TNT has broadcasted NBA games since 1989 and is home to the iconic sports program, Inside the NBA.1[1]ESPN News Services, ‘Inside the NBA’ to appear on ESPN, ABC next season, ESPN (Nov. 18, 2024), https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/42464696/inside-nba-appear-espn-abc-next-season. Since it first aired in 1989, Inside the NBA has been a fan favorite.2[2]Id. The show is known for its humorous and honest analysis of basketball. Currently, it stars Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley, Ernie Johnson, and Kenny Smith.3[3]TNT, The Inside Story, TNT DRAMA, https://www.tntdrama.com/theinsidestory.
In July 2024, the NBA signed a new 11-year, $77 billion media rights deal with ESPN, NBC, and Amazon that will begin at the start of the 2025-2026 NBA season.4[4]ESPN News Services, supra note 1. This new deal marks the end of the NBA’s 36-year domestic partnership with TNT and its parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery.5[5]Id. The show will not disappear, despite TNT’s broadcast deal ending.6[6]Jeff Zillgitt, What to know about new TV agreement that has ‘Inside the NBA’ moving to ESPN, USA TODAY (Nov. 18, 2024), https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2024/11/18/inside-the-nba-espn-new-tv-deal/76403191007/. Instead, TNT will produce the show and license it to air across ESPN’s platforms.7[7]ESPN News Services, supra note 1. This article will examine the legal context surrounding the licensing agreement that allowed Inside the NBA to move to ESPN.
Dispute Over Matching Rights
On July 22, 2024, the NBA notified Warner Bros. Discovery and Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., which operates TNT, (together “WBD”) of Amazon’s offer to air its games.8[8]Complaint at 1, Turner Broadcasting System Inc. et al. v. National Basketball Association et al., No. 653721/2024 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. July 26, 2024).. WBD matched the offer, using language in its contract that allowed it to counter competing bids.9[9]Id. The NBA rejected WBD’s proposal, and accepted Amazon’s offer instead.10[10]Id.
WBD then sued the NBA on July 26, 2024. The company alleged that it had a contractual relationship with the NBA that included matching rights, and the NBA breached its contract by accepting Amazon’s offer, despite WBD matching it.11[11]Id. at *4. WBD sought to have the NBA honor the contract and accept WBD’s matching offer or monetary damages.12[12]Id.
WBD contended that under the original TNT-NBA agreement, if a third party makes an offer for the same rights TNT currently has, WBD has the right to match the offer.13[13]Id. at *11. The company explained that its offer to broadcast games on TNT and through its streaming platform, Max, matched Amazon’s offer, and claimed that Max and Amazon’s Prime video are the same methods of distribution since they are both internet streaming platforms.14[14]Id. at *6, *13. Additionally, WBD alleged that the Amazon offer was structured to exclude WBD by restricting forms of distribution.15[15]Id. at *17, *19. Most importantly, they alleged that the offer was not shared with WBD until the Board of Governors had already voted to approve the Amazon deal, and that the NBA had never intended to allow WBD to match the offer.16[16]Id. at *17.
Streaming rights are crucial to the NBA because streaming reaches a broader audience and offers greater accessibility compared to traditional cable.17[17]PwC, Streaming the game: How the rise of digital platforms is changing sports consumption, PWC, https://www.pwc.com/us/en/industries/tmt/library/sports-streaming-platforms.html#:~:text=There’s%20a%20rise%20in%20fans,a%20loyal%2C%20passionate%20customer%20base. This distinction between cable and streaming rights affects how the NBA could structure its media deals, making WBD’s attempt to include cable alongside streaming incompatible with Amazon’s purely digital approach.18[18]ESPN News Services, supra note 1.
The NBA’s Counterargument
In August, the NBA filed a motion to dismiss the claims and argued that WBD’s right to match did not apply to Amazon’s offer.19[19]Defendant’s Memorandum of Law in Support of Their Motion to Dismiss the Complaint at 1, Turner Broadcasting System Inc. et al. v. National Basketball Association et al., No. 653721/2024 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. Aug. 23, 2024). The NBA argued that WBD’s right to match only applied to rights that it had in the initial agreement.20[20]Id. WBD’s initial rights were for the distribution of live games on TNT, a cable television network, and did not allow WBD to broadcast on any internet streaming service.21[21]Id. at *3-*4. Amazon’s offer specifically was for the rights to stream NBA games through its Prime Video service, which the NBA maintained was distinguishable from WBD’s cable rights.22[22]Id. at *6.
Additionally, the NBA argued that even if WBD had the right to match terms, it failed to match Amazon’s offer on “each term.”23[23]Id. at *2. The NBA pointed to how WBD changed the distribution method in Amazon’s offer of distribution solely through internet streaming to distribution through both cable television and internet streaming.24[24]Id. at *12. Furthermore, the NBA claimed WBD’s match actually constituted a counteroffer due to a number of revisions it included, which the NBA rejected.25[25]Id. at *3.
