’s parent company, notified the league of its intention to match Amazon’s bid in order to retain the right to broadcast the games, a deal that threatens the media company’s cable and streaming ambitions.
WBD did not immediately respond to requests for comment. But in recent weeks, WBD executives have suggested that if the NBA declines to accept its matching offer, it could bring a lawsuit.
The months of dealmaking and uncertainty over the NBA rights had set off alarms both inside and out of WBD, raising the prospect that TNT Sports’ nearly four decades as an NBA partner and home to the beloved “Inside the NBA” show on TNT could come to an end.
“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,” Adam Silver, the NBA commissioner, said in a statement. “These partners will distribute our content across a wide range of platforms and help transform the fan experience over the next decade.”
Under the agreements, national games will be distributed across Prime Video, NBC’s Peacock streaming service, and ESPN’s direct-to-consumer platform, which remains forthcoming. Some 75 regular-season games will be broadcast on TV seasonally.
Disney will retain the NBA Finals, a Christmas Day game broadcast, Wednesday games on ESPN, Saturday prime-time games on ABC and Sunday showcase packages.
NBC, meanwhile, will telecast opening night, new Sunday night prime-time games and Tuesday regionalized games. It will also carry games on Peacock on Mondays and the NBA All-Star game.
Finishing out the trio, Amazon’s Prime Video will stream the Emirates NBA Cup, SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament, and both Thursday and Friday night games. Amazon will also serve as the league’s strategic partner and third-party global destination for the NBA League Pass.
The agreements include more nationally broadcast games than in previous years, the NBA shared, adding that all national games will also be available on broadly distributed streaming services.
The-CNN-Wire
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