Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) filed a 33-page memorandum on September 20th in an effort to persuade New York Judge Joel M. Cohen to reject the NBA’s motion to dismiss their breach of contract lawsuit.
The lawsuit revolves around WBD’s claim that the NBA failed to honor its matching rights when negotiating its media rights deal with Amazon. WBD argues that it met the terms of Amazon’s offer but was still excluded from the deal.
The memorandum, signed by attorney David L. Yohai and other lawyers from Weil, Gotshal & Manges, and Hausfeld, asserts that dismissing the case prematurely would be inappropriate given the significant financial stakes, potentially involving billions of dollars.
WBD emphasizes that the case should proceed beyond the dismissal stage so that both sides can present evidence and offer sworn testimony during discovery.
This would allow a thorough examination of whether the NBA intentionally undermined WBD’s matching rights or acted in bad faith during the negotiations.
Central to WBD’s argument is the contention that there remains a dispute over the interpretation of the matching rights clause and the NBA’s conduct.
The company believes these issues merit closer scrutiny, particularly in light of the possibility that the NBA sought to sidestep its contractual obligations to WBD and TBS.
Should the case advance, court filings suggest a trial could take place in April 2025. Meanwhile, WBD’s TNT network is set to continue broadcasting NBA games throughout the 2024-25 season.
The outcome of this lawsuit could have major implications for future media rights deals between sports leagues and broadcasters.
WBD Files Memo Asking Judge To Deny NBA's Motion To Dismiss Suit, Trial Could Be Held In April 2025 https://t.co/ZxZBe3yeps
— RealGM (@RealGM) September 23, 2024
