Heading into the 2024 NCAA Tournament, Warner Bros. Discovery is giving TruTV a sports-centric facelift.
Per Variety, TruTV is getting a hefty dose of simulcasts and alternate broadcasts of live games airing on TBS and TNT and will also be chock full of alternate broadcasts. The shift in strategy is supposed to go live on Monday, March 11.
Additionally, several sports-centric originals will air on TruTV, including the TNT Sports Update, a weekly House of Highlights show, the betting-centric The Line, and the NBA social media-forward Handles.
“We are constantly striving 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,” said Luis Silberwasser, chairman and CEO of TNT Sports, in a statement. “By creating a primetime block of sports programming on TruTV, in addition to our existing premium live sports on TNT and TBS, we are now able to deliver a more comprehensive sports offering for our fans, while generating additional growth opportunities for our sports division and strategic business and league partners.”
Each night, the TNT Sports Update will air at 6 p.m. ET, followed by The Line at 6:30 p.m. ET. Handles will air in late-night windows. Video podcasts, sports-related documentaries, and sports films will also air, including a re-air of The Inside Story at 9 p.m. ET on March 15. Additionally, MotoGP races will air on TruTV following their shift away from NBC.
This shift might boost TruTV a bit, but there’s a non-zero chance that viewership for non-live or original content slides below what TruTV was averaging for reruns of shows like Impractical Jokers, a network staple that will begin airing new episodes on TBS this summer. TNT Sports has dipped its toe in the water with alternate broadcasts and simulcasts over the last year (including Peloteros during the NLCS last October and the Chiclets Cast last month) and it makes sense to lean into that strategy a bit more.
However, the company doesn’t need an alternate broadcast for every live game. Really, there’s no reason to air an alternate broadcast for a Tuesday night Twins-Yankees game in June. And that’s where the simulcasts will make a lot more sense for TNT Sports and TruTV.
[Variety]
