Warner Bros. Discovery is expanding its sports footprint to include a daily studio show for the first time since the days of CNN/SI, part of a new nightly sports programming block on truTV.
WBD announced Thursday that it will launch a nightly sports programming block on truTV starting this coming Monday that will feature live sporting events, a daily sports news program and more. Titled “TNT Sports on truTV,” the new block will run from 6 PM ET through late night, Monday through Friday.
The live sports inventory will consist of events already aired by truTV — including NCAA men’s basketball tournament games — plus simulcasts and alternate presentations of games airing on TNT and TBS. WBD has already begun ramping up the number of secondary broadcasts on truTV, which over the past year has simulcast Major League Baseball playoff games, NBA All-Star Weekend events and regular season NBA and NHL games.
WBD has also secured additional live sports rights for truTV over the past year, including MotoGP racing and — starting next year — NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying sessions. How many of those events will take place in the primetime, weeknight window remains to be seen.
In addition to the live sports coverage, the new programming block will also include a 30-minute sports news show titled “TNT Sports Update,” the first daily sports news programming on the WBD networks since the days of CNN/SI. The show will air at 6 PM ET each day, with a betting-themed show — “The Line” — airing immediately afterward. Existing shows such as the podcast The Steam Room and special editions of Shaqtin’ A Fool are also slated to air as part of the block.
For truTV, the sports block means the end — at least on weeknights — of its non-sports primetime programming. The network’s only hit show, Impractical Jokers, will shift to TBS as part of the move.
