Warner Bros. Discovery has reached a settlement with the NBA, resolving a legal dispute over television rights and securing an 11-year deal that reduces domestic broadcast rights but maintains its presence in professional basketball. The new deal allows Warner Bros. Discovery to feature NBA content on its Bleacher Report and House of Highlights platforms and distribute games in parts of Northern Europe and Latin America, excluding Brazil and Mexico. It becomes like this.

The controversy comes after the NBA awarded upcoming U.S. television rights to Disney-owned ESPN, NBCUniversal and Amazon, effectively cutting Warner out of a decades-long partnership in broadcasting domestic games. The settlement ends a lawsuit Warner filed in July alleging contractual rights to match competing offers for game packages. Without the agreement, the lawsuit could have been extended into the next NBA season.

Under the terms of the deal, Warner Bros. Discovery will license the studio’s popular show “Inside the NBA” to ESPN and ABC beginning in the 2025-26 season. Although the show will no longer air exclusively on Warner’s TNT Network, it will still be produced by the company and hosts Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson Jr. will still appear. Major episodes such as the playoffs will continue to air. , Christmas Day games, and the NBA Finals will now reach a wider audience on multiple platforms.

Warner also acquired the rights to broadcast Big 12 football and men’s basketball through a sublicense with ESPN, increasing its live sports coverage. Additionally, Warner retains control of the NBA’s digital operations, including NBA.com, continuing a relationship spanning more than 30 years.

Despite these benefits, the deal signals a shift in Warner’s basketball influence, as he will lose the rights to broadcast NBA games on TNT after next season. This is a big 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 are NBA games, highlighting TNT’s critical role in the channel’s success.

Warner Bros. Discovery faces mounting financial challenges, including a $9.1 billion write-down on television assets in August, due in part to expected losses from NBA broadcasts. Industry insiders estimate that the new agreement, which focuses on international rights and digital highlights, could generate profits of up to US$100 million in the first five years.