For years, TruTV’s presence in the sports world has been “That channel you have to look up to watch some of the less-hyped March Madness games.”
That is about to change in a very big way.
TruTV’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, is planning for it to shift its primetime lineup to a new sports slate beginning on March 11, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
The channel, which previously focused on reality and comedy shows, will reportedly be turned into something of a secondary channel, with TBS and TNT still airing the larger events. TruTV will get some exclusive live games, as well as alternative broadcasts and simulcasts of NBA, MLB and NHL games.
Basically, imagine ESPN setting up a channel for its overflow college football and NHL games as well as a home for the “Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli” and “Sunday Night Baseball With KayRod.” The personality-based secondary broadcasts have become increasingly in vogue over the last few years and you can clearly expect to see more here.
Or, as the head of TNT Sports put it:
“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, TNT Sports. “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.”
TNT will also reportedly invest more airtime in sports with a 30-minute “TNT Sports Update” show at 6 p.m., a sports betting show called “The Line” at 6:30 and “Handles,” a late-night NBA-focused show.
Meanwhile, “Impractical Jokers,” the show that covers the majority of TruTV’s schedule, will reportedly move to TBS.
