Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) has filed a lawsuit against the NBA over its new broadcasting contract with Amazon Prime Video, alleging that the NBA deliberately structured the deal in a way that made it impossible for WBD to match Amazon’s offer.
This lawsuit sheds light on what WBD claims were “poison pills” designed to prevent the long-time NBA broadcast partner from continuing its relationship with the league.
Under WBD’s existing contract, TNT (a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery) reportedly had the right to match any offer the NBA received for its broadcast package. However, according to WBD’s legal team, the NBA crafted the deal with Amazon to include numerous contractual obstacles, making it virtually impossible for WBD to retain its broadcasting rights.
Earlier this year, the NBA entered negotiations with several major platforms, ultimately securing deals with ABC/ESPN, NBC, and Amazon Prime Video. Noticeably absent from these new agreements was TNT, which has been broadcasting NBA games since 1989. This development has the potential to sever one of the NBA’s longest-running and most iconic broadcasting relationships, effectively freezing TNT out of NBA coverage after more than three decades.
In its lawsuit, WBD highlights several “poison pills” that were allegedly embedded in the NBA’s agreement with Amazon. One of the most significant penalties cited was a potential $4.5 billion fine if Warner Bros. Discovery were to win the contested streaming package but then experience a corporate debt rating downgrade by a bond agency. This financial penalty is just one of many provisions that WBD claims were designed to make it untenable for them to match Amazon’s offer.
“That is just one of many so-called ‘poison pills’ WBD charges the NBA sprinkled throughout its agreement with Amazon to deter the current incumbent,” reads the lawsuit, according to Awful Announcing. WBD’s legal filing goes on to list other contractual hurdles, such as liquidated damages, escrow requirements, and specific credit rating conditions, all of which would put significant financial pressure on WBD if they pursued a deal similar to Amazon’s.
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Perhaps the most glaring example of these poison pills is the “cross-promotion” clause. The NBA’s agreement with Amazon required that the platform airing NBA games must also host NFL games—something that Warner Bros. Discovery simply cannot do. Amazon holds the exclusive rights to Thursday Night Football, which gives it the unique capability to satisfy this cross-promotion requirement. “Only Amazon could perform that obligation,” WBD’s legal team argued, reinforcing the idea that the deal was structured to lock them out from the start.
The lawsuit also echoes sentiments previously voiced by NBA on TNT personality Charles Barkley. Barkley, a staple of TNT’s Inside the NBA, has publicly speculated that the NBA had been looking for a way to end its relationship with Warner Bros. Discovery for some time. “Clearly the NBA has wanted to break up with us from the beginning,” Barkley stated. “TNT matched the money, but the league knows Amazon and these tech companies are the only ones willing to pay for the rights when they double in the future. The NBA didn’t want to piss them off… It’s a sad day when owners and commissioners choose money over the fans.”
The growing involvement of tech giants like Amazon in the sports broadcasting space represents a significant shift in the industry. With deep pockets and the ability to outbid traditional broadcasters, companies like Amazon are becoming increasingly influential in securing high-profile sports content. This shift has left networks like TNT vulnerable, despite their long-standing relationships with leagues like the NBA.
Should Warner Bros. Discovery’s lawsuit fail, it could signal the end of Inside the NBA in its current, beloved format. Reports suggest that TNT plans to keep its iconic broadcasting crew intact and may reimagine the show as an all-encompassing sports program, possibly expanding beyond NBA coverage. However, if WBD loses its NBA broadcasting contract, the 2024/25 season would mark the final chapter of Inside the NBA as we know it.
This potential loss would mark a major transition in the sports media landscape, with fans, networks, and broadcasters adjusting to a future where tech giants like Amazon are increasingly in control of major sports programming.
For now, WBD’s lawsuit could determine whether the NBA and Warner Bros. Discovery continue their 35-year partnership or if the tech-dominated future is already here.
