Warner Bros. Discovery Sports
Warner Bros. Discovery Sports (also known as WBD Sports and formerly known as Turner Sports) is the division of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) that is responsible for sports broadcasts on its parent company's various channels in the United States, including TBS, TNT, and TruTV. It also operates the online digital media outlets for the NCAA, NBA, PGA Tour, and PGA of America. WBD Sports also operates the sports news website Bleacher Report, as well as NBA TV on behalf of the NBA. It also owns a minority share in the MLB Network. Internationally, another Warner Bros. Discovery Sports-branded division operates Eurosport in Europe.
 | |
| Formerly | Turner Sports (1995–2022) |
|---|---|
| Type | Division |
| Industry | Broadcasting |
| Genre | Sports |
| Predecessor | Discovery Sports (2001–2022) |
| Founded | 1995 |
| Headquarters | Atlanta, Georgia |
Key people | Luis Silberwasser (Chairman, WBD Sports)[1][2] Andrew Georgiou (President, WBD Sports Europe) |
| Brands | TNT Sports Eurosport |
| Services | |
| Parent | Warner Bros. Discovery |
| Subsidiaries | Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe |
| Website | press (United States) discoverysports (Europe) |
Turner also owned WPCH-TV, the former WTBS, which was the longtime television home for Major League Baseball's Atlanta Braves. This relationship ended after the 2013 season. WPCH-TV was itself sold to Meredith Corporation in 2017 (which operated the station under a local marketing agreement since 2011 with CBS affiliate WGCL-TV), then to Gray Television in 2021.
Following AT&T's acquisition of Time Warner in 2018, it was announced in March 2019 that the Turner Broadcasting System would be dissolved, and its assets dispersed into Warner Bros. and two new units. Turner Sports was combined with CNN and AT&T SportsNet into a new division known as WarnerMedia News & Sports, led by CNN president Jeff Zucker.[3] In October 2020, Turner Sports announced a partnership with DraftKings to be the exclusive provider of daily fantasy and sports betting information for most Turner Sports and Bleacher Report properties, excluding the NBA due to its league-wide deal with competitor FanDuel.[4]
In 2022, Warner Bros. Discovery was formed with the spin-off of WarnerMedia by AT&T, and its merger with Discovery, Inc. Turner Sports was then renamed as Warner Bros. Discovery Sports, with the brand also being used for the division that manages Discovery's existing European and international sports assets such as Eurosport, Golf Digest, TNT Sports, and Global Cycling Network.
History
Former Turner Sports logo
The division began in the 1970s as the sports division of Turner Broadcasting System's basic cable networks, with separate TBS Sports and TNT Sports brands for TBS and TNT, respectively. In 1995, a unified Turner Sports rebranding began to be used, accompanied by an intro and outro sequence featuring the voice of CNN Headline News anchor Don Harrison and music from Edd Kalehoff. In 1996, Turner Sports became a division of Time Warner after it merged with Turner Broadcasting System.
In August 2012, Turner Sports acquired the sports news website Bleacher Report for $175 million.[5]
In 2018, Turner Sports launched a subscription streaming service as a branch of Bleacher Report, known as B/R Live; it would be anchored by Turner's recently-acquired rights to the UEFA Champions League, while also featuring content from the NCAA, NBA League Pass, and others.[6]
Following AT&T's acquisition of Time Warner in 2018, it was announced in March 2019 that the Turner Broadcasting System would be dissolved, and its assets dispersed into Warner Bros. and two new units. Turner Sports was combined with CNN and the AT&T SportsNet regional sports networks into a new division known as WarnerMedia News & Sports, led by CNN president Jeff Zucker.[3]
In October 2020, Turner Sports announced a partnership with DraftKings to be the exclusive provider of daily fantasy and sports betting information for most Turner Sports and Bleacher Report properties, excluding the NBA due to its league-wide deal with competitor FanDuel.[4]
Current properties
- NBA on TNT (1989–present)
- Exclusive national regular season Tuesday (1989–2019 (second half after the All-Star break), 2020–present (full season)) and Thursday night games (1989–2019 (full season), 2020–present (after New Year's)).
