In a recent development, Warner Bros Discovery’s WBD sports network, TNT Sports, has declared its intention to match one of the three bids for the broadcast rights of National Basketball Association games.
What Happened: The decision is aimed at maintaining TNT Sports’ long-standing four-decade relationship with the NBA. While the network has not disclosed which NBA programming package it plans to match, a source close to the matter has revealed that TNT Sports is considering matching Amazon Prime Video’s AMZN $1.9 billion per season bid for an 11-year contract, Reuters reported on Tuesday.
Upon being informed about the finalized deals by the league, Warner’s sports unit was given a five-day window to decide whether to match one of the bids.
“We have reviewed the offers and matched one of them,” TNT stated.
“This will allow fans to keep enjoying our unparalleled coverage.”
Why It Matters: This move comes on the heels of the NBA finalizing agreements with Walt Disney’s (DIS.N) ESPN, Comcast’s (CMCSA.O) NBCUniversal, and Amazon. These deals, collectively valued at $76 billion, are set to commence post the 2024-25 season.
However, this decision might lead to legal complications if the NBA rejects the matching bid. It could also potentially harm WBD’s standing among other sports leagues, as per Emarketer senior analyst Ross Benes. This comes at a time when Warner Bros. Discovery is eyeing a turnaround with its upcoming Disney+ Bundle and NBA deal.
Price Action: During Tuesday’s pre-market, Warner Bros. Discovery was trading 1.38% lower than its Monday close of $8.480 while Amazon was trading 0.32% lower than its previous close of $182.90, according to Benzinga Pro.
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NBA by Shaheerrr via Shutterstock
This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Pooja Rajkumari
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