TNT Sports (United States)

Last updated
TNT Sports
FormerlyTBS Sports (1973–1995)
Turner Sports (1995–2022)
Warner Bros. Discovery Sports (2022–2024)
Company type Division
Industry Broadcasting
Genre Sports
PredecessorWarnerMedia News & Sports
Discovery Sports
FoundedApril 6, 1973;51 years ago (1973-04-06)
Headquarters Atlanta, Georgia
Key people
 Luis Silberwasser (Chairman and CEO, TNT Sports) [1] [2]
Andrew Georgiou (President, TNT Sports International)
Brands Golf Digest
Bleacher Report
Services
Parent Turner Broadcasting System (1979–2019)
WarnerMedia News & Sports (2019–2022)
Warner Bros. Discovery (2022–present)
Website wbd.com/tnt-sports/

TNT Sports is the division of Warner Bros. Discovery in the United States that is responsible for sports broadcasts on its parent company's streaming service, Max, and primarily the TruTV, TBS, and TNT cable channels. The division also operates the online digital media outlets for the NCAA, NBA, PGA Tour, and PGA of America; the sports news website Bleacher Report; NBA TV, on behalf of the NBA; and also owns a minority share in the MLB Network.

Contents

TNT Sports' formation dates back to the 1970s as the sports division of Turner Broadcasting System's basic cable networks, with separate TNT Sports and TBS Sports brands for TNT and TBS, respectively. A unified Turner Sports brand was then introduced in 1995, followed by Turner Broadcasting merging into Time Warner in 1996. Following AT&T's acquisition of Time Warner in 2018 (which would become WarnerMedia), Turner Sports was combined with CNN and AT&T SportsNet into a new division known as WarnerMedia News & Sports. [3]

In 2022, Warner Bros. Discovery was formed after AT&T spun off WarnerMedia, who merged with Discovery, Inc.. WarnerMedia News & Sports and Discovery Sports merged with Turner Sports to create Warner Bros. Discovery Sports, although this was just a rename of Turner Sports, which was the surviving company. The division slowly began to adopt its current branding in fall 2023, named after TNT. [4] However, it wasn't until January 18, 2024, that the unit would officially rebrand as TNT Sports. [5] [6]

The company's international sports operations such as BT Sports and Eurosport folded into TNT Sports International, formerly "Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe", until 2025. [7] [8] [9]

History

As TBS Sports/Turner Sports

Former Turner Sports logo Turner Sports logo.svg
Former Turner Sports logo

The division began in April 6, 1973, [10] [11] after Ted Turner (founder of Turner Broadcasting System) added the Atlanta Braves baseball games to his UHF station WJRJ in Atlanta, Georgia. [12] The games aired on Turner Broadcasting System's basic cable networks until Turner bought rights on January 6, 1976. [13] [14] By 1979, Superstation WTBS was available in most homes in North America. [15]

During the 1980s, the division began using separate brands such as TBS Sports and TNT Sports for TBS and TNT, respectively. In 1995, a unified Turner Sports rebranding began to be used, accompanied by an intro and outro sequence featuring the voice of CNN Headline News anchor Don Harrison and music from Edd Kalehoff. In 1996, Turner Sports became a division of Time Warner after it merged with Turner Broadcasting System.

Turner Broadcasting also owned WPCH-TV, the former WTBS, which was the longtime television home for Major League Baseball's Atlanta Braves. The relationship with WPCH ended after the 2013 season, and the station itself was sold in 2017.

In August 2012, Turner Sports acquired the sports news website Bleacher Report for $175 million. [16]

In 2018, Turner Sports launched a subscription streaming service as a branch of Bleacher Report, known as B/R Live; it would be anchored by Turner's recently-acquired rights to the UEFA Champions League, while also featuring content from the NCAA, NBA League Pass, and others. [17]

Following AT&T's acquisition of Time Warner in 2018, it was announced in March 2019 that the Turner Broadcasting System would be dissolved, and its assets dispersed into Warner Bros. and two new units. Turner Sports was combined with CNN and the AT&T SportsNet regional sports networks into a new division known as WarnerMedia News & Sports, led by CNN president Jeff Zucker. [3]

In October 2020, Turner Sports announced a partnership with DraftKings to be the exclusive provider of daily fantasy and sports betting information for most Turner Sports and Bleacher Report properties, excluding the NBA due to its league-wide deal with competitor FanDuel. [18]

As TNT Sports

Warner Bros. Discovery Sports logo WBD-Sports.svg
Warner Bros. Discovery Sports logo

In 2022, Warner Bros. Discovery was formed with the spin-off of WarnerMedia by AT&T, and its merger with Discovery, Inc. Turner Sports was then renamed as Warner Bros. Discovery Sports after its merger with the sports divisions for WarnerMedia and Discovery, with the brand also being used for the division that manages Discovery's existing European and international sports assets such as Eurosport, Golf Digest, and Global Cycling Network. [19]

In January 2024, WBD officially rebranded the entirety of the division as TNT Sports . The brand had already been used for Turner Sports' networks in Latin America, and had also recently been introduced to the United Kingdom as a rebranding of BT Sport (after WBD acquired a controlling stake in the broadcaster). [19]

