TNT Sports is getting into the women’s basketball business, signing a multi-year rights deal with Unrivaled, a new women’s 3-on-3 basketball league. TNT’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, also has a stake in the league, providing capital.
The deal was brokered by former ESPN president John Skipper and former Turner chief David Levy, and Unrivaled games will be broadcast on TNT on Mondays and Fridays and on TruTV on Saturdays starting January 17. It turns out. All games will also be streamed on the Max streaming service.
Unrivaled is one of the most vibrant startup sports leagues on the market thanks to the boom in women’s sports and boasts a roster of WNBA All-Stars, including co-founders Brianna Stewart and Nafeesa Collier. There is a fact. All players also receive rights in the league.
The deal means the company will continue to stream live basketball for the foreseeable future, regardless of the outcome of Warner Bros. Discovery’s lawsuit against the NBA.
“Their basketball history is second to none,” Unrivaled President Alex Buzzell said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, adding that the deal provides “long-term financial stability” for the league. .
“Media rights are the ultimate goal of all leagues, not just emerging leagues, and that’s where they end up paying the most,” he added.
And Unrivaled benefited from the fact that TNT Sports has sought out every sports rights it can acquire while the future of the NBA remains highly uncertain.
“From a timing standpoint, it’s great to finally be able to build a sports portfolio,” Levy said.
Unrivaled, on the other hand, has a long history of broadcasting basketball games and shoulder shows like Inside the NBA (Unrivaled works with MediaPro North America to produce its own games). We are betting that TNT Sports, with its development capabilities, can contribute to the league’s growth through studio programming. and digital content.
“In my opinion, they know how to do a studio show better than anyone,” Levy says. “So while we’re producing the game, they’re going to be giving us insight and help so that we can go back to its roots and bring this new league into that infrastructure. , and we want to make sure those games are a cultural fit for their environment as well. ”
“They can help tell the story outside of the game… They have Bleacher Report and House of Highlights under their umbrella,” Buzzell added. “Hundreds of millions of social followers for us, this is an additional way to leverage the fan base that we’re trying to acquire, so apart from just the investment dollars, we’re aligning the long-term growth of this property. It was important to us that we’re all rowing in the same direction, rather than just looking at this as a transactional partnership. ”
Unrivaled launches after a breakout year for women’s sports, especially women’s basketball, with college games and the NBA breaking viewership records. The result was a growing shared belief in the future of women’s athletics on television.
“I never knew in my lifetime that the women’s Final Four would outperform the men’s Final Four. But they did. Now we’re starting to play some of the NBA games to the WNBA. “We’re not just doing it because it’s good, we’re doing it because it’s a good ROI,” Levy said.
TNT Sports and Warner Bros. Discovery have acquired many rights to TNT and Max, including deals with AEW on the wrestling circuit, college football, and college basketball tournaments centered around the NIL.
“Our TNT Sports portfolio is centered around premium live sports and media and equity partnerships.
Our partnership with Unrivaled further deepens our commitment to further expand the reach of top-level women’s sports
The programming we provide to our fans provides an opportunity to shape and grow them.
the continued growth of women’s basketball,” said Louis Silberwasser, TNT Chairman and CEO.
Sports.
