New NBA Media Deal: 11 years, $77B with Disney (ABC/ESPN), Comcast (NBC/Peacock), and Amazon. ESPN to license Inside the NBA

[No1]

Buried in the article is that Charter Communications just reupped with Warner Bros. to keep the TNT carriage fee the same as it always was even without NBA content and ESPN is licensing more college football games to TNT aside from the playoff games they already agreed to air.

Zaslav likely isn't going anywhere. He got exactly what he wanted out of this. Idiots said the backend rights either didn't exist or weren't going to save TNT and it looks like they just did.

Coli lawyers....

This isn’t what he wanted. Take the fukking L - you still don’t know shyt about the law and anyone who liked your post doesn’t either. I’m taking the stance that I have with MAGA people and I won’t even bother explaining shyt to you . I now accept that expertise isn’t respected in America. Well over 90 percent of lawsuits settle and this was always going to settle - the fact that you think these terms are an overall win are hilarious. I’ll just find a legal TikTok explainer next time.

 

[Blessings]

They hoping he bring his price down. But he standing on business, respectfully.

As he should

 

[Saysumthinfunnymike]

This isn’t what he wanted. Take the fukking L - you still don’t know shyt about the law and anyone who liked your post doesn’t either.

Take your L little man... Charter Communications reupped with TNT for the same carriage fee just like I said they would and you were 100% wrong about WBD not having matching rights.

The reason you're not respected is because you came in here trying to pretend like you were in the room and trying to pretend that you've been in rooms where complex television contracts are discussed. Maybe next time you'll stay in your lane.

 

[Optimus Prime]

Loading…

www.nytimes.com

‘Inside the NBA’ to continue on ABC and ESPN as part of TNT-NBA settlement: Sources​

“Inside the NBA,” TNT’s longtime basketball studio show, will appear on ABC and ESPN as the NBA and Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company of TNT Sports, have settled their months-long lawsuit, sources briefed on the agreement said.

“Inside the NBA” panelists Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, Ernie Johnson and Kenny Smith will remain with the show, the sources said. O’Neal still needs to agree to an extension but has indicated his intention to remain on the program, according to one of the sources.

TNT Sports will receive global rights outside of the United States for “Inside the NBA,” House of Highlights and its parent company, Bleacher Report, per the sources. TNT will have a full package of regular-season and playoff games outside of the U.S.

This marks the first time Bleacher Report and House of Highlights have had global rights. TNT Sports can use highlights and develop shows at no additional costs, according to the sources.

TNT continues to be the home of the NBA this season, along with ESPN. TNT will also continue to produce “Inside the NBA” after it changes networks, per the sources.

The networks declined comment on the settlement and an NBA spokesperson did not immediately return The Athletic’s messages.

TNT Sports sued the NBA in late July after the league rejected its offer to match the terms of Amazon Prime Video’s offer. Less than a week before the lawsuit’s filing, the league announced its 11-year, $77 billion agreements with ESPN, NBC and Amazon Prime Video that will begin in the 2025-26 season.

Since there are no rights fees, TNT Sports is anticipated to be guaranteed $350 million for marketing support and advertising inventory in the first five years of the 11-year deal, according to sources briefed on the agreement.

TNT’s nine-year contract, which expires after the current NBA season, includes backend rights, that from TNT’s point of view, allowed it to say it wanted to keep the NBA and assume Amazon’s deal. When the agreements were signed a decade ago, streaming was on the horizon, but not part of the deals. NBA commissioner Adam Silver had long stated he planned on bringing in a streamer for a third package.

Amid the uncertain future for NBA coverage on TNT, Barkley said on NBA TV after Game 4 of the NBA Finals in mid-June that he would retire from TV after the 2024-25 season. Barkley said he had spoken with other networks and planned to stay with TNT until he retires.

But less than two months later, TNT and Barkley announced the Hall of Famer would remain with TNT Sports, even after the loss of its NBA deal.

Barkley, 61, will continue on his 10-year, $210 million contract and is in the third season of the deal. He joined “Inside the NBA” in 2000 after a 16-year NBA career. He has worked with Johnson and Smith since coming to the show. O’Neal joined in 2011, rounding out one of the most beloved sports studio shows.

TNT Sports could develop other shows and projects around Barkley, O’Neal, Smith and Johnson following “Inside the NBA” moving to ABC and ESPN, the sources said.

 

[No1]

TNT Sports will receive global rights outside of the United States for “Inside the NBA,” House of Highlights and its parent company, Bleacher Report, per the sources. TNT will have a full package of regular-season and playoff games outside of the U.S.

This marks the first time Bleacher Report and House of Highlights have had global rights. TNT Sports can use highlights and develop shows at no additional costs, according to the sources.

Since there are no rights fees, TNT Sports is anticipated to be guaranteed $350 million for marketing support and advertising inventory in the first five years of the 11-year deal, according to sources briefed on the agreement.

