TNT's parent company Warner Bros. Discovery files suit against NBA over media rights, alleges contract breach

Once the 2024-25 NBA season ends, TNT will no longer hold the broadcasting rights to NBA games.

Earlier this week, the league rejected TNT's offer to match Amazon's bid. But less than 48 hours after the announcement, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), TNT's parent company, decided to pursue legal action against the league.

The company filed a lawsuit under seal in New York County Supreme Court on Friday. WBD released a statement explaining its decision to file the suit, arguing that the NBA's rejection was "unjustified."

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Warner Bros. Discovery announced it is pursuing legal action against the NBA, its longtime partner.  (Getty Images)

"Given the NBA’s unjustified rejection of our matching of a third-party offer, we have taken legal action to enforce our rights," the media organization said in a statement. "We strongly believe this is not just our contractual right, but also in the best interest of fans who want to keep watching our industry-leading NBA content with the choice and flexibility we offer them through our widely distributed WBD video-first distribution platforms – including TNT and Max."

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The terms of the new agreements maintain broadcasting rights for Disney’s ABC and ESPN platforms, while also marking the return of NBA games to NBC’s broadcast network and the introduction of games to the company's Peacock streaming service. Amazon Prime Video also picks up a package of games, which are slated to begin after the 2024-25 season.

It is all part of the 11-year, $76 billion media rights deal.

The NBA logo on a backboard before the game between the Denver Nuggets and the Utah Jazz at Ball Arena on October 30, 2023, in Denver, Colorado.  (C. Morgan Engel/Getty Images)

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver touted the new media agreements on Wednesday, saying the deals will help expand the "accessibility of NBA games for fans."

"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," Silver 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."

The NBA also released a statement on Wednesday about WBD's proposal, saying that the offer had fallen short of the terms of the rival bid from Amazon.

Signage at a Warner Bros Discovery office in New York, on Saturday, February 17, 2024.  (Yuki Iwamura/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

"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 league said. "Throughout these negotiations, our primary objective has been to maximize the reach and accessibility of our games for our fans. Our new arrangements with Amazon supports this goal by complementing the broadcast, cable and streaming package that are already part of our new Disney and NBCUniversal arrangements."

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On Friday, longtime TNT NBA analyst Charles Barkley condemned the NBA’s rejection of the matching bid, suggesting that the league put "money over the fans."

"Clearly the NBA has wanted to break up with us from the beginning. I'm not sure TNT ever had a chance," Barkley wrote in the statement. "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. The NBA didn't want to p--s them off.

"It's a sad day when owners and commissioners choose money over the fans. It just sucks."

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