TNT Sports, Big East Conference Strike 6-Year Deal for Regular Season College Basketball Games
TNT Sports struck a new six-year media rights agreement for the Big East Conference that will see the network, TBS, TruTV and Max air over 65 regular season college basketball games, starting with the 2025-26 season, the network announced on Thursday.
The pact includes more than 50 men’s college basketball regular season games each season, with at least 30 conference games and a minimum of 20 non-conference games, and at least 15 women’s college basketball regular season games each season.
All live games will be available on Max and in-depth highlights and ancillary content will be available across all platforms, including Bleacher Report, House of Highlights, and more.
“Big East basketball has historically delivered some of the most thrilling teams and moments in college sports, including its most recent accomplishments, and we are excited to showcase the conference and its fantastic men’s and women’s college basketball programs on all of our TNT Sports platforms,” TNT Sports chairman and CEO Luis Silberwasser said in a statement.
“This agreement further adds to TNT Sports’ portfolio of premium live sports content, featuring championship-caliber college basketball programs and student athletes, and we will utilize all of our assets to elevate the fan experience.”
In addition to the latest agreement, TNT’s season-long college basketball coverage includes the Hall of Fame Las Vegas season tip-off event, the Invesco QQQ Legacy Classic in-season HBCU showcase, and exclusive coverage of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship across TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV, which is co-produced with CBS Sports. TNT Sports has also added NHL, CFP, NASCAR, Roland-Garros and U.S Soccer coverage in recent years.
Additional information about TNT Sports’ coverage of Big East Conference men’s and women’s basketball will be announced in the lead up to the inaugural season.
In addition to Warner, Fox Sports, whose current agreement with the Big East Conference is set to expire in the 2024-25 academic year, will continue to serve as its lead network provider, featuring at least 80 men’s and women’s basketball contests across the regular and postseason beginning in 2025-26. It will also remain the home of the Big East Men’s Tournament Final through 2031.
NBC Sports and Peacock will also offer more than 60 men’s and women’s regular season and Big East Tournament games beginning with the 2025-26 season. The streamer will also launch coverage of men’s basketball in 2024-25 with a package of 25 regular season games and five early round and quarterfinal conference tournament games.
The college basketball deal comes as Warner Bros. Discovery is in danger of losing the NBA, which could potentially result in a $270 million per year drop in ad revenue and 45% decline in affiliate fees for the company, Citigroup previously estimated. Negotiations are ongoing, but NBC, Amazon and Disney are reportedly close to a deal for NBA rights that would ice out WBD, which has traditionally carried many games on its cable channels.
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