This and ESPN sublicensing them some big 12 games are the only relevant portions. ESPN and TNT basically did a trade and then the NBA said you can use our content globally for highlights and discussion at no cost and the other partners let TNT host a package of games outside of the US in less significant markets in certain Latin American countries and places like Poland.

WB gets some NBA content at relatively no cost and continues to host NBA TV for the next 5 years (before the league or one of the other partners takes over) and the NBA and the other partners get to make this go away at relatively no cost. Nobody wanted to waste money litigating this and have it ongoing as the next season started because if the initial motion to dismiss wasn’t granted then we would be in discovery until a party filed for summary judgment, and if that wasn’t granted then you’re at trial and then an appeal. Just basic litigation considerations. Without being at the conferences this far, it’s hard to tell where the judge was leaning.

It’s worth noting that Amazon was smart enough to get a more explicit clause that they can match any new media going forward.

 

[No1]

Take your L little man... Charter Communications reupped with TNT for the same carriage fee just like I said they would and you were 100% wrong about WBD not having matching rights.

The reason you're not respected is because you came in here trying to pretend like you were in the room and trying to pretend that you've been in rooms where complex television contracts are discussed. Maybe next time you'll stay in your lane.

You actually think that people on here don’t know me and haven’t for years and don’t know my pedigree. No one thinks I took any sort of L - you just don’t understand how attorneys give advice - it’s all in probability and then recommendations based on that and costs (monetary or otherwise). you’re also foolish enough to think that I’m going to crash out to prove anything to you. You’re also arrogant enough to be talking random charter communications shyt that you don’t understand. I’ve tried to be nice because maybe you get some sort of attention here you don’t get in real life so you have to hold on to some image? Articles are summaries, they are not legal treatises nor do they cover the full scope of any negotiations. They are there to allow the average person to have an idea of what’s going on. Charter Communications is literally a former client of my old firm and I know some of those guys, like what the fukk do you be talking about?

Let me make this simple for you: my billable rate was well over 1,000 dollars an hour before I left private practice to do this shyt. You cost your employer 1000 of dollars a day spitting bullshyt in here. Don’t quote me again - before you do - refer to that last sentence and assume it’s my response.

 

[Saysumthinfunnymike]

You actually think that people on here don’t know me and haven’t for years and don’t know my pedigree. No one thinks I took any sort of L - you just don’t understand how attorneys give advice - it’s all in probability and then recommendations based on that and costs (monetary or otherwise). you’re also foolish enough to think that I’m going to crash out to prove anything to you. You’re also arrogant enough to be talking random charter communications shyt that you don’t understand. I’ve tried to be nice because maybe you get some sort of attention here you don’t get in real life so you have to hold on to some image? Articles are summaries, they are not legal treatises nor do they cover the full scope of any negotiations. They are there to allow the average person to have an idea of what’s going on. Charter Communications is literally a former client of my old firm and I know some of those guys, like what the fukk do you be talking about?

Let me make this simple for you: my billable rate was well over 1,000 dollars an hour before I left private practice to do this shyt. You cost your employer 1000 of dollars a day spitting bullshyt in here. Don’t quote me again - before you do - refer to that last sentence and assume it’s my response.

See you already said you were done talking with your last post. If anyone wants attention it's you Plus, nobody tagged you, nobody quoted you... you came in here frazzled and scrambling because you were wrong from the onset.

Sounds like a lot of projection in this post too. Lol @ "costing my employer" ... There's a reason why I can post whatever I want, whenever I want but you're just not intelligent enough to figure that out.

"I had clients at Charter..." Ok, and? They just reupped for the same carriage fee in September with WBD after you said TNT wouldn't get that

Zaslav makes a lot more money than you do. You looked foolish when you came in here talking like you understand the business better than he does.

 

[K-Apps]

Warner Bros. Discovery has settled its matching rights lawsuit against the NBA, sources confirmed Saturday night, with a wide-ranging multiyear agreement that allows ESPN to periodically license TNT’s revered studio show “Inside the NBA," grants Turner valuable NBA IP for free and guarantees the network $350M over the first five years for continuing its digital partnership with the league, including NBA TV.

Although the NBA had previously asked New York Supreme Court Judge Joel Cohen to dismiss the lawsuit in the discovery stage, sources said lawyers for the league and WBD began zeroing in on a settlement over the last week or so. At that time, ESPN/ABC became a third party to discussions, agreeing to license the Atlanta-based “Inside the NBA" on select dates such as Opening Week, Christmas Day, before and after key ABC games in the second half of the season and playoff games, including the NBA Finals. In exchange, ESPN granted Turner the rights to broadcast Big 12 football and men’s basketball games.

The layered multiyear deal that begins next season keeps the “Inside The NBA" talent -- Charles Barkley, Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal -- as full-time TNT employees. On the dates it airs on ESPN, the show will still originate from Atlanta and be fully produced by Turner, which will also maintain complete editorial control. That means the program’s patented banter between Barkley, Smith and O’Neal will not be censored.