- Martin Luther King Day games (annually)
- NBA All-Star Weekend (2003–present)
- Rising Stars Challenge
- Slam Dunk Contest
- Three-Point Contest
- Skills Challenge
- All-Star Game (alternate presentation on TBS)
- Inside the NBA
- NBA play-in tournament:
- Exclusive 7–8 seeded games, both conferences (2022–present).
- Exclusive Eastern Conference No. 8 seed game (odd-numbered years)
- Exclusive Western Conference No. 8 seed game (even-numbered years)
- NBA Playoffs (1990–present)
- First round (generally Sundays through Thursdays, and selected Saturday games, co-exists with regional broadcasts)
- Second round (generally Sundays through Wednesdays, and selected Saturday games)
- Exclusive Eastern Conference Finals (odd-numbered years)
- Exclusive Western Conference Finals (even-numbered years)
- Spanish language simulcasts on CNN en Español in the United States.
- Major League Baseball on TBS (2007–present)
- Tuesday night games (2022–present) (1 game every week during the regular season, co-exists with regional broadcasts)[7]
- MLB Leadoff
- MLB Closer
- MLB postseason (select playoff games/overflow on TNT)
- American League Division Series and Championship Series (even-numbered years)
- National League Division Series and Championship Series (odd-numbered years)
- NHL on TNT[8] (2021–present)
- Up to 72 exclusive national games per-season (Wednesdays and some Sundays in the second half of the season)
- NHL Face Off
- NHL Post Game
- Winter Classic (annually)
- Thanksgiving Showdown (even-numbered years)
- Stadium Series (selected years, depending on scheduling conflicts)
- Heritage Classic (selected years, the Heritage Classic is not held every season)
- Stanley Cup Playoffs (games also on TBS)
- Selected first and second round games (on TNT primarily on days when not airing the NBA, depending on which league begins their postseason first or if both leagues start their playoffs at roughly the same time; TBS may broadcast on any day when not airing MLB or AEW wrestling; first round co-exists with regional broadcasts)
- One exclusive conference finals series per season (ESPN/ABC has first choice as to which conference to air,[9] TNT then broadcasts the other series).
- Exclusive Stanley Cup Finals (odd-numbered years on TNT; TBS and truTV may also air simulcasts or alternative broadcasts).
- NHL Awards (odd-numbered years on TNT; alternates with ESPN).
- NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship (2011–present; in partnership with CBS Sports)
- First Four on truTV (except for 2021 which aired on both truTV and TBS)
- First and second rounds on TNT, TBS, and truTV with CBS
- Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight split between TBS and CBS
- Final Four in 2014 and 2015 on TBS
- Final Four and National Championship in even-numbered years from 2016 until 2032 (except 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic in the United States) (airs on TBS; TNT and truTV may also air simulcasts or alternative broadcasts)
- ELeague (Turner Sports/WME-IMG Partnership, since 2016)[10][11]
- All Elite Wrestling
- AEW Dynamite (2019–present) (aired on TNT, 2019–2021) (airs on TBS, 2022–present)
- AEW Rampage (2021–present) (airs on TNT)
- AEW Battle of the Belts (2022–present) (airs on TNT)
- AEW Collision (2023-present) (airs on TNT)
- Ring of Honor
- Ring of Honor PPVs (2022–present) (airs on Bleacher Report)
- Golf
- The Match (2018–present) (airs on TNT)
- U.S. Soccer (2023–present)[12]
- United States men's and women's national team home matches (such as friendlies and FIFA World Cup qualification home matches).
- U.S. Open Cup (airs on Bleacher Report)
- SheBelieves Cup
- All matches airs on TNT, airs on TBS select matches.
Other properties
- NBA TV (managed on behalf of the NBA)
- MLB Network (16.67% with Major League Baseball, Comcast, Charter Communications and Cox Communications)
- Golf Digest (magazine)
- Motor Trend Group
- Motor Trend
- Hot Rod (magazine)
- Four Wheeler (magazine)
- Motor Trend (magazine)
Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Interactive properties
- NCAA.com
- NBA.com
- PGA.com
- Bleacher Report
- In February 2019, Turner announced a deal with casino operator Caesars Entertainment Corporation to open a Bleacher Report studio in the sportsbook at Caesars Palace to produce sports betting programming and gaming-related editorial content. The new studio is expected to begin distributing this content by early summer 2019.[15]
- House of Highlights (NBA coverage only)
- B/R Hoops (March Madness coverage only)
- B/R Walk-Off (MLB coverage only)
- B/R Open Ice (NHL coverage only)
Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe properties
- Eurosport
- Global Cycling Network[16]
- GCN+[17]
- TNT Sports (United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland) (joint venture with BT Group))
Former properties
- AT&T Sports Networks, LLC
- GolfTV
- NASCAR.com (2001–2013)[18]
- NASCAR.COM, and the organization's other digital and social media platforms, were managed by Turner Sports from 2001 to 2013.
