With a deadline approaching, TNT announced on Monday that it has submitted a matching offer to retain its NBA broadcast rights and its intent to continue producing beloved studio show “Inside the NBA.”
The NBA has not responded. The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand reports that TNT is matching the new 11-year, $1.8 billion annual contract the NBA has with Amazon, a deal that the NBA prefers to honor, according to the report. The league is expected to decline TNT’s offer to claim the rights to the Amazon package, setting up a potential showdown among the three entities, per the report.
TNT announced its offer in a statement that vowed to continue producing “our iconic studio shows.” It did not mention Amazon in the statement.
“We have reviewed the offers and matched one of them,” the statement reads. “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.
“Our matching paper work was submitted to the league today. We look forward to the NBA executing our new contract.”
TNT has held NBA broadcast rights for 35 years. ESPN, NBC and Amazon all reached deals with the NBA for the next round of broadcast rights starting with the 2025-26 season. Under the leadership of parent company Warner Bros. Discovery and CEO David Zaslav, TNT did not reach a new deal during an exclusive negotiating window, but retained the right to match offers from competing entities, which it enacted on Monday.
Per Marchand, Monday’s match by TNT could lead to multiple results. The NBA and TNT could potentially reach a deal to keep the league on the network, or they could reach a settlement that could make the network go away, per the report. Failing to reach an agreement either way could then lead to a battle in court.
With TNT reportedly targeting Amazon’s deal, the path is cleared for NBC’s return to NBA coverage. NBC previously carried NBA games from 1990-2002. ESPN and ABC will retain the league’s primary package that includes NBA Finals coverage.
Amazon’s agreed-upon package with the NBA doesn’t directly mirror TNT’s existing package. TNT currently carries games on Tuesday and Thursday nights during the regular season, All-Star weekend and playoff games through the Western Conference finals.
Amazon’s deal includes the rights to six conference finals over the 11-year life of the deal, the NBA Cup (formerly the in-season tournament), play-in games and Thursday games during the regular season at the conclusion of the streamer’s Thursday night NFL coverage.
The NBA’s current broadcast deals run through next season, meaning that TNT will continue to carry the league’s games through the 2025 Western Conference finals. Beyond then, the fate of the network’s NBA coverage and “Inside the NBA” remains unclear.
Hosted by Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal, “Inside the NBA” is synonymous with the league and esteemed by players and fans alike. Johnson has reportedly said that the he won’t leave TNT if the network loses NBA rights. Barkley’s stance has been a moving target. He’s suggested that his own production company could take over the show and vowed to retire from broadcasting at the end of next season.