Warner, which owns TNT Sports, alleges that the league breached its contract by selling a package of broadcast rights to Amazon.
TNT's “Inside the NBA,” with Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, Ernie Johnson and Shaquille O'Neal, became part of the landscape of the league.
Warner Bros. Discovery filed a lawsuit against the NBA, alleging that the league breached its contract by selling a package of broadcast rights to Amazon. The complaint marks a dramatic escalation of tensions between the longtime partners. Warner, which owns TNT Sports,“Given the NBA’s unjustified rejection of our matching of a third-party offer, we have taken legal action to enforce our rights,” TNT Sports wrote in a statement after the suit was filed.
According to the 108-page complaint, which was filed in state court in New York, “The NBA had no right not to honor Match.” And while the league has told Warner that there are differences between the deals — Amazon is a streaming only company, for instance, and Turner is a cable network — the lawsuit contends those differences are not relevant to the matching provision.
Warner is asking the court for injunctive relief to prohibit the league from entering its deal with Amazon, arguing that the NBA is critical to its business because of the fees it charges cable companies and the “halo effect” of the live games, which allows it to promote its other programming.The suit requests monetary damages if some form of equitable relief cannot be granted to Warner.
The NBA has aired on TNT Sports since 1989. The network is home to the popular pre- and postgame show “Inside the NBA,” starring Charles Barkley. Barkley“I’m not sure TNT ever had a chance,” he wrote. “TNT matched the money, but the league knows Amazon and these tech companies are the only ones willing to pay for the rights when they double in the future.”in which he said he had spoken to the NBA’s three remaining media partners and will listen to possible job offers.
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
NBA Rights Deal Report: Warner Bros. Discovery Matching Amazon OfferLast week, Andrew Marchand from The Athletic/The New York Times reported that NBCUniversal, Amazon's Prime Video, and Disney/ESPN were close to finalizing their respective NBA broadcasting rights deals, which could reportedly be (according to sources) for 11 seasons and worth $76 billion – beginning after the 2024-2025 season.
Read more »
Warner Bros. Discovery tells NBA it intends to match Amazon's media rights packageWarner Bros. Discovery intends to use its matching rights on a package of NBA games earmarked for Amazon.
Read more »
Warner Bros. Discovery informs NBA it will match Amazon Prime Video's offer to carry gamesTurner Sports intends to continue its longtime relationship with the NBA. Warner Bros. Discovery informed the league Monday that it will match the $1.8 billion per year offer by Amazon Prime Video. Turner has had an NBA package since 1984 and games have been on TNT since the network launched in 1988.
Read more »
Warner Bros. Discovery tells NBA it intends to match Amazon's media rights packageWarner Bros. Discovery intends to use its matching rights on a package of NBA games earmarked for Amazon.
Read more »
Warner Bros. Discovery to match Amazon Prime offer for NBA rightsWarner Bros. Discovery on Monday said it will match the $1.8 billion per year offer by Amazon Prime Video to carry NBA games on Turner Sports.
Read more »
NBA Rights Deal: Warner Bros. Discovery Matching $1.8B Amazon OfferLast week, there were reports that CEO David Zaslav's Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) would be looking to match one of the deals on the table during its five-day 'match' period – and today, we're learning that those reports are true.
Read more »