Warner eyes NBA for HBO Max

WarnerMedia is eyeing a deal to bring the NBA to its streaming service HBO Max.

Speaking at the SportsPro OTT Summit USA, via SportTechie, the company’s VP of emerging media and innovation Peter Scott said that “there’s no question” that “it might be a destination down the road to put NBA games on HBO Max.”

He said that this kind of distribution model would be based on “the cable operators [being] cool with us doing that.”

WarnerMedia subsidiary Turner Sports currently has a deal in place to broadcast the NBA until the end of the 2024-25 season.

The streamer last week signed its first US sports deal, securing the rights to air US national team soccer. Away from the US, the streamer broadcasts the UEFA Champions League and NHL.

Scott said that the company has ambitions to expand its sports portfolio for HBO Max, adding “There may be a scenario where we go back to our partners with the cable operators and say ‘Hey, do you mind if we put this on HBO Max?’”