Unless someone calls a time out soon, the legal game between the NBA and Warner Bros Discovery over small-screen basketball rights that the David Zaslav -run media company turned over looks set to go down to some serious 2-for-1. As promised, the Adam Silver -led league has responded with force to WBD’s heavily redacted July 26-filed suit over the rights Amazon was awarded earlier this year in a multi-outlet $77 billion deal for the 2025-26 season and beyond. In Hail Mary mode, the stock-cratering WBD and subsidiary Turner Broadcasting System desire a court order to stop the Jeff Bezos-owned streamer from even showing games until this is all resolved.
Unsurprisingly, the NBA, which has made deals with ABC, NBC and Amazon for the next 11 years for the league and the WNBA, want to block that move and shut this whole business down with its soon to be ex-partner of nearly 30 years. In a late night motion for dismissal to be argued in person in New York state court on October 4, just under three weeks before the 79th NBA regular season tip offs, the NBA made it clear it is not playing games. To put it simply, the gist of the league’s argument is: Sorry WBD, but you’re just not big enough for the NBA, and it looks like you don’t have the cash.
“For example, to ensure the financial security of billions of dollars of rights fee payments over the deal’s 11-year term, Amazon agreed, inter alia , to maintain an escrow account from which rights fees will automatically be paid.