TNT parent Warner Bros Discovery announced Monday it would keep access to coveted National Basketball Association content for 11 more years under a settlement deal with the league — but will no longer televise games in the US.
The new agreement, however, will allow WBD to license the network’s popular studio pregame and halftime show “Inside the NBA” to ESPN and ABC.
It also include rights to broadcast live games in Nordic countries, Poland and Latin America, excluding Brazil and Mexico.
But the deal does not include live games rights in the crucial US market, meaning TNT’s more than 40-year run of airing the NBA games will come to an end after the current season.
Warner Bros Discovery filed a lawsuit in July over the NBA’s rejection of its matching bid for media rights, after the league announced a $77 billion deal with Walt Disney’s ESPN, Comcast-owned NBCUniversal and Amazon.
“The settlement is a reasonable compromise that most NBA fans will welcome,” said Emarketer senior analyst Ross Benes.
“WBD’s lawsuit had tenuous odds, this concession is better than nothing.”
The two sides had entered the legal discovery phase of the lawsuit before deciding to reach a settlement.
News of the settlement was welcomed by investors on Wall Street as Warner Bros. Discovery stock rose by more than 3% as of Monday afternoon.
WBD — which also owns CNN after a massive merger in 2022 — is down 18% this year as ratings continue to plummet at the cable news channel.
Losing NBA broadcast rights in the US dealt another blow to Warner Bros. Discovery as live sports remains one of the few revenue-generating products on linear television.
The new deal between the NBA and Warner Bros. Discovery will allow the media company’s digital properties Bleacher Report and House of Highlights to continue to have access to NBA content.
The NBA will pay Warner Bros. Discovery $350 million over the length of the agreement to provide services to the league’s digital operations, including promotion, programming and marketing.
Most significantly for fans and viewers, the deal calls for TNT Sports to continue producing “Inside the NBA” and licensing the show to ESPN and ABC beginning next season.
The show, which has gained a mass following thanks to the chemistry and humor shared by co-hosts Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson, will be licensed to the Disney subsidiaries with the same cast of characters remaining intact.
ESPN will continue to produce its own in-house studio shows “NBA Countdown” and “NBA Today.”
The agreement also calls for the ESPN sublicensing Big 12 conference college football and basketball games to Warner Bros. Discovery, which can air them on TNT or stream them on Max.
In March, Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery struck a five-year deal in which ESPN would sublicense College Football Playoff games beginning with the current season.
“Together these agreements ensure fans will continue to enjoy TNT’s Inside the NBA and create tremendous value for our entire portfolio as we accelerate the growth of TNT Sports, Bleacher Report, House of Highlights and our global sports business,” Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said.
“We are pleased to partner with the NBA and Disney/ESPN, and to have solidified long-term rights and revenue for WBD.”
