After a monthslong legal squabble over media rights, the NBA and TNT Sports’ parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, have resolved their dispute and extended their partnership by another 11 years, the companies announced Monday.
Since 1989, Atlanta-based TNT has broadcast NBA games. Under the new deal, TNT Sports will no longer air live NBA games in the U.S. starting next season. But Warner Bros. Discovery has secured a package of live game rights in territories outside of the U.S., including Poland, Nordic countries and Latin America, along with licensing rights to produce new and existing NBA content across TNT Sports, Bleacher Report and House of Highlights.
Under a separate partnership Warner Bros. Discovery struck with ESPN, TNT Sports will continue to produce its marquee studio show, “Inside the NBA,” which is filmed at Turner Broadcasting’s Midtown campus. Beginning with the 2025-26 season, the show will air on ABC and ESPN throughout the regular season and NBA playoffs.
The deal preserves a relationship the NBA and TNT Sports have held since 1984, long predating Warner Bros. Discovery’s acquisition of the Turner property, and brings an end to a saga over media rights that began unfolding at the start of this year.
The complete loss of NBA rights would’ve been a blow to Warner Bros. Discovery, given that live sports has become one of the final footholds in drawing consistent audiences to traditional TV. (In August, Warner Bros. Discovery took a $9.1 billion write-down on its own book value to reflect the diminishing value of its television channels, including the former Turner properties of TNT, CNN, Cartoon Network and TBS.)
In July, the NBA finalized rights contracts with three media companies: Amazon, NBCUniversal and Disney’s ESPN and ABC. Under the new partnerships, the NBA is to receive an estimated $7 billion per year from 2026 through 2036, a significant hike from its current contracts with Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery, which total $1.2 billion per year.
Warner Bros. Discovery had the option to match a portion of the deal to retain a package of games, but the NBA rejected its bid. Days later, Warner Bros. Discovery filed a lawsuit against the NBA, alleging it “has breached the agreement and deliberately refused to honor TBS’s rights, forcing TBS and WBD (Warner Bros. Discovery) to seek judicial intervention.”
The rise of streaming TV is partly responsible for making this round of NBA negotiations more complex than before. Streaming giants once favored scripted content but are making increasing investments in live sports programming, given that it draws large, consistent audiences.
Owning the rights to broadcast games gives media companies an advantage over their competitors. Plus, larger audiences equal greater advertising revenue from companies looking to capture eyeballs.
So broadcasters and streamers all want a piece of the pie, and leagues are charging higher fees for packages much smaller and less comprehensive than rights deals signed five or 10 years ago.
TNT Sports has secured rights deals to other properties over the past year, including a 10-year deal to broadcast the French Open in the U.S., an in-season tournament with NASCAR and sublicensing early rounds of College Football Playoff games starting this season.
Also as part of the ESPN deal, starting with the 2025 season TNT Sports will now broadcast 13 games each season of Big 12 football and 15 games each season of men’s basketball.
About the Author
