Amazon's media rights for the NBA are being challenged by Warner Bros. Discovery in a lawsuit.

• The NBA is being sued by Warner Bros. Discovery to continue distributing its games.
• The NBA has partnered with Warner Bros. Discovery to use matching rights on a package of games intended for Amazon Prime Video.
• On Wednesday, the NBA wrote to Warner Bros. Discovery stating that it does not believe the company has the right to stream NBA games under its current package.

The National Basketball Association was sued on Friday in an attempt to preserve its live game broadcast rights.

"Our TNT Sports unit has taken legal action to enforce our rights after the NBA rejected our matching of a third-party offer. We strongly believe that this is not only our contractual right but also in the best interest of fans who want to continue watching our industry-leading NBA content with the choice and flexibility we offer through our widely distributed WBD video-first distribution platforms, including TNT and Max."

The NBA announced on Wednesday that it had reached agreements with NBCUniversal and Turner Sports for three different packages of games, ending its nearly 40-year relationship with Warner Bros. Discovery. The 11-year media rights deal is worth approximately $77 billion, a massive increase over the previous agreement as the value of live sports continues to soar.

Earlier this week, Warner Bros. Discovery submitted paperwork to the league to match one of the packages, which sources identified as the $1.8 billion-per-year group of games earmarked for Amazon. The tech giant's deal includes regular-season games, the in-season tournament, and some playoff games. The NBA granted Warner Bros. Discovery matching rights when it signed its previous media deal in 2014. The provision is intended to give an incumbent company the right of last refusal to maintain its position as a media partner.

The NBA has declared Warner Bros. Discovery's matching rights for the Amazon package to be invalid. While Warner Bros. Discovery's offer includes airing the NBA games on TNT and simulcasting them on Max, this is not an equivalent comparison to Amazon Prime Video, which is a streaming-only service.

The NBA rejected Warner Bros. Discovery's offer on Wednesday, citing the contractual language of the 2014 matching rights as its reason.

The NBA referenced the clause stating that if an incumbent matches a third party offer that allows for the exercise of game rights through a specific form of combined audio and video distribution, the incumbent has the right and obligation to exercise such game rights only through that specified form of combined audio and video distribution. The league emphasized this language in a letter to TNT Sports Chairman and CEO Luis Silberwasser, according to sources.

The matching rights agreement of Warner Bros. Discovery is five pages long, and the company is confident in its case, sources said.

The NBA's partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery is worth $1.8 billion per year, but the company did not want to match NBCUniversal's offer of $2.5 billion per year, according to sources. Owning valuable programming, such as live sports rights, can help media companies increase their affiliate fees with pay TV operators.

The value of NBA rights to Warner Bros. Discovery's cable TV business lies in its ability to attract and retain subscribers amidst the decline in traditional pay TV subscriptions due to the rise of streaming services.