NBA opposes TNT’s attempt to match Amazon rights deal with potential lawsuits

The NBA has released its latest slide into an ongoing Cold War with its longtime partner TNT.

On Wednesday, the NBA said that TNT “did not comply with the terms” of Amazon’s bid for the rights and that Amazon will be a new broadcast partner for the league.

In response, TNT issued a statement asserting it had a “contractual right” to adjust, and threatened legal action.

Earlier this week, TNT, a division of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), an NBA partner since 1989, announced it had matched a competitive bid to remain a rights partner with the league.

While TNT did not name the company’s bid it matched, sources confirmed to The Post that it was Amazon.

Disney’s ESPN/ABC is holding most of its NBA rights, including the NBA Finals, and Comcast’s NBC is also returning to the group as a rights partner after more than 20 years away from the game.

The 11-year deal also includes WNBA rights, including the broadcast of the Finals, split between the three partners. In the deal, ESPN has five WNBA Finals, while NBC and Amazon each have three.

ESPN will remain the exclusive rights holder of the WNBA All-Star Game.

“Warner Bros. Discovery’s most recent proposal did not match the terms of Amazon Prime Video’s offer and, therefore, we have entered into a long-term agreement with Amazon,” the NBA said in a statement.

“Throughout these negotiations, our primary objective has been to maximize the reach and accessibility of our games to our fans. Our new agreement with Amazon supports this goal by complementing the streaming, cable and streaming packages that are already part of our new Disney and NBCUniversal agreements. All three partners have also committed significant resources to promote the league and improve the fan experience.

“We are grateful to Turner Sports for its award-winning coverage of the NBA and look forward to another NBA season on TNT.”

TNT issued a fiery statement in return.

“We have honored Amazon’s offer, as we have the contractual right to do, and we do not believe the NBA can reject it,” TNT said in a statement.

“In doing so, they are turning down the many fans who continue to show their unwavering support for our best-in-class coverage, delivered through the full combined reach of WBD’s premier video distribution platforms – including TNT, the home of our four-decade partnership with the league and Max, our flagship streaming service, believe they have grossly misrepresented our contractual rights with respect to the 2025-26 season and beyond, and we will take appropriate action. However, we look forward to another great NBA season on TNT and Max, including our iconic “Inside the NBA.”

TNT’s last deal with the NBA included “last rights” to match competing bids.

One possible reason the NBA believes TNT’s offering can’t match Amazon’s is that Amazon’s Prime Video has about twice the global reach of WBD’s Max streaming platform.

There is one year left on the deal, so TNT has one more NBA season.

It has been widely believed in industry circles that the WBD could sue the NBA to enforce its matchmaking rights.

While it’s unclear whether WBD could prevail in court proceedings, there’s also the possibility that it could block Amazon’s hiring of broadcasters and production staff in advance of the new rights deal in 2025.

It’s possible there could be a way for WBD/TNT to keep some of the NBA rights, but that would require ESPN, NBC and Amazon to give up some of the inventory they agreed to.