TNT Sports and Big East sign agreement for college basketball games

TNT Sports has signed a new six-year media rights deal for the Big East Conference that will allow the network, TBS, TruTV and Max to broadcast over 65 regular season college basketball games beginning with the 2025-26 season, the network announced Thursday.

The pact includes more than 50 regular season games in men’s college basketball per season, at least 30 conference games and at least 20 non-conference games, and at least 15 regular season games in women’s college basketball per season.

All live games will be available on Max, and in-depth highlights and additional content will be available across all platforms, including Bleacher Report, House of Highlights and more.

“Big East basketball has historically produced some of the most exciting teams and moments in college sports, including its recent successes, and we are excited to showcase the conference and its fantastic men’s and women’s college basketball programs across all of our TNT Sports platforms,” Luis Silberwasser, chairman and CEO of TNT Sports, said in a statement.

“This agreement further complements TNT Sports’ portfolio of premium live sports content featuring championship-level college basketball programming and student-athletes, and we will leverage all of our resources to enhance the fan experience.”

In addition to the latest agreement, TNT’s season-long coverage of college basketball includes the Hall of Fame’s season-opening event in Las Vegas, the season-long HBCU showcase Invesco QQQ Legacy Classic and exclusive coverage of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship on TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV, co-produced with CBS Sports. TNT Sports has also added coverage of NHL, CFP, NASCAR, Roland-Garros and US Soccer in recent years.

More information on TNT Sports’ coverage of Big East Conference men’s and women’s basketball will be announced in advance of the inaugural season.

The college basketball deal comes as Warner Bros. Discovery is at risk of losing the NBA, which could result in a revenue hit of as much as $270 million a year, analysts told TheWrap. Negotiations are ongoing, but NBC, Amazon and Disney are reportedly close to a deal for the NBA rights that would exclude WBD, which traditionally carries many games on its cable channels.