TNT threatening to match NBC & Amazon offers as NBA inches closer to finalizing $76 billion media rights deal: Report
According to reports, TNT may still be in the NBA's media rights race despite reports of the league finalizing a new $76 billion media rights deal. Inside the NBA bid farewell to fans prior to the start of the NBA Finals, as it looked as though the four-some of Shaquille O'Neal, Charles Barkley, Kenny 'The Jet' Smith and Ernie Johnson were preparing to head into their last season together.
But according to a report from The Athletic, while the NBA has finalized new deals with NBC, and Amazon Prime, and plans to continue their deal with ESPN, TNT Sports still has the opportunity to match.
Of course, the big question is whether or not TNT Sports' parent company, Warner Brothers-Disovery, will shell out the money to match one of the deals. According to a report from Andrew Marchand of The Athletic, if the company does decide to match, the belief is that they will look to match Amazon's offer.
According to the report, both the NBA and TNT Sports have declined to comment on the situation, leaving fans to speculate on their own. The news seems to have been well-received by fans, however, with many continuing to hold out hope that Inside the NBA group will continue beyond next season.
Looking further at the NBA's potential deal with TNT Sports following latest reports of the network matching Amazon's offer
According to The Athletic, TNT Sports is on a deadline as they mull over their options. With Olympic basketball set to begin on Jul. 27, the belief is that the league will announce their new media rights deal before action tips off.
Given that, TNT will have just over two weeks to figure out whether or not they're going to match an offer, and if so, which offer they're going to match. According to previous reports, Amazon is reportedly set to pay $1.8 billion per year to broadcast NBA games starting next season.
The deal between Amazon and the NBA would reportedly see the company's Prime Video streaming platform become the home of the NBA's In-Season Tournament, while also turning over coverage of one of the two Conference Finals to the network.
In addition, The Athletic is reporting that ESPN is set to pay $2.6 billion to retain their rights, which would see ABC/ESPN remain the home of the NBA Finals. Similarly, NBC is expected to pay $2.5 billion to get in on the action.
Given that Amazon's deal with the NBA appears to be the cheapest, it seems likely that Warner Bros. Discovery will look to match their deal as opposed to others if they decide to exercise their right to match.
With just over two weeks to go until the Olympics and the NBA's $76 billion media rights deal nearly finalized, it will be interesting to see how things play out.