The National Basketball Association has announced new long-term television deals with Walt Disney Co., Comcast and Amazon.com Inc., rejecting efforts by Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. to retain decades-old broadcast rights.
The combined agreements are expected to generate $76 billion in league fees over its 11-year history — nearly triple the revenue from the previous deal. Amazon will pay about $1.8 billion annually and make streaming an integral part of the league’s media strategy. The new contracts begin next fall.
“Throughout these negotiations, our primary goal has been to maximize reach and accessibility for our fans,” the league said in a statement Wednesday. “Our new agreement with Amazon supports that goal by complementing the broadcast, cable and streaming packages that are already part of our new arrangements with Disney and NBCUniversal.”
Warner Bros., the parent company of cable network TNT and streaming service Max, said on July 22 that it plans to match Amazon’s offer, taking advantage of a clause in its current contract with the league that allows it to respond to competing offers.
“The recent offer from Warner Bros. Discovery did not match the terms of Amazon Prime Video’s offer, and therefore, we have entered into a long-term agreement with Amazon,” the association said.
The NBA’s refusal sets up a potential legal battle with the media giant that has been its broadcast partner since Ronald Reagan was president.
“We believe they have grossly misinterpreted our contractual rights for the 2025-26 season and beyond, and we will take appropriate action,” Warner Bros. said in an email.
Amazon will stream 66 regular-season NBA games on Prime Video. Comcast has the largest package, with 100 regular-season games, more than half of which are on NBC. The new deal includes 80 regular-season games for Disney, 20 of which will be on ABC, which remains the exclusive home of the Finals.
The deal also includes the rights to broadcast WNBA games, with more than 125 games going to the three media giants, according to the WNBA. The WNBA expects to bring in additional media partners.
The league’s contract is worth $200 million annually from $60 million currently, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified discussing non-public information.
“The partnership with Disney, Amazon and NBCU represents a huge chapter in the history of the WNBA and clearly demonstrates the significant increase in value and historic level of interest in women’s basketball,” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a statement.