NBA Rejects WBD’s Matching Rights Claim, Confirms Deals With Amazon, Comcast, and Disney

Try as they might, the Warner Bros. Discovery executives and lawyers were not able to convince the NBA that the company was able to match the broadcast offer that Amazon made in order to secure one of three rights packages set to begin in the fall of 2025. And with that contractual hurdle out of the way, the NBA confirmed that it had signed a renewal with Disney to be the league’s top broadcast partner via ESPN and ABC and that Comcast’s NBC and Peacock and Amazon’s Prime Video would also begin airing games following the next season.

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Contract Details

The writing had been on the wall for months, but WBD fought to keep TNT’s nearly four-decade hold as an NBA broadcaster, including attempting to exercise its contractual right to match any third-party offer that the NBA received. Unfortunately for CEO David Zaslav, the league did not view the beleaguered company’s offer as matching that of Amazon.

“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 NBA said in a statement. “We are grateful to Turner Sports for its award-winning coverage of the NBA and look forward to another season of the NBA on TNT.”

While there are potential legal recourses for Warner Bros. Discovery to pursue, the Association was comfortable enough with their contractual standing to issue a press release on Wednesday confirming that ESPN, NBC, and Prime Video will be the main national broadcast homes of the league beginning with the 2025-26 season. The 11-year deal has reportedly been valued at $7.6 billion per season, but that number was not confirmed by the league.

“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,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said. “These partners will distribute our content across a wide range of platforms and help transform the fan experience over the next decade.”

For the first time in NBA history, the league will have nationally broadcast games that are streaming-exclusive. All of Prime Video’s games will obviously be streaming only, but as part of Comcast’s deal, Peacock will be a home for games, as will ESPN’s “Flagship” streaming service scheduled to launch in 2025. This was a goal of the NBA in this round of rights negotiations, as the league felt that being able to meet younger audiences where they are was key to continuing to grow the game.

“The new media deals will expand the reach of NBA telecasts, with all national games available on broadly distributed streaming services – Prime Video, Peacock and ESPN’s forthcoming direct-to-consumer service – and with dramatically increased exposure on broadcast television,” the league’s official statement said.

However, that does not mean that the Association is completely leaving more traditional broadcast outlets behind. Thanks to NBC’s involvement in the deal, there will be approximately 75 regular-season games on broadcast TV every season, a significant jump from the minimum 15 games that ABC had been airing under the current contract. The Disney-owned broadcast channel will air more than 20 games each season under the new agreement as well, generally on Saturday and Sunday.

What Does Disney Get in the New NBA Contract?

This new contract runs through the 2035-36 season, and Disney will own the “A” rights, meaning that Disney will air 80 regular season games, including all five Christmas Day games and exclusive national coverage of the final day of the regular season.

In the postseason, ESPN and ABC will host games in the first two rounds and will be the home one conference finals in 10 of the 11 seasons. ABC will also continue to be the exclusive home of the NBA Finals, a distinction it has held since 2003.

Also included in Disney’s portion of the package will be rights to the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game, NBA Draft, NBA Draft Lottery, and half of the NBA Summer League games, as well as packages of WNBA and NBA G League regular-season and postseason games. Disney will also have the right to distribute NBA games in several international markets, including Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, Oceania, and the Netherlands, and in select markets in Asia and Europe.

“We look forward to building upon our incredible legacy of innovation and growth with our longstanding partners at the NBA,” ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro said. “The NBA is a vibrant, ascendant league and through this premium collection of rights, including every NBA Finals on our platforms, we will continue to evolve together while successfully navigating the global digital transition and delivering the highest quality coverage for fans.”

What Does NBC and Peacock Get in the New NBA Contract?

After being one of the NBA’s premier broadcasters for years, NBC is back in the fold, and so will presumably the iconic “Roundball Rock.” NBCUniversal will broadcast up to 100 regular season games every season on NBC and Peacock. More than half of that total will air on NBC on Tuesday and Sunday nights. NBC will also be the home of the Opening Night Doubleheader every season and the broadcast channel and/or Peacock will be the home of at least two days on Martin Luther King Day each season.

In terms of streaming exclusives, Peacock will stream a pair of contests every Monday night of the season. The next night, NBC will broadcast two games on certain NBC affiliates across the country. The first game will start at 8 p.m. ET and air on NBC channels in the Eastern and Central time zones, then the second will start at 8 p.m. PT in the Pacific and Mountain time zones; both games will also be on Peacock.

NBC will also become the home of the NBA All-Star Game as well as the Rising Stars Game and the All-Star Saturday Night — featuring the Slam Dunk and 3-Point Contests and the Skills Challenge. In the playoffs, NBC and Peacock will combine to broadcast approximately 28 games in the first two rounds of the playoffs, with at least half of those games airing on NBC. The broadcast network will also air one conference finals series in six of the 11 years.

NBCU will also get the rights to distribute NBA games in several European markets through Sky Sports as well as in the Caribbean and sub-Saharan Africa. The company will also become a broadcast partner with the WNBA and will be the home for all USA Basketball Senior Men’s and Women’s National Team games.

“We are proud to once again partner with the NBA and WNBA, two iconic brands and the home of the best basketball in the world,” Comcast president Mike Cavanagh said. “We look forward to presenting our best-in-class coverage of both leagues with our innovative programming and distribution plan across NBC and Peacock to entertain fans and help grow the game.”

What Does Amazon Get in the New NBA Contract?

Amazon is taking an even bigger step into sports broadcasting than ever before as it will broadcast 66 NBA regular-season games every season. Once Prime Video’s NFL “Thursday Night Football” schedule ends, it will be the home of a Thursday-night doubleheader beginning in January. That will be joined by another doubleheader on Friday and games on Saturday.

Prime Video will also get at least one game on Black Friday and will stream games during the in-season NBA Cup, including the championship game. Amazon will broadcast playoff games as well and will alternate with NBCU for a conference finals series every year.

Amazon will get the rights to distribute NBA games globally as part of Prime Video in select territories, including Mexico, Brazil, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Ireland. Prime Video will also stream half of all NBA Summer League games as well as a package of WNBA and NBA G League regular-season and postseason games.

“We are honored that the NBA has entrusted Prime Video to deliver its one-of-a-kind action and excitement to viewers around the world,” the head of Prime Video Mike Hopkins said. “We look forward to continuing to innovate and evolve live sports coverage for our customers, and are fully committed to building an incredible video experience for millions of NBA fans starting in 2025.”