In addition, the league has given WBD a global content license over 11 years that will allow Turner to stream NBA highlights (not live, but shortly after live) on Bleacher Report and House of Highlights at no cost. While “Inside the NBA" will no longer air on Turner (only on ESPN), the network can also use that NBA IP to develop new NBA or non-NBA focused talk shows with the same cast of Barkley, Johnson, Smith and O’Neal, as well as highlight-driven NBA shows, NBA documentaries or docuseries.

Atlanta will also continue to be the homebase for NBA TV, NBA.com and the NBA app, in a deal that sources said is worth $70M annually over five years, along with any additional compensation for services provided.

Another tentacle of the settlement grants WBD live game rights outside of U.S. in markets such as the Nordics, Latin America and Poland. WBD platforms in those regions will distribute full game packages believed to consist of 100 regular season games and playoffs, sources familiar with the matter said.

Indications are the deal will be formally announced on Monday, ending an acrimonious past nine months between the NBA and WBD. Turner Sports had been an NBA media partner for 40 years, but sources said the relationship between Commissioner Adam Silver and David Zaslav, the CEO of WBD, soured last year as soon as Zaslav was quoted as saying his company didn’t need the NBA.

NBC, this past summer, subsequently took WBD’s linear-based package with a $2.5B annual bid, and WBD then chose to try to match Amazon’s $1.93B annual streaming bid -- which the NBA denied because Turner is not a streaming service. WBD then filed its lawsuit, which had been slated to go to court in April of 2025, although not anymore.

 

[FakeNews]

"Inside the NBA" is expected to air during key moments on the league's calendar: opening night, Christmas Day, the playoffs and the NBA Finals. It is also likely it will be on during Saturday nights the second half of the season, when ABC has a prime-time package of games.

Reports: 'Inside the NBA' to air on ESPN/ABC

"Inside the NBA" will appear on ESPN and ABC beginning next season as part of a settlement between Warner Bros. Discovery and the NBA, according to multiple reports.

www.espn.com

 

[EzekelRAGE]

"Inside the NBA" is expected to air during key moments on the league's calendar: opening night, Christmas Day, the playoffs and the NBA Finals. It is also likely it will be on during Saturday nights the second half of the season, when ABC has a prime-time package of games.

Reports: 'Inside the NBA' to air on ESPN/ABC

"Inside the NBA" will appear on ESPN and ABC beginning next season as part of a settlement between Warner Bros. Discovery and the NBA, according to multiple reports.

www.espn.com

How does that differ from their current schedule? Were they doing saturdays/xmas before?

 

[In The Zone '98]

How does that differ from their current schedule? Were they doing saturdays/xmas before?

Tues/Thursday

 

[Optimus Prime]

ESPN will have Sunday, Wednesday and Saturday games. It will be interesting see if ESPN will try to get Chuck/Ernie/Kenny to do multiple nights or just that Saturday Prime Time game during the season. Shaq does the Tuesday with the Candice B team so I'm sure we could probably see more of him without them. Either way Ernie/Chuck are not doing every night so you still are going to see Malika and Perk on those nights plus the daily NBA Today show that Silver wants to continue.

I could see SAS and Wilbon on the pre-show for that Saturday game since they are Chuck's buddies especially Wilbon. They might try to make it like NBC Sunday Night Football (and Basketball starting next year) that has atleast 10 people on it.

 

[FAH1223]

"Inside the NBA" is expected to air during key moments on the league's calendar: opening night, Christmas Day, the playoffs and the NBA Finals. It is also likely it will be on during Saturday nights the second half of the season, when ABC has a prime-time package of games.

Reports: 'Inside the NBA' to air on ESPN/ABC

"Inside the NBA" will appear on ESPN and ABC beginning next season as part of a settlement between Warner Bros. Discovery and the NBA, according to multiple reports.

www.espn.com

WBD is getting a huge NBA broadcast package in northern Europe and most of Latin America (except Mexico & Brazil) for 11 years.

That’s the 4th package @K-Apps

 

[FAH1223]

 

[No1]

WBD is getting a huge NBA broadcast package in northern Europe and most of Latin America (except Mexico & Brazil) for 11 years.

That’s the 4th package @K-Apps

I wouldn’t call that package huge. They gave them all of the minor markets. I would say the right to use NBA content is the bigger deal. And they continue to operate NBA TV. It’s also not clear that those rights are exclusive. Basically, ESPN and TNT made a sublicense trade with the Big 12 for the NBA and then TNT gets access to NBA content with no license fee for highlights and can air in Poland, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden and then outside of the largest markets in Latin America for NBA content.


This is a here nikka damn package. It’s still a major loss for TNT because no one will be tuning into TNT or Max for those games outside of Europe or Central America.