Warner Bros Discovery has reached a settlement with the NBA, resolving a legal dispute over TV rights and securing an 11-year agreement to retain its presence in professional basketball, albeit with reduced domestic broadcasting privileges. The new deal allows Warner Bros Discovery to feature NBA content on its Bleacher Report and House of Highlights platforms and distribute games in Northern Europe and parts of Latin America, excluding Brazil and Mexico.
The dispute arose after the NBA awarded its next US television rights to Disney’s ESPN, NBCUniversal, and Amazon, effectively sidelining Warner from its decades-long partnership for domestic game broadcasts. The settlement brings an end to the legal case Warner filed in July, in which it argued for a contractual right to match any competing offers for game packages. Without this agreement, the case could have extended well into the next NBA season.
Under the terms of the deal, Warner Bros. Discovery will license its popular “Inside the NBA” studio show to ESPN and ABC starting in the 2025–26 season. While the show will no longer air exclusively on Warner’s TNT network, it will remain produced by the company and continue to feature hosts Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith, and Ernie Johnson Jr. Key episodes, such as those for the playoffs, Christmas Day games, and the NBA Finals, will now reach broader audiences across multiple platforms.
Warner will also gain rights to air Big 12 football and men’s basketball through a sublicense with ESPN, bolstering its live sports offerings. Additionally, Warner retains control over the NBA’s digital operations, including NBA.com, continuing a relationship that has spanned over three decades.
Despite these gains, the deal signals a shift in Warner’s basketball footprint, as the company will lose the rights to air NBA games on TNT after the upcoming season. This marks a significant change for Warner, which has relied heavily on the NBA to drive viewership and ad sales for its cable network. In 2023, all of TNT’s top broadcasts were NBA games, underscoring their critical role in the channel’s success.
Warner Bros Discovery has faced mounting financial challenges, including a US$9.1bn write-down of its TV assets in August, attributed partly to the anticipated loss of NBA broadcasts. Industry insiders estimate the new agreement, with its focus on international rights and digital highlights, could generate up to US$100m in profits during its first five years.