WBD Can Match Amazon’s NBA Rights Offer Today, Does It Actually Have a Chance to Keep NBA Games?
WBD Can Match Amazon’s NBA Rights Offer Today, Does It Actually Have a Chance to Keep NBA Games?
Despite having the contractual right to match third-party bids, it appears unlikely that TNT will be able to retain NBA games.
What has been a very public, multi-year saga could come to an end as early as today. Warner Bros. Discovery has until the end of Monday, July 22 to inform the NBA whether or not it will exercise its contractual right to match any media rights deals submitted by third-party broadcasters. Last week, the Association’s board of governors approved a set of deals with Amazon, Comcast, and Disney that will total $7.6 billion per season for 11 years. Despite having been an NBA broadcast partner for nearly 35 years, TNT is currently out of the mix, but even if WBD wants to challenge NBC or Amazon to get one of the new packages back, it’s looking less and less likely that its efforts will be successful.
Key Details:
- Warner Bors. Discovery has until the end of Monday, July 22 to match either Comcast or Amazon’s NBA rights offer.
- The Comcast contract appears to be too expensive for WBD, so the company has set its sights on Amazon.
- Even if CEO David Zaslav wants to match Amazon’s deal, WBD might not be able to meet the terms.
What Are Matching Right?
As part of the NBA’s current media rights contract with Disney and WBD, both organizations have the right to match any bid from outside broadcasters if they want to claim that portion of the next deal. As Disney has already re-secured the “A” package for ESPN and ABC for $2.6 billion per season, Bob Iger and company are standing pat with what they have.
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, however, has a big decision to make. Despite the fact that he infamously said in 2022 that his network didn’t “have to have the NBA,” it does seem like the future of TNT depends heavily on what happens with the NBA and how WBD moves forward. Since neither Comcast nor Amazon have existing NBA rights deals, Zaslav and WBD are technically able to match either of the packages in an effort to retain a portion of the NBA broadcasting rights.
As it stands, Comcast will get the “B” package for $2.5 billion annually and Amazon’s “C” slate of games will cost $1.8 billion. The former’s games will air on NBC and Peacock on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Sundays. Amazon’s package will air on Prime Video and will broadcast games on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. Both outlets will move their schedules around following the end of their respective NFL broadcasting seasons. Both the “B” and “C” packages will include regular season and playoff contests and NBC and Prime Video will alternate a conference finals series every season.
At this point, it is believed that NBC’s deal is more than Zaslav wants to pay for NBA rights, so WBD is believed to be focusing exclusively on Prime Video’s package. However, just as there are with Comcast’s deal, there are significant concerns over whether or not Warner Bros. Discovery is even able to match what Amazon is offering the NBA.
How Could Warner Bros. Discovery Keep NBA Games?
If Zaslav and his team do decide to exercise their right to match Amazon’s offer, they could have a compelling case. During the original negotiating period with the NBA, Warner Bros. Discovery was uncomfortable spending as much money as the league was looking to get, which is what led the NBA to begin talks with Comcast and Amazon. Reports indicate that the NBA was looking for between $2.2-$2.4 billion per year for TNT to retain what is now NBC’s package. That means that WBD is unlikely to open up the purse strings to compete with Comcast’s contract.
However, at $1.8 billion annually, the Amazon price does appear to be something that WBD is comfortable with paying. In its package, the company would likely offer games broadcast on TNT and a variety of streaming services. Currently, every sporting event that airs on a WBD-owned channel (TNT, TBS, and truTV) is already simulcast on Max’s Bleacher Report Sports Add-On. In addition, the currently free sports tier also has a handful of exclusive sporting events as well. Presumably, some of the NBA games could become streaming exclusives if WBD secures a slate of games.
Additionally, next month, Disney, Fox, and WBD are set to launch Venu Sports to bring together all of the sports action from the three media companies’ portfolios. This will presumably increase the reach that WBD’s games will get. Also, while not a new service, at some point this summer, Max will be available in a bundle with Disney+ and Hulu. All of these streaming options add to the number of people that Warner Bros. Discovery can bring to the NBA’s product.
As a broadcast partner with the league since 1989, TNT is already well-established as one of the premier homes for NBA basketball. While ABC and ESPN might own the NBA Finals, TNT has “Inside the NBA,” which is widely believed to be the best sports show on television. Another factor to consider is that Turner Sports — a division of WBD — operates NBA TV. While the NBA owns the channel, if TNT lost the rights to broadcast games, what would that mean for the existing management system for the NBA Network?
So, between the history behind the NBA and TNT relationship, the growing reach of WBD’s streaming platforms, and an acceptable price point, Warner Bros. Discovery will likely feel confident that it has a package that can rival that of anything Amazon has to offer.
HBO Max
HBO Max is a subscription video streaming service that gives access to the full HBO library and exclusive Max Originals. There are hubs for content from TLC, HGTV, Food Network, Discovery, TCM, Cartoon Network, Travel Channel, ID, and more. Watch hit series like “The Last of Us,” “House of the Dragon,” “Succession,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” and more. Within HBO Max, B/R Sports allows users to watch live NBA, MLB, NHL, March Madness, and NASCAR events.
How Could Amazon Prevent TNT From Keeping NBA Games?
While Warner Bros. Discovery could make a compelling case for being an NBA broadcast partner, the lawyers at Amazon and the league might already won the war. It has been reported that in all of the contractual language between Amazon and the Association, the “C” package is described as “streaming-only.” Therefore, for WBD to exactly match Amazon’s offer, it would need to also present the league with an equitable streaming-only deal. However, as of April, Max only had 99.6 million subscribers while Amazon’s Prime Video had over 200 million.
So, while the launch of Venu Sports and potential growth from joining a bundle with Disney could increase the size of WBD’s streaming presence, it is unlikely that it will approach that of Prime Video anytime soon.
But if the “streaming-only” reach isn’t a concern, Amazon might have delivered another poison pill to the financially insecure WBD. According to a new report, Amazon is willing to pay the first three years of its deal upfront, totaling $5.4 billion.
Warner Bros. Discovery is currently saddled with $39 billion in debt and has been forced to layoff hundreds of employees. The situation is so dire that reports indicate that Zaslav is considering spinning off Max alongside WBD's movie studio to give them a fresh balance sheet, sticking the company’s already floundering cable channels with the debt.
With this reality well known in the industry, by being willing to put its $5.4 billion in escrow for the NBA, Amazon is making it nearly impossible for WBD to adequately match what the tech giant is offering.
Prime Video
Prime Video is a subscription video streaming service that includes on-demand access to 10,000+ movies, TV shows, and Prime Originals like “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” “Jack Ryan,” “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “The Boys,” and more. Subscribers can also add third-party services like Max, Showtime, STARZ, and dozens more with Prime Video Channels. Prime Video also offers exclusive live access to NFL Thursday Night Football.