Still in the game: TNT matches Amazon’s $1.8 billion NBA offer

Simone Del Rosario:

It’s a battle of the new age versus the establishment.

Amazon Prime Video’s foray into the NBA is facing a challenge from the old guard, the decades-old NBA on TNT.

Parent company Warner Bros. Discovery is matching Amazon’s $1.8 billion per year offer to carry games. Now the NBA must decide what path to take.

The move comes just two years after Warner Bros. CEO said they didn’t need the NBA. And they were pretty darn close to figuring out if that were true.

Just last week, the NBA’s board of governors approved a $76 billion, 11-year TV rights deal that included Disney, NBC and Amazon. The deal begins with the 2025-2026 season. But in the background, TNT has maintained the right to match an offer.

Back in June we spoke with Bob Thompson, former president of Fox Sports Network, about the, then rumored, $76 billion deal.

Bob Thompson:

“it just shows how valuable prime real estate is in the sports world, and especially when you had two companies, Amazon Prime and NBC on the outside, wanting to get in, and then you combine that with the fact that ESPN obviously wanted to maintain their position, maintain the finals for ABC, have enough content for their purported direct to consumer offering of ESPN, the main channel that’s Coming up next year.”

Simone Del Rosario:

Prime’s package is expected to carry NBA games Thursday evenings after it is done with the NFL season. They would also carry games on Friday and Saturday.

After inking out the deals, NBA sent Warner the details of the three contracts, and they had 5 days to submit a matching offer.

“We have reviewed the offers and matched one of them,” TNT Sports said in a statement released Monday. “This will allow fans to keep enjoying our unparalleled coverage, including the best live game productions in the industry and our iconic studio shows and talent, while building on our proven 40-year commitment for many more years.”

The iconic studio show is a huge part of this equation. Inside the NBA has been a staple for basketball fans for years. The antics of Charles Barley, Shaquille O’Neil, Kenny “the Jet” Smith, and anchor Ernie Johnson became must-see tv.

Even NBA commissioner Adam Silver spoke of the importance of that show, and the possibility of TNT losing the NBA, during a press conference to kick off the NBA Finals in June.

Adam Silver:

“It has been difficult. That show, in particular, is special. And I have a close relationship with everyone who’s on that show, from the time they played in the league, and Ernie (Johnson) and I have been friends forever.”

Simone Del Rosario:

With all the uncertainty around Inside the NBA’s future and the future of NBA on TNT, Barkley made a surprise decision on the air.

Charles Barkley:
I’ve talked to all the other networks but I ain’t going nowhere other than TNT, but I have made the decision myself, no matter what happens, next year is going to be my last year on television.

Simone Del Rosario:

He said no matter what, and we’ll see.

This negotiation process has been dramatic and drawn out, and it’s not over yet.

Adam Silver:

“There’s hundreds of people who are involved with what I still refer to as Turner Sports, who’ve been longtime friends and colleagues, and no different at the other networks. And on one hand, from the league’s standpoint, it’s fantastic to be liked and to be wanted and to have multiple suitors. At the same time it makes me uncomfortable that it’s zero sum”

Simone Del Rosario:

Since Warner decided to challenge Amazon’s stake, that leaves NBC in the game, whose coverage of the NBA is iconic in its own right.

They’ll carry games for the first time in more than 2 decades.

A spokesperson for the NBA told the Associated Press the league is reviewing Warner’s offer. Does the old guard get a slam dunk? Or does the NBA’s thirst for new technology force a turnover?

Adam Silver:

“Also part of where my confidence goes, in moving sports over to streaming platforms. Something I’ve talked about before. It allows for tremendous additional functionality while watching games. Personalization, customization, of games. Multiple feeds.Multiple dialects, multiple languages. Different camera angles, it really gives the fan enormous additional choice that you don’t have through traditional television.”