WBD's truTV Makes Bigger Move Toward Sports

Following continued industry-wide focus on the value of live sports programming, Warner Bros. Discovery is significantly shifting more emphasis for its truTV cable TV channel toward sports.

Warner Bros. Discovery's TNT Sports unit -- which largely runs sports content on its cable TV network TNT -- will significantly increase its sports programming next year on truTV, a network that has been mostly known for unscripted programming, comedy reruns, docusoaps and other reality shows.

This year, truTV has aired nearly 1,000 hours of sports programming.
In addition, WBD says TNT Sports will be the “defining brand” on truTV, with onscreen prime-time branding touting sports with special logos and graphics.

WBD calls the move part of a “network evolution.”

This fall, truTV will get live Major League Baseball post-season games as well as live content from the NBA, NHL, U.S. Men's and Women's National Soccer Teams, Mountain West football, and MotoGP.

advertisement

advertisement

Next year, TNT Sports will expand truTV with Nascar (car racing), Roland-Garros (tennis) and the Big East college basketball.


Over a 12-month period (from July 2023-July 2024), truTV took in an estimated $259.2 million in national TV advertising sales, coming from 255,700 advertiser airings, according to EDO Ad EnGage.

The top ten advertisers of that period are AT&T Wireless, Domino’s Pizza, Max, Chase Bank, Capital One, Skyrizi, Progressive Insurance, Geico, State Farm, and Wendy’s.

Analysts point out linear TV networks' future survival -- broadcast and cable -- will be increasingly dependent on live sports programming, which command premium advertising pricing.

Next story loading loading..