TNT to match Amazon’s media rights deal with NBA

TNT Sports has informed the NBA it plans to use its matching rights to continue broadcasting the league games. The network is targeting the 11-year package signed by Amazon Prime Video, sources briefed on the move said.

While TNT has the contractual right to match an offer, per its current contract, the NBA is expected to decline the network’s right to take the agreed-upon Amazon package, sources briefed on the NBA’s plans said. The league’s preference is to honor the $1.8 billion per year contract it agreed to with Amazon.

The schism is expected to lead to more discussions with the cloud of a legal fight hanging over the future of the broadcast and streaming deals.

TNT’s intention to go after Amazon means that NBC is in the clear to join incumbent ABC/ESPN as a new partner when the deals are officially announced. NBC will have regular-season games exclusively on Peacock on Mondays, with NBC broadcasts on Tuesdays and Sundays. The Sunday package will begin after the NFL season. NBC will have the All-Star Game and a full slate of playoff games, including six conference finals. It is expected to pay around $2.5 billion per season over the 11 years.

ESPN will retain the NBA Finals every year and conference finals each of the 11 seasons, except for one, while doling out around $2.6 billion per year, a shade less than the $2.7 billion per season it pays the NFL.

The three entities, ESPN, NBC and Amazon or TNT, will pay an additional $2.2 billion in total over the 11 years for the WNBA.

“We’re proud of how we have delivered for basketball fans by providing best-in-class coverage throughout our four-decade partnership with the NBA,” TNT said in a statement. “In an effort to continue our long-standing partnership, during both exclusive and non-exclusive negotiation periods, we acted in good faith to present strong bids that were fair to both parties. Regrettably, the league notified us of its intention to accept other offers for the games in our current rights package, leaving us to proceed under the matching rights provision, which is an integral part of our current agreement and the rights we have paid for under it.

“We have reviewed the offers and matched one of them. This will allow fans to keep enjoying our unparalleled coverage, including the best live game productions in the industry and our iconic studio shows and talent, while building on our proven 40-year commitment for many more years. Our matching paperwork was submitted to the league today. We look forward to the NBA executing our new contract.”

Amazon declined to comment.

The NBA’s agreement with Prime Video calls for the streamer to have six conference finals, a full playoff slate, including the Play-In games and a regular-season package, highlighted by the In-Season Tournament and Thursday night basketball after Amazon concludes its Thursday night football responsibilities.

How TNT versus the NBA all plays out has countless unanswered questions. TNT, with its vaunted “Inside the NBA” studio show, will try to enforce a reluctant partner to stay in business with it. TNT Sports’ parent company’s CEO, Warner Bros. Discovery’s David Zaslav, has raised the possibility for months, which has allowed the league to strategize about the move.

As a way to compromise, the two sides could try to reach an agreement that keeps TNT in the NBA business or gives it some sort of financial settlement to go away.

If the entities can’t agree, ultimately, they could land in court with TNT suing to stay in business with the league, which would set up the unique possibility of the courts forcing the NBA to remain with a partner it wants to divorce.

While the exact matching language of the deals is not fully known, the package that Amazon has won is not exactly the same as TNT Sports’ current arrangement. For example, TNT’s present contract calls for the conference finals every year as compared to every other. The NBA and Amazon may have agreed to other rights that TNT cannot deliver.

In the future, the NBA will not have this matching rights issue. The Athletic reported last week that the new contracts with ESPN, NBC and Amazon do not offer any backend rights.

The NBA hoped to announce the new deals before the Olympics, which are featured on NBC, start Friday. If nothing is resolved in the next week, those plans may have to change.

The NBA, ESPN and TNT Sports still have one more year remaining on their current contracts, meaning the games will be televised as they have been this upcoming season. The new agreements will go into effect during the 2025-26 season.

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(Photo: David Berding / Getty Images)