TNT to keep NBA rights in settlement deal but with a major twist

TNT parent Warner Bros Discovery announced Monday it would keep access to coveted National Basketball Association content for 11 more years under a settlement deal with the league — but will no longer televise games in the US.The new agreement, however, will allow WBD to license the network’s popular studio pregame and halftime show “Inside the NBA” to ESPN and ABC.It also include rights to broadcast live games in Nordic countries, Poland and Latin America, excluding Brazil and Mexico.But the deal does not include live games rights in the crucial US market, meaning TNT’s more than 40-year run of airing the NBA games will come to an end after the current season.Warner Bros Discovery filed a lawsuit in July over the NBA’s rejection of its matching bid for media rights, after the league announced a $77 billion deal with Walt Disney’s ESPN, Comcast-owned NBCUniversal and Amazon.“The settlement is a reasonable compromise that most NBA fans will welcome,” said Emarketer senior analyst Ross Benes.“WBD’s lawsuit had tenuous odds, this concession is better than nothing.”The two sides had entered the legal discovery phase of the lawsuit before deciding to reach a settlement.News of the settlement was welcomed by investors on Wall Street as Warner Bros.

Discovery stock rose by more than 3% as of Monday afternoon.WBD — which also owns CNN after a massive merger in 2022 — is down 18% this year as ratings continue to plummet at the cable news channel.Losing NBA broadcast rights in the US dealt another blow to Warner Bros.Discovery as live sports remains one of the few revenue-generating products on linear television.The new deal between the NBA and Warner Bros.

Discovery will allow the media company’s digital properties Bleacher Report and House of Highlights to continue to have access to NBA content.The NBA will pay Warner Bros.Discovery $350 million over the length of the agreement to provide services to the league’s digital operati...