Warner Bros. Discovery has a 10-year, $650 million deal to host the French Open in the United States starting in 2025, according to executives briefed on the deal. Athletic.
The move comes as WBD, home of TNT Sports, is in the midst of negotiations with the NBA to retain some of the rights to the game. TNT Sports executives have said they will pursue outside rights whether or not they retain the NBA.
The French Open agreement with TNT Sports was first reported by Variety. A TNT Sports spokesman declined to comment.
NBC has broadcast the British Open for many years, currently in partnership with the Tennis Channel. NBC’s current 12-year contract averages $12 million per year, according to a source briefed on the deal.
TNT Sports operates the Eurosport pay-TV network and already owns the European rights to the French Open, while in the United States from next year the event will be shown on Warner Bros. Discovery cable networks and Max with Bleacher Report and will act as the digital hub.
TNT Sports recently inked a deal with ESPN to sublicense College Football Playoff first-round and quarterfinal games for the next five years.
While the NBA has been the company’s crown jewel property for decades, TNT Sports also carries the NCAA Tournament, MLB playoffs, NHL postseason and NASCAR.
Meanwhile, executives at the NBA and TNT Sports have been in contact. Athletic As first reported in April, the league has a framework agreement with new partner Amazon Prime Video worth $1.8 billion per year, ESPN has also offered $2.6 billion per season, and NBC is willing to pay $2.5 billion.
The NBA and TNT Sports have been in contact. TNT Sports chairman David Zaslav has said publicly that he may exercise matching rights to try to retain the NBA. On Thursday, Commissioner Adam Silver called the issue “complex.” The NBA would prefer three partners, but it could try to avoid legal conflicts by bundling all the deals together, with separate regular-season packages and smaller playoff offers.
Either way, Zaslav and TNT Sports chairman Louis Silberwasser are sticking with the deal to add diversity to U.S. programming.
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