- PGATOUR.COM (2006–2012)[19]
- Turner Sports New Media partnered with the PGA Tour to operate PGATOUR.com, the official site of the tour.
- UEFA (2018–19 until most matches at the round of 16 in 2019–20, originally until 2020–21)[20]
- UEFA Super Cup (2018 and 2019 only)
- UEFA Youth League
Turner South
- Atlanta Braves baseball
- Atlanta Hawks basketball
- Atlanta Thrashers hockey
TBS
- Atlanta Hawks basketball
- Atlanta Flames NHL hockey
- Atlanta Chiefs NASL soccer
- Clash of the Champions (1988-1997)
- College Basketball on TBS (1982–1986)
- College Football on TBS (1982–2006)
- Goodwill Games (1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2001)
- Braves TBS Baseball (1973–2007)
- Gator Bowl (1993–1994)
- NASCAR on TBS (1983–2000)
- NBA on TBS (1984-2002, Still used as an overflow feed for the NBA on TNT)
- NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship (2016 & 2017)[21][22]
- Southeastern Conference sports
- U.S. Olympic Gold (1989–1992)
- World Championship Wrestling
- WCW All Nighter (1994-1995)
- WCW Main Event (1988-1998)
- WCW Power Hour (1989-1994)
- WCW Pro (1994-1998)
- WCW Thunder (1998–2001)
- WCW Saturday Night (1972–2001)
TNT
- NFL on TNT (1990–1997)
- Olympics on TNT (1992, 1994, 1998) (co-produced with CBS)
- Tennis on TNT (2000–2002)
- FIFA World Cup (1990)
- Women's United Soccer Association
- NASCAR on TNT (2001–2014) (co-produced with NBC from 2001 to 2006)
- WCW Monday Nitro (1995–2001)
- Alliance of American Football (2019) (co-produced with CBS/CBS Sports Network/NFL Network)
- Golf on TNT
- PGA Championship (through 2019)
- First and second rounds, early coverage of third and fourth.
- PGA Championship (through 2019)
- Title Night (1998–2000) (co-produced with CBS)
- UEFA Europa League
- UEFA Champions League[23]
- 46 matches
truTV
- MetroPCS Friday Night Knockout (2015) (co-produced with HBO)
B/R Live
- Belgian First Division A
- Polish Cup
- Scottish Professional Football League[24]
- Scottish League Cup
- Scottish Challenge Cup
- Swedish Cup[25]
- Swiss Cup
- UEFA Europa League
- All matches on B/R Live for subscribers or pay-per-match.
- Select qualification stage matches on B/R Live
- UEFA Champions League[23]
First-run syndication
- WCW WorldWide (1975-2001)
Prime Sports
- WCW Prime (1995-1996)
Notable WBD Sports personalities (past and present)
^D denotes deceased.
- Kate Abdo
- Kenny Albert
- Marv Albert[27]
- David Aldridge
- Adam Alexander
- Brian Anderson
- Debbie Antonelli
- Colby Armstrong
- Stephane Auger
- Shane Bacon
- Ian Baker-Finch
- Rick Ball
- Charles Barkley
- Rick Barry
- Brent Barry
- Allen Bestwick
- Eric Bischoff
- Paul Bissonnette
- Carter Blackburn
- Dan Bonner
- Jennifer Botterill
- Thom Brennaman
- Bob Brenly
- Hubie Brown
- Brendan Burke
- Lisa Byington
- Chip Caray
- Skip CarayD
- Anson Carter
- Andrew Catalon
- Vince Cellini
- Darren Clarke
- Doug Collins
- Bob Costas
- Jamal Crawford
- Wally Dallenbach Jr.
