Dominic Patten
The National Basketball Association and Warner Bros. Discovery are taking their court battle over B-ball TV rights out of the courts.
While nothing has been filed yet in New York State court system, Adam Silver-led NBA and the David Zaslav-run WBD have reached a deal to end their months-long legal dispute, sources close to events confirm.
Under the new pact, WBD’s TNT and TBS won’t have the right to NBA games come the 2025-2026 season. But, as Disney’s ESPN, NBCUniversal and Amazon’s $77 billion agreement over 11 years comes off the bench next year, WBD have scored their own 11-year rights to feature “NBA highlights & extended content,” according to individual with knowledge of the new deal.
That content could find a home on new TBS and TNT shows, as well as the WBD-owned House of Highlights and Bleacher Report online. Additionally, WBD will have the ability to NBA rights in Latin America, with the exceptions of Brazil and Mexico, and parts of Europe.
Neither the NBA nor WBD responded to request for comment from Deadline on the settlement. If they do, this post will be updated.
News of the NBA and WBD settlement and the new understanding was first reported by the Wall Street Journal