The NBA signed an 11-year media rights deal with Disney, NBC and Amazon Prime Video on Wednesday after the company indicated it would not accept Warner Bros. Discovery’s $1.8 billion-a-year offer to continue its long-term relationship with the league.
The media rights deals were approved last week by the league’s Board of Governors and will generate approximately $76 billion for the league over the 11 years. The agreement also includes the rights to the WNBA and is expected to generate a total of $2.2 billion over 11 years.
WBD had five days to match some of those deals and said it was exercising its right to do so, but its offer was not deemed a true match by the NBA. That means the 2024-25 season will be TNT’s last after a nearly four-decade run, and puts the future of the league’s flagship show in doubt.
TNT has held the NBA media rights for 35 years. During that time, Inside the NBA, starring Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson, has become the league’s signature primetime show and an indelible part of the NBA landscape.
The decision to move to Amazon and NBC puts the future of the show in doubt. The Athletic reports that TNT can take legal action to the league over its decision. The network had targeted Amazon’s streaming portion of the deal, but the NBA said TNT was unable to match Prime Video’s terms.
“Warner Bros. Discovery’s most recent offer did not match the terms of Amazon Prime Video’s offer and as a result, we have entered into a long-term agreement with Amazon,” the league said in a statement on Wednesday.
“During these negotiations, our primary goal was to maximize the reach and accessibility of our games to our fans. Our new agreement with Amazon supports this goal by complementing the broadcast, cable and streaming packages already part of our new Disney and NBCUniversal agreements. All three partners have also committed substantial resources to promote the league and enhance the fan experience.”
Amazon Prime Video will air games on Friday nights, select Saturday afternoons and Thursday night doubleheaders, beginning after Prime Video’s Thursday Night Football schedule concludes. Prime Video will also pick up WBD’s NBA League Pass package.
“The digital opportunities with Amazon are a perfect fit for the global interest in the NBA,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “And Prime Video’s massive subscriber base will dramatically increase our ability to reach our fans in new and innovative ways.”
The package also includes at least one game on Black Friday and the NBA Cup quarterfinals, semifinals and championship game.
“Over the past few years, we’ve been working hard to bring the very best sports to Prime Video and continue to innovate the viewing experience,” said Jay Marine, Global Head of Sports for Prime Video. “We’re excited to now add the NBA to our growing sports lineup, which includes the NFL, UEFA Champions League, NASCAR, NHL, WNBA, NWSL, Wimbledon and more. We’re grateful to partner with the NBA and can’t wait to get started in 2025.”
ESPN and ABC retain the league’s best package, including the NBA Finals. ABC has had the Finals since 2003.
ESPN/ABC will together air approximately 100 games during the regular season. More than 20 games will air on ABC, primarily on Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons, while ESPN will have up to 60 games, primarily on Wednesday nights with a few games on Fridays. ABC and ESPN will also jointly air five games on Christmas Day and have exclusive national coverage of the final day of the regular season.
During the playoffs, ESPN and ABC will play approximately 18 games in the first two rounds each year and one of the two conference finals in all but one year of the agreement.
The return of NBC, which broadcast NBA games from 1990 to 2002, gives the NBA two network partners for the first time.
NBC will have up to 100 regular-season games, including on Sunday nights after the NFL season ends. It will air games on Tuesdays during the regular season, while a Monday night doubleheader would be streamed exclusively on Peacock.
NBC will also have the All-Star Game and All-Star Saturday Night. During the playoffs, NBC will have up to 28 games in the first two rounds, with some games streamed on Peacock. At least half of the games will be on NBC.
NBC and Amazon will also air one of the two conference finals series in six of the 11 years on a rotating basis. NBC will have a conference finals in 2026-27, followed by Amazon the following season.