NBC may be about to pick Warner Bros. Discovery’s pocket. It is not a secret that the network has long wanted to get back into the basketball business. After losing the NBA’s broadcasting rights to ESPN in 2002, NBC has been eager to become a part of the league’s next broadcast deal, and now that NBCUniversal is putting its money where its mouth is. The Wall Street Journal reports that, even though two-thirds of the NBA’s broadcast package has already reportedly been secured by Disney and Amazon, NBC is still in talks with the league to acquire what had been Warner Bros. Discovery’s package of games. The move would require a massive cash expenditure from NBCU, but it appears executives are ready to make that sacrifice. If that possibility does come to fruition, the move would have wide-reaching implications for WBD, not only for its own channels and streamers but for the joint venture streaming platform the company wants to launch with Disney and Fox.

Key Details:

• NBC is prepared to offer up to $2.5 billion per season for WBD’s package of NBA rights.
• WBD has the ability to match any offer to the NBA from a third party.
• ESPN and Amazon already have deal frameworks in place for their own bundle of games.

NBC hasn’t had NBA rights since 2002, but the classic “Roundball Rock” theme song could be returning to the network and its companion streamer Peacock in the near future. WSJ reports that the channel is preparing a bid of up to $2.5 billion per season for the rights to broadcast, and simultaneously stream, two games per week during the NBA regular season, as well as a selection of playoff games.

The $2.5 billion figure would be more than double the $1.2 billion that TNT currently pays to air 65 games per season. The WSJ also reports that ESPN/ABC will increase their annual payments to the league from around $1.5 billion to $2 billion in a deal that is reportedly nearly done. Given that the league wanted to double the income in its next broadcast contract — and that it also has the framework of a deal in place with Amazon for an as-yet unspecified annual fee to help it further that monetary goal — it must be seriously considering NBC’s offer.

Negotiations are still fluid, as the league is trying to sort out exactly which games will go to which providers. As of now, it appears that Prime Video will get a share of conference final rights, while the NBA Finals themselves will remain ESPN/ABC exclusive. ESPN’s package of games will be smaller than the bundle of 100 contests it shared with ABC in 2023-24, and the selection of games currently belonging to WBD will also be reduced to create enough inventory for Amazon’s new portion of the schedule.

What Are the Consequences if WBD Loses the NBA to NBC?

There’s a lot riding on TNT renewing its ties with the Association. Declining revenue from WBD’s cable channels is already giving the company fits every quarter, to say nothing of the fact that it recently launched a sports add-on for its streaming platform Max that it will eventually start asking customers to pay $9.99 per month for. Losing one of its sports crown jewels before making the B/R add-on a paid feature will be an undeniable blow to the company and CEO David Zaslav.

Then there’s the question of what would become of the “Inside the NBA” crew. Charles Barkley signed a new, 10-year deal extension with TNT in 2022, and Shaq, Ernie Johnson, and Kenny Smith were also extended for unspecified terms. Would NBC try to buy their contracts from WBD if it snaked TNT’s NBA package? Would Warner try to keep “Inside the NBA” going even if it lost live pro basketball games? What about the crew’s involvement in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament coverage that is shared between CBS and WBD-owned cable channels?

Warner Bros. Discovery is also set to launch a new sports streaming product later this year. The company is joining with Disney and Fox to create a sports-focused live TV streaming service with feeds of 14 channels, including TNT. If the company loses the NBA to NBC, the joint venture streamer will only have half the national NBA package, giving ammunition to critics who say it will be too expensive and not offer enough sports to be worthwhile for consumers.

TNT has the right to match a deal between the NBA and any third party, but there’s a new wrinkle in that provision according to WSJ. Reportedly, NBC’s offer to provide two games per week can’t be matched by TNT because WBD does not own a broadcast channel, which means that even though NBC would be taking WBD’s place in the deal, the substance of their offerings would be substantively different enough to avoid this provision. The extra exposure that a broadcast network can provide might be exactly what the league wants. The NBA has made it clear that it wants to spread its rights across as many providers as possible, both to stimulate higher bids for its games and to reach audiences in as many ways as it can.

There’s still time for WBD to come up with a creative way to keep its NBA package. But as it stands, NBC appears to be pulling ahead, and when the dust settles, TNT and Max may find that they’ve been stripped of a key piece of their sports broadcasting puzzle. WBD CEO David Zaslav made waves in 2022 when he said that his company “didn't have to have the NBA,” and now it appears we may get the chance to see how sincere he was being.