TNT
Warner Bros. Discovery’s lawsuit against the NBA regarding its new broadcasting contract with Amazon Prime Video has revealed that the NBA seemingly tried to make it impossible for WBD. to match Amazon’s offer.
While Warner Bros. Discovery/TNT reportedly had the rights to match any offer that the NBA received for its broadcast package, its lawyers allege that the NBA laced its deal with Amazon with “poison pills” in order to prevent WBD. from being able to match.
Earlier this year, the NBA negotiated broadcasting deals with ABC/ESPN, NBC, and Prime Video — leaving TNT out in the cold and without any NBA rights, potentially putting an end to a partnership that began in 1989.
“What would Warner Bros. Discovery’s penalty be if it wins the contested NBA’s streaming package and then sees its corporate debt rating downgraded by a bond agency? Answer: a $4.5 billion fine. That is just one of many so-called ‘poison pills’ WBD charges the NBA sprinkled throughout its agreement with Amazon to deter the current incumbent. WBD has matching rights for the media packages starting after next season and made a counteroffer that the NBA swiftly rejected,” reports Awful Announcing.
The report continues to list the following examples of these contractual “poison pills”: liquidated damages, cross-promotion, escrow, and credit rating.
Perhaps the most obvious of these poison pills is the “cross-promotion” clause, as the NBA’s deal with Amazon/Prime Video required that NBA games “be shown on a platform that also shows NFL games,” which is obviously something that Warner Bros. Discovery does not and cannot do.
“Thursday Night Football on Prime Video. Because Amazon holds the exclusive rights to TNF, only Amazon could perform that obligation,” WBD’s lawyers said of the clause, according to Awful Announcing.
NBA on TNT stalwart Charles Barkley previously voiced a similar opinion, accusing the NBA of wanting to “break up” with Warner Bros. Discovery/TNT “from the beginning.”
“Clearly the NBA has wanted to break up with us from the beginning,” Barkley in a statement. “I’m not sure TNT ever had a chance. TNT matched the money, but the league knows Amazon and these tech companies are the only ones willing to pay for the rights when they double in the future. The NBA didn’t want to piss them off… It’s a sad day when owners and commissioners choose money over the fans. It just sucks.”
Despite it looking likely that TNT will lose its rights to the NBA, reports indicate they plan to keep the beloved Inside the NBA crew in-tact and will reshape the program to make it more of an all-encompassing sports show. If WBD’s lawsuit fails and they lose their NBA broadcasting contract, the upcoming 2024/25 season will be the last of Inside the NBA in its current iconic format.