- Ron Darling
- Seth Davis
- Spero Dedes
- Ian Eagle
- Dennis Eckersley
- Tarik El-Bashir
- Darren Eliot
- Excalibur
- Marc Fein
- Larry Fitzgerald
- John Forslund
- Mike Fratello
- Kevin Frazier
- Rick Fox
- Butch Goring
- Dave Goucher
- Kevin Garnett
- Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre
- Curtis Granderson
- Draymond Green[28]
- Wayne Gretzky
- Natalie Gulbis
- Greg Gumbel
- Pat Haden
- Randy Hahn
- Kevin Harlan
- Brendan Haywood
- Taryn Hatcher
- Bret Hedican
- Bobby HeenanD
- Grant Hill
- Kevin Kelly
- Shane Hnidy
- Shannon Hogan
- Scott Hudson
- Trevor Immelman
- Andre Iguodala
- Jim Jackson (NBA)
- Jim Jackson (NHL)
- Peter Jacobsen
- Dana Jacobson
- Chris Jericho
- Avery Johnson
- Ernie Johnson, Jr.[29]
- Ernie Johnson, Sr.D
- Gus Johnson
- Magic Johnson
- Lewis Johnson
- Keith Jones
- Mike Joy
- Rick Kamla
- Nabil Karim
- Clark Kellogg
- Steve Kerr
- Don Koharski
- Kyle Korver
- Allie LaForce
- Steve Lavin
- Adam Lefkoe
- Verne Lundquist
- Henrik Lundqvist
- Kristen Ledlow
- Alyson Lozoff
- Eli Manning
- Buck Martinez
- Jamal Mayers
- Tom McCarthy
- Gary McCord
- Liam McHugh
- Mike McKenna
- Steve McMichael
- Nigel McGuinness
- Larry McReynolds
- Brad Meier
- Phil Mickelson
- Meaghan Mikkelson
- Cheryl Miller
- Reggie Miller
- Von Miller
- Pedro Martínez
- Chris Myers
- Jim Nantz
- Steve Nash
- Bob Neal
- Shaquille O'Neal[30]
- Brad Nessler
- Gene OkerlundD
- Eddie Olczyk
- Rosalyn Gold-Onwude[31]
- Renee Paquette
- Darren Pang
- Candace Parker[32]
- Benny ParsonsD
- Phil Parsons
- Pat Perez
- Kyle Petty
- Bill Raftery
- Dave Randorf
- Jackie Redmond
- Drew Remenda
- Amanda Renner
- Ian Riccaboni
- Cal Ripken Jr.
- Taylor Rooks
- A.J. Ross
- Jim Ross
- Vince Russo
- Craig SagerD
- Bryce Salvador
- Dennis Scott
- Steve Smith
- Tony Schiavone
- Patrick Sharp
- Lauren Shehadi
- Ralph Sheheen
- Jody Shelley
- Joe Simpson
- Kenny Smith
- John Smoltz
- Gary Sheffield
- Gordon SolieD
- Jim Spanarkel
- Dick Stockton
- Don SuttonD
- Gene Steratore
- Casey Stern
- Julie Stewart-Binks
- Wally Szczerbiak
- Kathryn Tappen
- Taz
- Mike Tenay
- Isiah Thomas
- Justin Thomas
- Reggie Theus
- John ThompsonD
- Rick Tocchet
- Jeff Van Gundy
- Stan Van Gundy
- Pete van WierenD
- Tom Verducci
- Ashali Vise
- Erika Wachter
- Evan Washburn
- J. J. Watt
- Bill Weber
- Chris Webber
- Dwyane Wade[33]
- David Wells
- Luke Wileman
- Matt Winer
- Tracy Wolfson
- Cheyenne Woods
- Keith Yandle
- Matt Yocum
- Larry Zbyszko
- Adam Zucker
See also
References
- Mullin, Benjamin; Draper, Kevin (June 9, 2022). "Warner Bros. Discovery Picks Sports Chief to Navigate Streaming Era". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
- Steinberg, Brian (June 9, 2022). "Warner Bros. Discovery Taps Luis Silberwasser as News Sports Chief". Variety. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
- Feiner, Lauren (March 4, 2019). "Layoffs expected as WarnerMedia reorganizes its leadership team after AT&T acquisition". CNBC. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
- Young, Jabari (15 October 2020). "DraftKings strikes another media partnership, this time with AT&T's Turner Sports". CNBC. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
- Lunden, Ingrid (August 6, 2012). "Update: It's Done. Time Warner Buys Bleacher Report, Price Reportedly $175M". TechCrunch. Retrieved September 18, 2019.
