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Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) filed a lawsuit against the NBA on Friday in an attempt to keep the leagues games on its cable networks and streaming platforms.
The media giant filed the lawsuit in the New York Supreme Court after the NBA rejected its offer to match a deal the league made with WBD’s streaming rivals, Variety reports.
WBD has partnered with the NBA over the past three decades broadcasting the league’s games on its TNT cable network. However, on Wednesday the NBA announced new partnerships with Amazon, Disney and NBCUniversal, allowing them to stream and broadcast certain NBA games starting in 2026.
WBD said in court documents that its current agreement with the league gives it the right to match any offers from third parties for future NBA telecast rights and that the NBA breached their agreement by rejecting their offer.
“Given the NBA’s unjustified rejection of our matching of a third-party offer, we have taken legal action to enforce our rights,” Warner said in a statement to Variety. “We strongly believe this is not just our contractual right, but also in the best interest of fans who want to keep watching our industry-leading NBA content with the choice and flexibility we offer them through our widely distributed WBD video-first distribution platforms – including TNT and Max.”
Losing the rights to NBA games would be a major blow to WBD, which is already struggling with its television networks.
WBD CEO David Zaslav is reportedly looking into a number of strategies to boost the company’s share price, including separating its streaming and studio assets from its cable network business.
Despite operating one of the few profitable streaming platforms, Warner Bros. Discovery has been dragged down by its struggling linear TV assets. The company’s stock has plummeted 70% since the merger that created it in 2022.