Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) doesn’t necessarily need the rights to the National Basketball Association (NBA) as it contends with rising content costs and a sluggish advertising market, according to the media giant’s CEO David Zaslav.
Turner Sports’ current NBA deal is set to expire at the end of the 2024/25 season.
WBD is keen to extend and expand its relationship to include not just live matches for TNT, but also for a streaming platform that will combine with HBO Max and Discovery+.
Zaslav added that WBD’s next deal for the NBA if there is one, has to be for the future and “can’t be a deal for the past.”
Zaslav noted that WBD could make HBO Max the NBA’s direct-to-consumer streaming partner.
He continued by saying the company currently has “favorable deals” on the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, the NHL, and the MLB playoffs.
Professional basketball has been a cornerstone of Turner Sports’ programming for nearly 30 years.
