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The Athletic (which is a great publication by the way) is reporting that while the contract is not finalized yet, The NBA and Amazon Prime Video have basically agreed to a deal where the streamer will acquire the rights to a package that "will include significant regular-season and postseason games, perhaps even some conference finals. The anticipation is that the final contract will be for at least a decade and begin the 2025-2026 season." In essence, the package that Warner Brothers Discovery currently has on TNT.
The story noted that the framework for a deal is already in place with Disney (ABC/ESPN) that will largely renew their current contract and keep the NBA Finals on the Disney platform. The contract is also expected to be at least a decade in length.
So where does that leave WBD?
As the story states: "The advancement in the Amazon and ESPN talks leaves incumbent Warner Bros. Discovery, which owns network TNT Sports, to face off with NBC, owned by Comcast, for the likely last package of games. Warner Bros. Discovery has the right to match deals, but NBC could structure an agreement in a way that makes it difficult."
It's no secret that WBD has had some cost cutting issues since the merger and outbidding Comcast won't be easy.
What that means to AEW, I can't say. It could make them more important to WBD, or it could be the opposite and they could go into serious frugal mode. Time will tell.
Thanks to Clint Novak and Jeff W. for their help.
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