There are changes coming regarding the future broadcast rights for Utah Jazz games, according to reports from The Wall Street Journal and Sports Business Journal.
SBJ’s John Ourand reported Friday afternoon that Warner Bros. Discovery intends to leave the regional sports network business, a decision that will impact the Jazz’s primary broadcast partner, AT&T SportsNet.
The Jazz’s final 21 games in the regular season are scheduled to be broadcast on AT&T SportsNet.
Warner Bros. Discovery operates three AT&T SportsNet channels that serve the Rocky Mountain, Southwest and Pittsburgh regions. It also holds a minority stake in the Root Sports channel in Seattle, according to Ourand.
Warner Bros. Discovery told the 10 professional sports teams impacted by this decision via letter that it will cease operation of these networks, and that they have until March 31 to reach an agreement to take their broadcasting rights back, Ourand reported.
In that letter, Warner Bros. Discovery made a proposal that AT&T SportsNet would transfer ownership of the networks and programming rights to the sports teams “for no purchase price consideration beyond a release by the teams of any future claims against the networks,” according to The Wall Street Journal.
Chapter 7 bankruptcy may become an option if the networks fail to reach deals with these teams, Ourand reported, while a source told The Hollywood Reporter that a deal may be possible, saying “we have been having productive conversations with WB Discovery about the future of their four RSNs.”
The AT&T Sports Rocky Mountain network serves as the broadcast home for the Jazz, Major League Baseball’s Colorado Rockies and the NHL’s Las Vegas Golden Knights.
“AT&T SportsNet is not immune to the well-known challenges that the entire RSN industry is facing. We will continue to engage in private conversations with our partners as we seek to identify reasonable and constructive solutions,” Warner Bros. Discovery said in a statement provided to Sports Business Journal.
In addition to the three teams impacted in the Rocky Mountain region, this decision also impacts two other NBA teams (the Houston Rockets and Portland Trail Blazers), three other MLB teams (the Houston Astros, Seattle Mariners and Pittsburgh Pirates) and two other NHL teams (the Seattle Kraken and Pittsburgh Penguins).
Ourand reported that Warner Bros. Discovery will allow teams to use their same production staff and equipment to continue producing games — a critically important allowance for the three NBA teams affected, with the regular season running through April 9.
“With (Warner Bros. Discovery) trying to extend its NBA package past 2024-25 — as competitors like Amazon, Apple and NBC are emerging — it’s important for WBD to not ruffle feathers in the league office as it disentangles its interest in the (regional sports networks),” Ourand wrote.
“Its RSNs hold the rights to three NBA teams — the Blazers, Jazz and Rockets — and it’s too early to determine how this move will affect them.”