On February 6, 2024, WBD announced a joint venture with ESPN Inc. and Fox Sports to offer a sports streaming bundle, named Venu Sports, including the three organizations' main linear sports channels and associated media rights, beginning in fall 2024. The service was ultimately cancelled. [20]

On March 7, 2024, WBD announced a new evening and primetime block for TruTV focused on TNT Sports content beginning on March 11. This will include alternate broadcasts of sporting events carried by its sister networks, as well as new studio shows, and sports-related documentaries and films. The division's vice president Luis Silberwasser stated that the block would give TNT Sports a more "consistent" and "comprehensive" presence on its networks. [21] The division sold its majority stake of the Motor Trend Group to Hearst Communications in 2024.

Current properties

Other properties

TNT Sports Interactive properties

Former properties

AT&T SportsNet

Global Cycling Network

Motor Trend Group

Turner South

CNN/SI

TBS

TNT

Turner Sports Interactive

truTV

B/R Live

First-run syndication

Prime Sports

Notable TNT Sports personalities (past and present)

^D denotes deceased.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Mullin, Benjamin; Draper, Kevin (June 9, 2022). "Warner Bros. Discovery Picks Sports Chief to Navigate Streaming Era". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved June 9, 2022.
  2. ↑ Steinberg, Brian (June 9, 2022). "Warner Bros. Discovery Taps Luis Silberwasser as News Sports Chief". Variety. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
  3. 1 2 Feiner, Lauren (March 4, 2019). "Layoffs expected as WarnerMedia reorganizes its leadership team after AT&T acquisition". CNBC. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  4. ↑ "TNT Sports and Cosm Announce Partnership to Deliver Live Sports in "Shared Reality" Immersive Venues". Press.WBD.com (Press release). Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. October 31, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
  5. ↑ "WBD Sports rebranding to TNT Sports for all productions, content". www.sportsbusinessjournal.com. 2024-01-18. Retrieved 2025-02-01.
  6. ↑ Weprin, Alex (2024-01-18). "So Long WBD Sports, Hello TNT Sports". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2025-02-01.
  7. ↑ Clarke, Stewart (2025-01-28). "Eurosport To Be Replaced By TNT In The UK As Warner Bros. Discovery Shakes Up Sports Portfolio". Deadline. Retrieved 2025-01-29.
  8. ↑ Cunningham, Euan (2025-01-28). "No more Eurosport in the UK from late February as channels merged with TNT". Sportcal. Retrieved 2025-01-29.
  9. ↑ "TNT Sports confirms plan to integrate Eurosport live content in UK and Ireland". The Independent. 2025-01-28. Retrieved 2025-01-29.
  10. ↑ "Houston Astros vs Atlanta Braves Box Score: April 6, 1973". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2025-02-03.
  11. ↑ "Box Score for Astros (2) vs Braves (1) on April 6, 1973 at Atlanta Stadium". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved 2025-02-03.
  12. ↑ "Ted Turner at World Series". New Georgia Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2025-01-31.
  13. ↑ "This Week in History: Turner buys the Braves". www.sportsbusinessjournal.com. 2025-01-06. Retrieved 2025-01-31.
  14. ↑ "Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame" . Retrieved 2025-01-31.
  15. ↑ DarrylPalmer4 (2020-04-30). "Braves Throwback Thursday: That time Ted Turner wanted to play home games on the road". Battery Power. Retrieved 2025-01-31.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  16. ↑ Lunden, Ingrid (August 6, 2012). "Update: It's Done. Time Warner Buys Bleacher Report, Price Reportedly $175M". TechCrunch. Retrieved September 18, 2019.
  17. ↑ Spangler, Todd (March 27, 2018). "Turner Sports Unveils 'Bleacher Report Live' Pay-Streaming Service". Variety . Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  18. ↑ Young, Jabari (15 October 2020). "DraftKings strikes another media partnership, this time with AT&T's Turner Sports". CNBC. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  19. 1 2 Weprin, Alex (2024-01-18). "So Long WBD Sports, Hello TNT Sports". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2024-01-18.
  20. ↑ Weprin, Alex (January 10, 2025). "Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox Pull the Plug on Venu Sports Streaming Venture". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
  21. ↑ Steinberg, Brian (2024-03-07). "Warner Bros. Discovery to Overhaul TruTV With Sports; Sets Nightly Block for Games and More (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
  22. ↑ "Turner Sports and Major League Baseball Reach Seven-Year Media Rights Extension Through 2028" (Press release). New York: Warner Bros. Discovery. September 24, 2020. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
  23. ↑ "The NHL Comes to Turner" (Press release). New York: Warner Bros. Discovery.
  24. ↑ Young, Jabari (July 9, 2021). "NHL moving to Turner Sports is $1 billion risk-reward for hockey". CNBC . New York: NBCUniversal.
  25. ↑ "BIG EAST Announces New Media Rights Agreement". Big East Conference . June 27, 2024. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  26. 1 2 Lewis, Jon (2024-11-17). "WSJ: TNT to license "Inside the NBA" to ESPN/ABC". Sports Media Watch. Retrieved 2024-11-17.
