WBD, NBA settle legal tussle over Amazon rights shift and expand int’l pact

Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) and the National Basketball Association (NBA) have settled their legal dispute after the sports league moved a package of live games to Amazon in the US, in addition to striking several new digital and international deals.

David Zaslav

Within the new, multi-faceted pact, WBD and the NBA extended their long-running media partnership by an additional 11 years in a deal that WBD said would “accelerate the global growth and reach of” TNT Sports and its digital brands Bleacher Report and House of Highlights.

The new deal also includes a full package of live NBA game rights in multiple territories outside the US, including the Nordics (Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden), Poland and Latin America (excluding Brazil and Mexico).

In addition, WBD revealed that TNT Sports will continue to create and produce Inside the NBA, with the long-running show moving from TNT to Disney’s ESPN and ABC starting with the 2025/26 season. Inside the NBA, which is fronted by Ernie Johnson Jr, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal, is considered by many as the quintessential NBA analysis show and its move to ESPN and ABC represents something of coup for Disney.

News the dispute has been resolved comes almost four months after a public spat broke out between the NBA and WBD after the sports league confirmed that Amazon’s Prime Video would be home to a package of NBA games that have been held by WBD-owned cablenet TNT for more than three decades.

Adam Silver

Disney (ESPN/ABC), NBCUniversal (NBC/Peacock) and Prime Video each struck 11-year agreements with the basketball league for a combined US$77bn, cutting WBD out of the rights package. Soon after, WBD vowed to take “appropriate action” against the league while the following month it also wrote down the value of its cable networks by around US$9bn.

“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,” said WBD CEO David Zaslav.

“We are pleased to partner with the NBA and Disney/ESPN, and to have solidified long-term rights and revenue for WBD.”

NBA commissioner Adam Silver added: “The opportunity to continue the iconic and Emmy Award-winning Inside the NBA is a huge win for basketball fans everywhere. We look forward to building on our longstanding partnership with TNT Sports and working together to promote NBA content across key WBD and NBA platforms.”