The WarnerMedia networks will be spun off from parent company AT&T just three years after their merger. Plus: TNT NBA announcers will work remotely, albeit from Turner’s Atlanta studios, to start the NBA Playoffs; Leah Hextall will be one of ESPN’s regular NHL voices; and more.
WarnerMedia spun off, to be merged with Discovery
The WarnerMedia cable networks, including TNT, TBS and TruTV, will be spun off by owner AT&T and merged with the Discovery channel cable networks to form a new media company, it was announced Monday. The deal is subject to governmental approval.
AT&T officially acquired WarnerMedia — then known as Time Warner — in 2018. Its shareholders will own 71% of the new company, while Discovery shareholders own 29%.
WarnerMedia is one of the biggest players in sports media, having just added NHL rights to its existing portfolio of NBA, NCAA men’s basketball tournament and Major League Baseball games. While Discovery does not have much of a domestic sports presence, it has long been a player on the international scene as owner of Eurosport and owns European media rights to the Olympic Games through 2024. [Variety 5.17, Financial Times 5.17]
Turner to have announcers work remotely in playoffs
Turner Sports plans to have its NBA broadcast teams work remotely from its Atlanta studios during the first two rounds of the scheduled NBA Playoffs, moving on-site for the conference finals, according to the New York Post. TNT announcers called games exclusively from their homes during the regular season, save for the All-Star Game. [NYP 5.17]
Hextall to be regular NHL play-by-play voice for ESPN
ESPN will hire Canadian broadcaster Leah Hextall as one of its regular NHL play-by-play voices, according to the New York Post and The Athletic. Hextall would be the first woman to serve as a regular national play-by-play voice for any of the four major men’s professional sports. She previously served as a play-by-play voice on ESPN’s coverage of the men’s NCAA hockey tournament. [NYP (above), The Athletic 5.17]
Plus: Valerio, Marv, Gorman, Paralympics
Sports television producer Joe Valerio, best known for producing ESPN’s The Sports Reporters from 1989 through its 2017 cancellation, died over the weekend at age 71. … TNT plans to air a 30-minute tribute to retiring NBA play-by-play voice Marv Albert during the Eastern Conference Finals, it announced Monday. NBC similarly aired an hour-long special earlier this year saluting the recently retired Mike Emrick. … Celtics voice Mike Gorman will be part of this year’s Basketball Hall of Fame class, it was announced Sunday. … NBC Sports announced Monday that Ahmed Fareed and Carolyn Manno will host its coverage of the scheduled Tokyo Paralympics. It would be the fourth-straight Paralympics for Manno and the first for Fareed. [ESPN.com 5.16, Turner Sports, NBA, NBC Sports PR 5.17]
