TNT, under its parent company Warner Bros. Discovery, has filed a lawsuit this Friday against the NBA due to an equivalent rights clause in its previous television contract. This comes after the league announced a few days ago that it would end its decades-long partnership with the television company in favor of a new rights deal with Amazon, NBC, and ESPN.
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"TNT Sports activities stated in a statement, 'Faced with the unjustified rejection by the NBA of our third-party offer, we have taken legal action to enforce our rights'."
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The statement continued: "We firmly believe that this is not only our contractual right, but also the best for fans who want to continue watching our industry-leading NBA content with the choice and flexibility we offer through our widely distributed WBD video distribution platforms, including TNT and Max."
What was the NBA's response to the lawsuit filed by Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company of TNT?
The sports league responded that "Warner Bros. Discovery's claims are unfounded and our lawyers will address them."
Earlier this week, the NBA had announced that it would remain with ESPN/ABC and sign a new agreement with Amazon and NBC starting in late 2025. At the center of the dispute are the "back-end rights," a common clause in television rights agreements, where a rights holder has the opportunity to match any competitive offer of a deal.
Despite the fact that the demand is mostly under secrecy, WBD believes that TNT has the capacity to match Amazon's rights package.
Meanwhile, the NBA argues that WBD cannot match Amazon, in part because WBD's 'Max' streaming platform has approximately half the international reach of Amazon's Prime Video.
Other points that the NBA is discussing include the Amazon rights package being labeled as exclusive for streaming, while the deal with WBD would include the right to broadcast games on both Max and TNT.
“The most recent proposal from Warner Bros. Discovery did not match the terms of the offer from Amazon Prime Video, and therefore we have reached a long-term agreement with Amazon,” the NBA said in a statement earlier this week.