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TNT Issues Statement Objecting NBA's Decision to Reject Media Rights Offer
The NBA announced Wednesday afternoon that Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company that owns TNT and broadcasts Inside the NBA, failed to match offers from Amazon, which bid on the up-for-grabs rights to broadcast NBA games.
About an hour later, TNT Sports released a statement disagreeing with the NBA's read on the situation.
"We have matched the Amazon offer, as we have a contractual right to do, and do not believe the NBA can reject it. In doing so, they are rejecting the many fans who continue to show their unwavering support for our best-in-class coverage, delivered through the full combined reach of WBD's video-first distribution platforms including TNT, home to our four-decade partnership with the league, and Max, our leading streaming service. We think they have grossly misinterpreted our contractual rights with respect to the 2025-26 season and beyond, and we will take appropriate action. We look forward, however, to another great season of the NBA on TNT and Max including our iconic Inside the NBA."
The fate of TNT's ownership of rights and production of Inside the NBA has been the subject of much attention over the last few months as the league has renegotiated its rights. TNT has had a relationship with the league for some time, and its Inside the NBA team, which features Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Shaquille O'Neal, and Charles Barkley is beloved by fans.
TNT's statement is clear enough to surmise that WBD and the NBA interpret their contract differently. It is believed that WBD was supposed to have an option available to match bids from other companies, and WBD clearly believes it offered a match. Just two days ago, the company released a statement saying they did so.
The company's statement suggests it will take some sort of legal action, but it's unclear exactly what that will look like or how it may play out. Nevertheless, TNT holds the rights to broadcast games through the 2024-25 season under the previous contract.
JOSH WILSON
Josh Wilson is the news director of the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in 2024, he worked for FanSided in a variety of roles, most recently as senior managing editor of the brand’s flagship site. He has also served as a general manager of Sportscasting, the sports arm of a start-up sports media company, where he oversaw the site’s editorial and business strategy. Wilson has a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from SUNY Cortland and a master’s in accountancy from the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois. He loves a good nonfiction book and enjoys learning and practicing Polish. Wilson lives in Chicago but was raised in upstate New York. He spent most of his life in the Northeast and briefly lived in Poland, where he ate an unhealthy amount of pastries for six months.