Warner Bros Discovery, NBA settle legal battle over broadcast rights, WSJ reports

Warner Bros Discovery has settled its breach of contract lawsuit against the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The agreement will keep the media company in business with the league for the next decade, the report said, adding that the deal is set to be announced early next week.

Warner Bros Discovery and the NBA did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment outside business hours.

The settlement will give Warner Bros Discovery rights over a significant amount of NBA content domestically and abroad, and the league will avoid a prolonged legal battle in court, the WSJ report added.

Separately, Warner Bros Discovery struck a deal with Disney to license its Emmy-winning “Inside the NBA” show to ESPN and ABC starting next season, the report said.

The media company and its sports division, Turner Broadcasting System, filed a lawsuit against the NBA in July after the league had awarded Disney’s ESPN, Comcast-owned NBCUniversal and Amazon.com rights to carry NBA games in an 11-year deal valued at $77 billion.

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Warner Bros Discovery said the NBA’s refusal to honor its right to match offers from a third party violated its agreement with Turner.