Warner Bros. Discovery sues NBA over rights rejection

Warner Bros. Discovery has sued the NBA after its matching offer for portions of the broadcast rights to the league’s games was rejected July 25, 2024.

NBA announces 11-year rights deal with Disney, NBCUniversal, Amazon

“Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (“TBS”) and Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (“WBD”) bring this action against the National Basketball Association (“NBA”) to enforce TBS’s contractual rights to distribute NBA games through the 2035-2036 season,” reads a portion of the lawsuit filed in New York state court July 26, 2024.

The paperwork, which has been heavily redacted in public versions, also requests that the court block Amazon from airing any NBA games until the issue is resolved. 

On July 22, 2024, it was revealed that WBD had submitted paperwork matching a reported $1.8 billion offer from Amazon for a selection of NBA broadcast rights.

However, on July 25, the NBA announced it had finalized agreements with NBC, Disney and Amazon, snubbing WBD and its TNT Sports division, which has been a broadcast partner with the league for 40 years.

“We think they have grossly misinterpreted our contractual rights with respect to the 2025-26 season and beyond, and we will take appropriate action,” WBD said in a statement after it learned that it was not awarded the rights.

Combined, NBC, Disney and Amazon will pay around $77 billion over 11 years.

Advertisement

WBD stock dipped around 5% after news that had been left out of the NBA deal, a loss valued at around $1 billion in market value, though that could be fully or partially restored if the stock bumps back up.

It is not immediately clear why the NBA rejected WBD’s matching offer. 

After news surfaced earlier that WBD might be outbid for the NBA rights, there were also reports that language in the agreements between the league and media giant was a bit vague about how a matching offer might work. Attorneys on both sides reportedly were scrambling to review the wording.

For its part, the NBA would seemingly appear confident that it has the right to proceed with Amazon over WBD from a legal perspective, though attorneys for WBD have now disagreed. 

Under the agreement announced July 25, Amazon will hold rights to 66 regular-season games, six Play-In Tournament matchups and alternate rights for Conference Finals series with NBCUniversal. 

The lawsuit requests a jury trial. 

The new agreement between Disney, NBCU and Amazon starts with the 2025-2026 season.

This story has been updated to reflect the filing of the lawsuit July 26, 2024.