The NBA rights are currently being negotiated by Warner Bros. Discovery, with the league seeking media deals worth over $76 billion. If the company were to lose these rights, it is estimated that they could face significant losses in ad revenue, with a potential decline of 45% in affiliate fees for their TNT subsidiary. According to Citigroup analyst Jason Bazinet, this could result in an annual loss of approximately $270 million.
Despite these potential losses, Venu Sports, the new streaming venture launched by Warner Bros. Discovery in partnership with Disney and Fox, may be impacted to a lesser extent. This is because the platform has the flexibility to fill programming gaps with other sports content.
Sources close to the venture have stated that the outcome of the NBA negotiations will not affect the launch of Venu Sports. The offering is currently set to launch in fall pending regulatory approval and final agreements with all parties involved.
