Warner Bros. Discovery to match Amazon Prime offer for NBA rights - ESPN

Turner Sports intends to continue its longtime relationship with the NBA.

Warner Bros. Discovery informed the league Monday that it will match the $1.8 billion per year offer by Amazon Prime Video. Turner has had an NBA package since 1984, and games have been on TNT since the network launched in 1988.

«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,» WBD said in a statement. «Our matching paperwork was submitted to the league today. We look forward to the NBA executing our new contract.»

The NBA's board of governors approved the league's 11-year media rights deals with Disney, NBC and Amazon Prime Video at its meeting in Las Vegas last Tuesday. WBD received all three contracts Wednesday, which started the five-day clock for whether it wanted to match.

The new deals — collectively worth $76 billion — will begin with the 2025-26 season, and they include a game being aired or streamed nationally every night during the second half of the season.

The Prime Video package would have had games on Thursday night after it is done carrying NFL games. Its other nights were Friday and Saturday.

TNT would likely carry games on Thursday with the other nights being streamed on Max.

An NBA spokesperson said the league is reviewing the matching offer. Amazon Prime Video did not comment on WBD's intention to match.

It is expected that the NBA would announce the finality of the media deals sometime this week.

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav sounded an ominous note when he said during an RBC Investor