TNT Sports’ Latest Bet: More College Basketball

TNT Sports may or may not have the NBA after next season … but it will definitely have more college basketball.

Warner Bros. Discovery‘s sports division has signed on as the broadcast partner for The Players Era Festival, a spinoff of the NIL (name, image, likeness) brand Players Era, founded by Ian Orefice’s EverWonder Studio. The festival will combine a pair of tournaments (with prize money for winning teams), paired with the “opportunity for athletes on each participating team to engage in more than $1 million in NIL opportunities outside of competition.”

The 2024 festival will tip off Nov. 26 and feature eight teams playing 12 games, including Alabama, Rutgers, Texas A&M and San Diego State University, and the company says that it expects to have 18 teams participating in the 2025 installment.

Games will run on WBD’s linear networks (which include TNT and TruTV), and stream on Max.

Publicis Sports and MGM Resorts are also partners, with the MGM Grand Garden Arena hosting the games, and Publicis clients getting early access to advertising and sponsorship opportunities.

TNT Sports has been aggressively seeking new sports rights in recent months, as the future of its NBA deal dims. The NBA struck new deals with NBC Sports, Amazon and Disney, but WBD has since sued the league to try and get a chance to match Amazon’s offer.

The company has secured rights to the French Open, NASCAR, and some college football, as well as games featuring the novelty baseball team The Savannah Bananas. But if the NBA is gone for good, the company’s marquee property will be the March Madness college basketball tournament, making the Players Era Festival a fall complement to the springtime tradition.

“We are honored to partner with three legends in the space – TNT Sports, Publicis Sports and MGM Resorts International – that will exponentially grow the impact Players Era can have for college basketball players and fans,” said Ian Orefice, CEO of EverWonder Studio. “TNT Sports is simply the world’s best when it comes to college basketball and must-see sporting events, Publicis is leading the innovation for how brands interact with the fanatic sports community, and MGM Resorts’ rich history of landmark moments in sports and first-class on location experiences provide an epic combination for college basketball and sports fans.”

“TNT Sports has been at the forefront of the growth of championship-caliber college basketball showcases for more than a decade,” said Raphael Poplock, senior VP of acquisitions, business development and partnerships at TNT Sports. “This space has seen an explosion of interest, and we are excited to collaborate on and present the first-ever Players Era Festival across our platforms which will further enhance fans’ access to thrilling college basketball competition, while also helping to drive opportunities for college athletes.”