After Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) announced it came to an agreement to end its dispute with the NBA regarding their recent contract renewal, BofA argues that “this appears to be as positive of an outcome as investors could have hoped for.” Warner does not have to absorb the significant step up in rights fees that would have been required to maintain carriage, is retaining global rights for House of Highlights/Bleacher Report, maintains branding and advertising associated with the programming they keep and is receiving compensation from Disney (DIS) to produce Inside the NBA, the analyst noted. While still early and a looming renewal with Comcast (CMCSA) still remains, the financial impact for Warner losing the NBA “appears to be tracking much better than expected,” added BofA, which reiterates a Buy rating and $12 price target on Warner Bros. shares.
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