  27. ↑ "TNT Sports and Mountain West Reach Multi-Year College Football Agreement Beginning This Season". Mountain West Conference. 1 July 2024.
  28. ↑ Jeyarajah, Shehan (May 22, 2024). "College Football Playoff to feature select games on TNT Sports in sublicense deal with ESPN through 2028". CBS Sports . Retrieved May 22, 2024.
  29. ↑ "Turner, WME-IMG Get in the Esports Game With Own League". AdAge. 23 September 2015.
  30. ↑ Spangler, Todd (September 24, 2015). "Turner, WME/IMG Form E-Sports League, With TBS to Air Live Events". Variety . Los Angeles: Penske Media Corporation . Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  31. ↑ "WarnerMedia signs eight-year deal with U.S. Soccer for men's and women's national team matches". Awful Announcing. 2022-03-01. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
  32. ↑ "Max to Welcome Live Cycling in the US on Feb. 8". TNT Sports (Press release). January 25, 2024. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  33. ↑ Stern, Adam (March 7, 2024). "WBD's TNT Sports lands rights to MotoGP coverage in U.S." Sports Business Journal. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  34. ↑ White, Peter (2024-03-19). "MMA Championship Bellator Moves From Showtime To Max". Deadline. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  35. ↑ Steinberg, Brian (2024-06-07). "Warner Bros. Discovery Snares U.S. Rights to French Open (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2024-06-07.
  36. ↑ Marchand, Andrew. "French Open, TNT Sports agree to 10-year, $650 million deal". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2024-06-07.
  37. ↑ Lewis, Jon (2024-10-16). "TNT Sports acquires new "Unrivaled" 3x3 women's hoops league". Sports Media Watch. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  38. ↑ "CBS Sports, Turner Broadcasting, NCAA Reach 14-Year Agreement". NCAA (Press release). Indianapolis: Warner Bros. Discovery Sports. April 21, 2010. Archived from the original on November 9, 2013. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  39. ↑ "Turner wins NCAA digital rights". ESPN. Associated Press. September 21, 2010. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  40. ↑ Russ, Hilary (February 7, 2019). "Turner Sports inks deal with Caesars for Bleacher Report betting..." Reuters . Atlanta . Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  41. ↑ "Mariners to take full control of ROOT Sports NW, clouding team's financial outlook". The Seattle Times. 2023-12-15. Retrieved 2023-12-21.
  42. ↑ "GCN+ and GCN App to close". Global Cycling Network. Retrieved 2024-02-12.
  43. ↑ Spangler, Todd (2024-02-23). "MotorTrend+ Streaming Service Will Shut Down, With Most Subscribers to Be Migrated to Discovery+". Variety. Retrieved 2024-02-24.
  44. ↑ "Turner Sports Reaches Multi-Year Agreement to Present NCAA National Collegiate Beach Volleyball Championship". NCAA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. 26 April 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  45. ↑ "Turner Sports Reaches Multi-Year Agreement to Present NCAA National Collegiate Beach Volleyball Championship". Turner Sports. 26 April 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  46. 1 2 Ourand, John (February 24, 2017). "Turner's Soccer Shocker". SportsBusinessDaily.com. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  47. ↑ "Turner Sports Acquires NASCAR's Internet Rights; NASCAR Online to be Produced by Turner Sports". WarnerMedia. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
  48. ↑ "Turner Sports New Media, PGA Tour Ink Multi-Year Web Deal". www.sportsbusinessdaily.com. September 12, 2006. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
  49. ↑ "Report: Turner secures US streaming rights for SPL". SportsPro. Retrieved 2018-07-31.
  50. ↑ "Where to find soccer leagues and competitions on US TV and streaming".
  51. ↑ Bupp, Phillip (July 31, 2018). "Turner Sports to broadcast 46 Champions League matches on TNT, offer B/R Live subscription on per match basis". AwfulAnnouncing.com. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  52. ↑ "Legendary Hall of Fame Broadcaster Marv Albert Announces His Retirement Following TNT's Coverage of 2021 NBA Eastern Conference Finals". pressroom.warnermedia.com. WarnerMedia. May 17, 2021. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  53. ↑ Bieler, Des (January 27, 2022). "Warriors' Draymond Green signs deal with Turner Sports while still active in NBA". The Washington Post . Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  54. ↑ "Ernie Johnson bio". www.turner.com. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
  55. ↑ "Shaquille O'Neal and Turner Sports reach multi-year extension". NBA.com. August 24, 2020. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  56. ↑ "Catch up with Turner Sports rising star Roslyn Gold-Onwude". TheShadowLeague.com. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
  57. ↑ "Candace Parker & Turner Sports Reach Multi-Year Extension". pressroom.warnermedia.com. WarnerMedia. September 9, 2019. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  58. ↑ "Dwyane Wade signs deal to be NBA analyst for TNT". ESPN. Retrieved October 22, 2019.


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