NBA Television Negotiations Are About To Get Messy -- And Complicated

Here's where the NBA rights negotiations stand, per several sources who requested anonymity:

The NBA has agreed to framework, 10-year deals with Disney (ESPN/ABC) and Amazon. 

ESPN will retain the "A" package that includes weekly regular season games on at least Fridays, one conference final per year, and exclusive rights to the NBA Finals. 

Amazon plans to receive the "C" package that includes weekly regular season games on Saturdays, one conference final every other year, and exclusive rights to the in-season and play-in tournaments.

As for the "B" package, the league is close to signing a third deal with NBCUniversal to air games on NBC and Peacock. The "B" package includes weekly regular season games on Sunday, one conference every other year (rotating with the "C" partner), All-Star weekend, and the first two rounds of the playoffs.

That would leave Warner Bros. Discovery's TNT as the odd man out. 

Now, the deals are not complete. They are only close. And WBD has matching rights that it secured and paid for as part of its previous deal with the league. 

Initially, reports said WBD could only apply those matching rights to its current package, the one NBC is bidding for, the "B" package.

But, according to CNBC, WBD "has been working with its lawyers to determine how matching would work if the league carves up Warner Bros. Discovery’s current package into deals for both NBCUniversal and Amazon."

WBD believes that because the NBA is creating a "C" package by splitting up the "B" package, it can use its matching rights on NBC or Amazon. 

The Amazon deal is likely more appealing to WBD because it would "only" require them to match Amazon's $1.8 billion per year offer, compared to the $2.5 billion annually that NBC