According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, ESPN has reached an agreement to sublicense Big 12 football and basketball games to TNT. This unexpected partnership is part of a broader settlement between Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), TNT’s parent company, and the NBA.
This deal marks a significant expansion of TNT’s sports programming, filling the void left by the network’s loss of exclusive NBA broadcasting rights. It also strengthens ESPN’s position in the college sports arena, allowing them to further leverage their extensive media rights portfolio.
TNT Expands into College Sports
With the addition of Big 12 games, TNT is making a concerted effort to diversify its sports offerings. This move complements the network’s recent acquisition of sublicensing rights for the College Football Playoff (CFP), which will see TNT airing first-round CFP games produced by ESPN.
This comes as TNT also reached a deal recently with the Mountain West Conference to air its sporting events.
A Win-Win for Both Networks
This partnership appears to be mutually beneficial. ESPN gets to keep its NBA rights and TNT is able to lean more heavily into sports as many networks try to expand their sports lineup to keep viewers.
A Shifting Media Landscape
This agreement highlights the evolving dynamics of sports media rights and the increasing prevalence of sublicensing deals. As competition for viewers intensifies. Increasingly, sports is one of the new things Americans still watch on traditional cable networks, increasing the importance of these deals to networks.