NBA Nears $76 Billion TV Deal, a Defining Moment for Media and Sports

The National Basketball Association entered its first TV negotiations in a decade with a problem: Its main business partners seemed to be on shaky footing.

TNT parent Warner Bros. Discovery WBD 0.48%increase; green up pointing triangle was saddled with more than $40 billion in debt, while ESPN parent Disney DIS -0.29%decrease; red down pointing triangle was battling a Wall Street activist over its slumping stock. Each company was reluctant to pony up the full premium the league wanted. But the NBA had quietly laid the groundwork with two other potential partners, Amazon AMZN 2.05%increase; green up pointing triangle and NBC, which pounced as soon as they got the chance.

Source: WSJ