Warner Bros Discovery has extended its agreement with the National Basketball Association for a further 11 years.
The deal between WBD and the NBA includes well-known programming brands Bleacher Report and House of Highlights and an expanded international rights portfolio, but crucially does not include live rights in the United States, bringing a 40 year run to an end.
In July, Warner Bros Discovery filed a lawsuit after the NBA rejected its matching offer for media rights announced by the NBA between ESPN, NBC and Amazon. It means for US viewers, this will be the last season covered by TNT Sports.
With the action at an end, TNT Sports and its portfolio of brands will receive a global license to create, produce and distribute new and existing NBA content across its platforms.
WBD and ESPN, TNT Sports will now televise an exclusive slate of Big 12 football (13 games each season) and men’s basketball (15 games each season) starting with the 2025 season. This builds on TNT Sports’ agreement with ESPN to present the College Football Playoffs with TNT showcasing a pair of First Round games beginning this December.
Additionally, WBD has been granted live NBA game telecast rights in the Nordics (Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden), along with Poland and Latin America (excluding Brazil and Mexico) for the next 11 years. In connection with this live game telecast package, WBD will provide broad reach, local language commentary and promotional opportunities for the NBA’s marketing partners.
“Together these agreements ensure fans will continue to enjoy TNT’s Inside the NBA and create tremendous value for our entire portfolio as we accelerate the growth of TNT Sports, Bleacher Report, House of Highlights and our global sports business,” said David Zaslav, CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery. “We are pleased to partner with the NBA and Disney/ESPN, and to have solidified long-term rights and revenue for WBD.”
“The opportunity to continue the iconic and Emmy Award-winning Inside the NBA is a huge win for basketball fans everywhere,” said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. “We look forward to building on our longstanding partnership with TNT Sports and working together to promote NBA content across key WBD and NBA platforms.”
The agreement also continues the NBA Digital partnership between the NBA and TNT Sports for five seasons, under which the NBA can engage WBD to provide promotion and a variety of services, including production, content development and sales operations services.
