NBA selects Amazon for streaming package, bypassing Warner Bros. Discovery

Boston Celtics forwards Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown celebrate during a game-three win over the Dallas Mavericks in the 2024 NBA Finals. Future games might be shown on Amazon when the 2026 NBA season begins. File Photo by Adam Davis/EPA-EFE.

July 24 (UPI) — The National Basketball Association announced Wednesday that Warner Bros. Discovery does not have legal matching rights for a new media agreement with Amazon Prime Video.

The NBA has signed an 11-year deal valued at approximately $77 billion, making Amazon Prime Video its third streaming partner, alongside NBCUniversal Media and Disney.

These three streaming platforms are expected to start broadcasting NBA games at the commencement of the 2026 season.

“Warner Bros. Discovery’s latest proposal did not match the terms offered by Amazon Prime Video,” the NBA said in a statement Wednesday. “We have entered into a long-term arrangement with Amazon.”

Warner Bros. Discovery’s existing media deal ends after the 2025 NBA season. This deal includes a clause allowing them to match any payment offer for games that air on TNT.

Although Warner Bros. Discovery attempted to match Amazon’s offer on Monday, the NBA clarified that Warner’s proposal did not cover all-streaming packages to broadcast future NBA games.

Warner Bros. Discovery also owns the streaming platform Max, which airs TNT games on Max instead of exclusively on the streaming platform. Amazon Prime Video, on the other hand, will stream the games exclusively without a broadcast partner.

The NBA mentioned that Warner’s media partner contract with the professional basketball league permits matching offers only for specific types of audio and video distribution.

Amazon Prime Video operates solely as a streaming platform, whereas Warner Bros. Discovery offers both over-the-air and cable broadcasting for the NBA games it shows on TNT and Max.

Since Warner Bros. Discovery uses both television distribution and streaming, it cannot match the deal proposed by Amazon Prime Video, which is exclusively a streaming service.