- Spangler, Todd (March 27, 2018). "Turner Sports Unveils 'Bleacher Report Live' Pay-Streaming Service". Variety. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
- "Turner Sports and Major League Baseball Reach Seven-Year Media Rights Extension Through 2028" (Press release). New York: Warner Bros. Discovery. September 24, 2020. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
- "The NHL Comes to Turner" (Press release). New York: Warner Bros. Discovery.
- Young, Jabari (July 9, 2021). "NHL moving to Turner Sports is $1 billion risk-reward for hockey". CNBC. New York: NBCUniversal.
- "Turner, WME-IMG Get in the Esports Game With Own League". AdAge. 23 September 2015.
- Spangler, Todd (September 24, 2015). "Turner, WME/IMG Form E-Sports League, With TBS to Air Live Events". Variety. Los Angeles: Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
- "WarnerMedia signs eight-year deal with U.S. Soccer for men's and women's national team matches". Awful Announcing. 2022-03-01. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
- "CBS Sports, Turner Broadcasting, NCAA Reach 14-Year Agreement". NCAA (Press release). Indianapolis: Warner Bros. Discovery Sports. April 21, 2010. Archived from the original on November 9, 2013. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
- "Turner wins NCAA digital rights". Associated Presswebsite=ESPN. September 21, 2010. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
- Russ, Hilary (February 7, 2019). "Turner Sports inks deal with Caesars for Bleacher Report betting..." Atlanta. Reuters. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
- Sutton, Mark (April 23, 2021). "Discovery Inc takes full ownership of Play Sports Group". Cycling Industry News. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
- Reid, Carlton (February 8, 2021). "Discovery Subsidiary GCN To Launch Netflix-Style Streaming TV Channel For Cyclists". Forbes. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
- "Turner Sports Acquires NASCAR's Internet Rights; NASCAR Online to be Produced by Turner Sports". WarnerMedia. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
- "Turner Sports New Media, PGA Tour Ink Multi-Year Web Deal". www.sportsbusinessdaily.com. September 12, 2006. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
- Selbe, Nick. "Report: Turner to Opt Out of UEFA Champions League Deal". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2020-07-10.
- "Turner Sports Reaches Multi-Year Agreement to Present NCAA National Collegiate Beach Volleyball Championship". NCAA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. 26 April 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
- "Turner Sports Reaches Multi-Year Agreement to Present NCAA National Collegiate Beach Volleyball Championship". Turner Sports. 26 April 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
- Ourand, John (February 24, 2017). "Turner's Soccer Shocker". SportsBusinessDaily.com. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
- "Report: Turner secures US streaming rights for SPL". SportsPro. Retrieved 2018-07-31.
- "Where to find soccer leagues and competitions on US TV and streaming".
- Bupp, Phillip (July 31, 2018). "Turner Sports to broadcast 46 Champions League matches on TNT, offer B/R Live subscription on per match basis". AwfulAnnouncing.com. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
- "Legendary Hall of Fame Broadcaster Marv Albert Announces His Retirement Following TNT's Coverage of 2021 NBA Eastern Conference Finals". pressroom.warnermedia.com. WarnerMedia. May 17, 2021. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
- Bieler, Des (January 27, 2022). "Warriors' Draymond Green signs deal with Turner Sports while still active in NBA". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
- "Ernie Johnson bio". www.turner.com. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
- "Shaquille O'Neal and Turner Sports reach multi-year extension". NBA.com. August 24, 2020. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
- "Catch up with Turner Sports rising star Roslyn Gold-Onwude". TheShadowLeague.com. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
- "Candace Parker & Turner Sports Reach Multi-Year Extension". pressroom.warnermedia.com. WarnerMedia. September 9, 2019. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
- "Dwyane Wade signs deal to be NBA Analyst for TNT". ESPN. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
External links
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