With NBA Relationship Still In Limbo, TNT Sports Lands 6-Year Rights Deal For Big East College Basketball
The court at Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, RI before a 2024 Big East matchup between Boston College and Providence College. Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
With uncertainty clouding its long-term NBA relationship, TNT Sports continues to fill out its portfolio, setting a 6-year rights deal with the Big East Conference for men’s and women’s college basketball.
The agreement will bring more than 65 regular season Big East college basketball games to lead network TNT as well as TBS, truTV and Max, beginning with the 2025-26 season. Warner Bros. Discovery’s TNT is best-known for its NBA coverage. In the past couple of years, the company has added the NHL, College Football Playoff games and French Open tennis to a roster whose key properties include Major League Baseball and March Madness.
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After an exclusive negotiating window with the NBA expired earlier this year, WBD reportedly has been on the outside looking in with the league as NBCUniversal and Amazon have staked aggressive claims alongside Disney/ESPN. The current rights deal runs through the end of next season and the league and its media partners have kept mum as reports have swirled. It is still possible for TNT, which has aired NBA games since the 1980s, to carve out a fourth rights package, sports media sources have said.
The Big East has had its ups and downs over the years, but the conference includes the University of Connecticut, which has won the last two NCAA men’s national championships. UConn has also been historically dominant in women’s basketball, returning to the Final Four last March but falling short in its bid to add to its record 11 national titles. Villanova is another recent title-holder on the men’s side to hail from the Big East.
College basketball is already a mainstay across WBD’s networks, with the company sharing rights to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament with CBS Sports.
The new pact will see more than 50 men’s college basketball regular season games air each season, with at least 30 conference games and a minimum of 20 non-conference games. At least 15 women’s college basketball regular season games are scheduled each season. All live games will be available on Max, which has introduced a sports add-on but has not yet activated a plan to charge a premium for the tier.
“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,” said Luis Silberwasser, Chairman and CEO, TNT Sports. “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.”