Warner Bros Discovery has reportedly informed the NBA that it plans to match Amazon Prime’s offer of $1.8 billion per year to stream games after the league opted to sign a new media rights deal.
The NBA Board of Governors had previously approved an 11-year media rights deal with Disney, NBC, and Amazon Prime Video that would secure the league roughly $76 billion during the contract’s lifetime, according to The Washington Post.
This contract involves ESPN paying roughly $2.6 billion per year, NBC paying roughly $2.5 billion per year, and Amazon paying roughly $1.8 billion per year.
Turner Sports, which is owned by Warner Bros Discovery (WBD), has had a contract with the NBA to stream games since 1984 and has chosen to stream these games on TNT since the network first launched in 1988, per the Associated Press.
The package between the NBA and Amazon that WBD would be matching includes regular-season games and certain playoff matchups, including six conference finals matchups over the course of the contract, according to Sports Pro Media.
While the NBA previously had an exclusive negotiating window with WBD-owned Turner Sports that closed in April, allowing the league to discuss offers with other groups, the network had a clause in the preexisting contract that allowed it to match future deals.
WBD wrote in a statement that it “acted in good faith to present strong bids that were fair to both parties” during the initial negotiation period, adding that it has now chosen to exercise its option to match a deal.
“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,” wrote the network, per Sports Pro Media.
“Our matching paperwork was submitted to the league today. We look forward to the NBA executing our new contract.”
The NBA will now review the matched offer and determine whether to accept it or contest it. Turner Sports has the option to file a lawsuit against the league if it chooses to contest the offer.
Should the two sides go to court over this issue, the NBA could argue that it is not comparable due to a bespoke package created for Amazon while also claiming that Amazon has a much larger reach that would allow more fans to access the games, per Sports Pro Media.
This matching of Amazon’s offer comes on the heels of TNT preparing to lose NBA games for the foreseeable future, prompting NBA broadcasting legend Charles Barkley to announce his plans to retire from television after this next season, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
Barkley has become one of the most well-known figures in sports television since retiring from the NBA in 2000 and joining Inside the NBA alongside Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith, and Ernie Johnson.
The broadcasting icon indicated that next season would be his last regardless of whether TNT came to an agreement with the NBA, though it remains to be seen whether he will change his mind if the network continues to have access to games.