As the NBA’s new media rights deal comes into focus, many have begun to consider how Warner Bros. Discovery will handle being on the outside looking in.
But according to a recent report, WBD has not given up its fight just yet. The New York Times noted that the media conglomerate is likely to attempt to exercise its matching rights on Amazon’s portion of the deal.
However, doing just that could prove tricky considering the potential vagueness of such contracts. Warner Bros. Discovery has the contractual right to match third-party offers. It is likely to try to match Amazon’s offer, according to a person familiar with the company’s thinking,” the Times’ report reads. “But the NBA’s lawyers are still trying to determine how the contract defines Warner Bros. Discovery’s matching rights, according to two people familiar with the negotiations, given that the company would want to show many of the games on TNT and Amazon would stream them on Prime Video. It is an issue complicated by the fact that when these contracts were written in 2014, the streaming of sports was in its infancy.
Essentially, WBD will be arguing that its willingness to match the financial terms of Amazon’s agreement meets the criteria for its contractual matching rights. However, the NBA might contend that Amazon offers a non-monetary value as a platform that WBD cannot provide.
The same could be said of the NBA’s reported rights package with NBC, whose status as both a network broadcast channel and streamer is obviously appealing to the league beyond its rights fee.
While WBD does have the Max streaming service at its disposal, maintaining an NBA presence on TNT airwaves appears to be the company’s priority. But barring a victory in a legal battle—or the NBA creating a fourth package for WBD—its efforts seem too little too late.
A Citigroup analyst estimated if WBD loses NBA broadcasting rights, it could result in substantial financial losses. The company’s ad revenue may drop by around $270 million annually, and its TNT subsidiary might face a 45% decline in affiliate fees.
This decision by WarnerMedia to restructure its media holdings and ownership should have no impact whatsoever on the league
, said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.
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