Warner Bros. Discovery tells NBA it intends to match Amazon’s media rights package
Warner Bros. Discovery said Monday it has informed the National Basketball Association that it intends to use its matching rights for a package of games earmarked for another company.
Warner Bros. Discovery said Monday it has informed the National Basketball Association that it intends to use its matching rights for a package of games earmarked for another company. Warner Bros. Discovery is targeting the deal between the NBA and Amazon Prime Video, according to a person familiar with the matter.
“In an effort to continue our long-standing partnership, during both exclusive and non-exclusive negotiation periods, we acted in good faith to present strong bids that were fair to both parties. Regrettably, the league notified us of its intention to accept other offers for the games in our current rights package, leaving us to proceed under the matching rights provision, which is an integral part of our current agreement and the rights we have paid for under it,” Warner Bros Discovery said in a statement.
“We have reviewed the offers and matched one of them. This will allow fans to keep enjoying our unparalleled coverage, including the best live game productions in the industry and our iconic studio shows and talent, while building on our proven 40-year commitment for many more years,” the company said. “Our matching paperwork was submitted to the league today. We look forward to the NBA executing our new contract.”
Warner Bros. Discovery acquired matching rights as part of its previous deal with the league, which expires at the end of next season. Those rights allow the company to match payment for any of the games that aired on TNT in the current deal.
The question for both the NBA and Warner Bros. Discovery is if the rights extend to an all-streaming package, as has been carved out for Amazon. Warner Bros. Discovery also owns a streaming service, Max, which it could use to air games.
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