Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.
Warner Bros. Discovery and the NBA are set to settle their lawsuit over broadcasting rights. The settlement was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
According to the report, WBD will receive rights to show league content on Bleacher Report and House of Highlights and the opportunity to distribute games in some overseas markets. WBD will get free access to league highlights for the next 11 years.
Over the summer, after the NBA announced it had reached agreements with Disney, NBCUniversal and Amazon on 11-year broadcasting rights agreements, WBD filed suit alleging its expiring contract gave them the right to match one of the offers. The terms of the new agreements the NBA secured are reportedly worth a total of $76 billion.
In a separate deal, Warner Bros. Discovery is expected to license Inside the NBA to ESPN and ABC starting next season. The popular show featuring Ernie Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley will continue to be produced by WBD with the potential for additional versions of the show being made. The hosts would remain employees of WBD.
Additionally, WBD would receive some rights to show Big 12 football and men’s basketball as part of the agreement with Disney. The games are expected to air on TNT and to be streamed by Max.
WBD and TNT Sports had recently worked an agreement with ESPN to air some College Football Playoff games. Additionally, TNT Sports has signed media rights deals with the French Open and Big East basketball to go along with the other sports it carries such as MLB, NHL and wrestling.
