Discovery Warner Bros. wants to bring one of its “zombie” cable networks back to life with a big sports twist.
The media company intends to create a new night-time sports block for TruTV, the cable reality network that has largely been left to air endless episodes of the popular prank show “Impractical Jokers” and the filmed series “World's Dumest.” In doing so, Warner undoubtedly hopes to create new value where there is little. A new sports program would likely attract more viewers and new advertising dollars to the network, and might even prompt cable companies to place more value on the network in future carriage deals.
The sports calendar will not only include simulcasts of the NHL, MLB and NBA matches that typically appear on the company's flagship cable networks, TBS and TNT. Warner intends to release new “alternative broadcasts” targeting different audiences; a new half-hour live “TNT Sports Update” every evening at 6 p.m.; and a new weekly program based on the presentation of clips on social networks “House of Highlights”.
The new block is expected to launch on March 11, the week before the start of the NCAA March Madness basketball championship, broadcast by Warner Bros. Discovery in collaboration with CBS from Paramount Global. TruTV usually broadcasts many tournament matches. “Impractical Jokers,” a TruTV mainstay that enjoys a devoted fan base, will debut new episodes on TBS starting this summer. The series will continue to simulcast on TruTV and TBS until early April.
“We constantly strive to create and deliver the best sports content and experiences to sports fans wherever they are, and this is an exciting opportunity to expand the reach of our premium TNT Sports programming with greater consistency throughout the year,” Luis Silberwasser, president and CEO of TNT Sports, said in a statement. “By creating a block of primetime sports programming on TruTV, in addition to our existing live premium sports on TNT and TBS, we are now able to provide a more comprehensive sports offering to our fans, while generating revenue. additional growth opportunities for our sports division and strategic business and league partners.
Other new programs include “The Line,” a nightly look at betting across multiple sports genres, which will air live at 6:30 p.m., and “Handles,” billed as an interactive show that sifts through major network conversations social around the evening. NBA games, scheduled to air late at night. Sports films and documentaries will air in the new programming block, including “The Inside Story,” a preview of TNT's “Inside The NBA,” scheduled to air March 15 at 9 p.m. Vodcasts from Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal. will also appear, as will a MotoGP race list.
TruTV could use some attention. The network is expected to charge a monthly subscription fee of just 33 cents per customer in 2024, according to estimates from Kagan, a market research unit of S&P Global Intelligence. Meanwhile, ESPN would earn $10.08 per subscriber per month, while TNT would charge $2.97 per month. TruTV is expected to generate less revenue from distributors in 2024, with Kagan forecasting a 4% decline, to nearly $260.8 million from $271.3 million.
And sports television has also recently come under scrutiny. Younger audiences have become accustomed to streaming game play as well as clips and highlights. The regional sports network industry, dominated in the past by Fox, NBC and others, is rapidly transforming, with traditional media companies abandoning it while Diamond Sports Group, a subsidiary of Sinclair Broadcasting, struggles to exit bankruptcy after buying a large group. group of local sports companies. NBCUniversal shuttered its own sports network, NBCSN, at the end of 2021.
Still, the decision could provide a boost to some of Warner's initiatives, including a new sports-focused streaming video joint venture it created with Fox and Disney. The new outlet aims to repackage the three companies' sports networks, including ESPN, Fox Sports1 and TNT. TruTV is included in the new outlet's offering and investing in new programming could boost the company's appeal. The new sports property is expected to charge a monthly fee somewhere between what is sought by a traditional regional sports network and a broader streaming offering such as YouTubeTV or Hulu + Live, according to people familiar with the matter.
The move would also expand the role of Warner's sports division, TNT Sports, widely known for owning one of the most focused rights portfolios in the industry. Certainly, TNT Sports holds the rights to a significant NBA selection. NHL and MLB games, as well as a significant rights transfer related to European distribution and the NCAA March Madness event. But its sports holdings are smaller than those held by rivals such as Disney or Fox, and the company has no ties to the National Football League, whose games have become essential to the economics of many media companies.
The new TruTV perch would help Warner compete more directly with Fox Sports and ESPN, both of which broadcast not only games but also talk shows, documentaries and shoulder programs that bolster the gaming rights enjoyed by both networks. And it could give the company a new edge in critical looming negotiations with the NBA, which is seeking new rights deals. The league's current contracts expire at the end of the 2024-25 season, and interest in securing even a small number of games is said to be intense among traditional television players and new counterparts digital video.
Warner is not the only media company to have sought to bolster its cable holdings with additional sports contentt. NBCUniversal has attempted to bolster its general entertainment cable network in the United States with sports previously broadcast on the now scuttled NBC Sports Network. Disney recently experimented with placing games from the revived XFL on its FX cable network.
Warner Bros. Discovery has built a business with this strategy in the past. Its Cartoon Network gained traction among hard-to-reach young male consumers through a nightly programming block known as Adult Swim. At 5 p.m. each night, regular Cartoon Network fare such as “Teen Titans Go!” and “The Amazing World of Gumball” disappears in favor of series aimed at young adults such as “Rick and Morty” and “American Dad”.