Warner Bros Discovery sues NBA over bid for broadcast rights

Warner Bros Discovery WMG-Q and its sports division, Turner Broadcasting System, filed a lawsuit on Friday against the National Basketball Association in New York over the league’s rejection of its matching bid for media rights.

The media company accused the NBA of breaching its agreement in refusing to honour its right to match offers from a third party.

“We strongly believe this is not just our contractual right, but also in the best interest of fans who want to keep watching our industry-leading NBA content,” TNT Sports said in a statement.

The NBA could not immediately be reached for comment.

The NBA announced on Wednesday that it had awarded Walt Disney’s ESPN, Comcast-owned NBCUniversal and Amazon.com rights to carry National Basketball Association games in an 11-year deal valued at $77 billion.

The NBA rejected a last-minute offer from TNT Sports, which it said fell short of Amazon’s proposal, ending a four-decade relationship with the media company after next season.