To strengthen its argument, the NBA cited Am. Broad. Co. v. Kennedy, a 1973 case.26[26]Id. at *20. In that case, CBS gained NBA media rights previously held by ABC.27[27]Id. ABC accused the NBA of bad faith and alleged ABC could not match the terms due to prior commitments for the proposed CBS broadcast timeslots.28[28]Id. The court rejected ABC’s argument because competitors are allowed to offer terms that other competitors cannot match.29[29]Id. The case reinforced the NBA’s authority to structure its own rights agreements, and the league used this precedent to accept the best offer available.
Settlement and Licensing Agreement for Inside the NBA
The NBA and WBD settled in November 2024.30[30]Warner Bros. Discovery, Warner Bros. Discovery and the National Basketball Association Reach Agreement to Expand Long-Standing Partnership, WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY INVESTOR RELATIONS (Nov. 18, 2024), https://ir.corporate.discovery.com/news-and-events/financial-news/financial-news-details/2024/Warner-Bros.-Discovery-and-the-National-Basketball-Association-Reach-Agreement-to-Expand-Long-Standing-Partnership-2024-YMmaAt0B7M/default.aspx. The deal included a licensing agreement regarding Inside the NBA and allowed Inside the NBA to move to ESPN and ABC for pregame, halftime, and postgame coverage.31[31]Id. TNT will also keep creative control and remain the independent producer of the show.32[32]Id. All four hosts have resigned their contracts with the program.33[33]Id.
Importantly, the agreement established a digital partnership between WBD and the NBA through the NBA App and NBA.com., expanding global rights for WBD, such as broadcasting games in select international markets.34[34]Warner Bros. Discovery, supra note 30. It also included sublicensing deals with ESPN that grant TNT the right to air Big 12 college football and men’s basketball games.35[35]Id.
Legal Implications and Strategic Benefits
The settlement between WBD and the NBA showed how networks like TNT remain competitive when they lose broadcasting rights to larger media companies like ESPN. Here, the licensing agreement benefited both sides — ESPN gained a popular studio show, and WBD retained creative control over Inside the NBA.36[36]Id. Despite TNT losing broadcasting rights, this settlement ensured the continued protection of Inside the NBA, keeping the show on air for NBA fans everywhere.
Written by: Mary Bonema
Mary is a 2027 J.D. Candidate at Brooklyn Law School.
[1] ESPN News Services, ‘Inside the NBA’ to appear on ESPN, ABC next season, ESPN (Nov. 18, 2024), https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/42464696/inside-nba-appear-espn-abc-next-season.
[2] Id.
[3] TNT, The Inside Story, TNT Drama, https://www.tntdrama.com/theinsidestory.
[4] ESPN News Services, supra note 1.
[5] Id.
[6] Jeff Zillgitt, What to know about new TV agreement that has ‘Inside the NBA’ moving to ESPN, USA Today (Nov. 18, 2024), https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2024/11/18/inside-the-nba-espn-new-tv-deal/76403191007/.
[7] ESPN News Services, supra note 1.
[8] Complaint at 1, Turner Broadcasting System Inc. et al. v. National Basketball Association et al., No. 653721/2024 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. July 26, 2024).
[9] Id.
[10] Id.
[11] Id. at 4.
[12] Id.
[13] Id. at 11.
[14] Id. at 6, 13.
[15] Id. at 17, 19.
[16] Id. at 17.
[17] PwC, Streaming the game: How the rise of digital platforms is changing sports consumption, PwC, https://www.pwc.com/us/en/industries/tmt/library/sports-streaming-platforms.html#:~:text=There’s%20a%20rise%20in%20fans,a%20loyal%2C%20passionate%20customer%20base.
[18] ESPN News Services, supra note 1.
[19] Defendant’s Memorandum of Law in Support of Their Motion to Dismiss the Complaint at 1, Turner Broadcasting System Inc. et al. v. National Basketball Association et al., No. 653721/2024 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. Aug. 23, 2024).
[20] Id.
[21] Id. at 3-4.
[22] Id. at 6.
[23] Id. at 2.
[24] Id. at 12.
[25] Id. at 3.
[26] Id. at 20.
[27] Id.
[28] Id.
[29] Id.
[30] Warner Bros. Discovery, Warner Bros. Discovery and the National Basketball Association Reach Agreement to Expand Long-Standing Partnership, Warner Bros. Discovery Investor Relations (Nov. 18, 2024), https://ir.corporate.discovery.com/news-and-events/financial-news/financial-news-details/2024/Warner-Bros.-Discovery-and-the-National-Basketball-Association-Reach-Agreement-to-Expand-Long-Standing-Partnership-2024-YMmaAt0B7M/default.aspx.
[31] Id.
[32] Id.
[33] Id.
[34] Warner Bros. Discovery, supra note 30.
[35] Id.
[36] Id.
