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Zaz Goes Full ‘Matching Rights’

Unsurprisingly, Warner Bros Discovery C.E.O. David Zaslav has had his lawyers and dealmakers attempt to match Amazon’s $1.8 billion ‘C’ package bid for NBA rights—even if the league appears eager to jettison cable for streaming.

david zaslav
It’s clear that the NBA would rather be in business with Amazon, but league executives will pore over the contract to see if WBD has a legitimate claim with its matching rights. Photo: Roy Rochlin/Getty Images
John Ourand
July 23, 2024

Earlier this afternoon, representatives from Warner Bros. Discovery told NBA executives that they would—on the fifth and final day of their matching rights window—indeed be tendering an offer to match Amazon’s $1.8 billion bid for the NBA’s “C” package. I don’t want to equate this endless NBA rights auction with the very significant events currently reshaping our politics and this election cycle, but I will just point out a few facile and obvious similarities here: The seemingly interminable NBA rights auction has also, between fits of tedium and unprecedented surprise, been shaped by the disparity between public and private conversations, and colored by complex rivalry and personal relationships.