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Showing posts with label TruTV. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TruTV. Show all posts

Thursday, August 8, 2024

America's TruTV Becomes TNT Sports In October

Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) has announced that it will rebrand TruTV’s primetime lineup as “TNT Sports” beginning this October, which could be a seismic shift for sports broadcasting and wrestling entertainment.

The news came from WBD CEO David Zaslav during the company’s Q2 earnings call. This move is seen as a potential win for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) amid ongoing talks about its future on WBD networks. Media analyst Brian Steinberg tweeted details of the rebranding strategy, noting that TruTV will transition to become a home for sports under the TNT banner.

According to sources, this new programming block will operate similarly to Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim block, which functions as its brand despite sharing channel space.

Strategic Sports Expansion

The focus on sports is timely for WBD after NBA broadcasting rights recently shifted to Amazon Prime.

With AEW potentially joining Ring of Honor (ROH) whose importance within AEW Khan said has not been overstated but was not yet confirmed for TV on WBD airwaves at some point soon, it would appear the company wants more hours of live sports content under its belt.

In fact, Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp pointed out earlier today that AEW talents are being featured prominently in early promotions for “TNT Overdrive,” suggesting Khan’s team will play a key role in the new TNT Sports lineup that night -- and grow more influential within the broader sphere of televised athletics-entertainment.

At present, though, these are only good signs; Khan himself called talks with WBD “complicated," but recently expressed optimism following a meeting with Zaslav during the Olympics when reached by @SeanRossSapp. The exclusive negotiating window between parties expired yesterday, allowing AEW to engage with other networks unless/until WBD closes a deal.

Regardless of whether or not anything comes from current conversations between AEW and WBD, the ripples from this news could fundamentally change how wrestling is presented to audiences, aligning AEW with WBD’s rekindled focus on sports and entertainment.

Such an alliance would be expected to ensure All Elite Wrestling continues growing as a major player in the increasingly crowded field of televised athletics entertainment.

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Could Warner Bros. Discovery Look Into Adding TNT Sports In Africa?

During the month, it was reported that TNT Sports would be expanding to the United States. This comes a few months after Warner Bros. Discovery had launched it in the UK in place of BT Sport offering a variety of sports ranging from MMA, Bundesliga and UEFA.

Unlike the UK, TNT Sports would be rolling out in the United States as a dedicated nightly block on TruTV. Aside from live events, Warner Bros. Discovery is looking to get more sports themed content with a range of films and documentaries. 

Confirmed titles for the block include a betting show known as The Line, an interactive show known as The Bill and an NBA themed show known as The Inside Story.

Warner Bros. Discovery could look into building TNT Sports portfolio within the African market. I mean the idea wouldn't seem far fetched considering that the main TNT channel already offers All Elite Wrestling (AEW).

Initially, TNT was a channel curated for movies and following the induction of AEW in the United States. The sporting event was in high demand for consumers in Africa with some wondering if TNT would get it or rely on existing broadcasters like SuperSport.

As mentioned despite being a movie channel, Warner Bros. Discovery was willing to go the extra mile by even adding doccies and content from Adult Swim. TNT Sports could form part of AEW On Weekends with its other content taking up other days in the week.

Depending on whether Warner Bros. Discovery views TNT Sports a priority in Africa. The chances of it serving as a separate tier from TNT are slim considering that majority of live sports are costly and tied up in contractual agreements with SuperSport.

Friday, March 8, 2024

Could TNT Sports Replace TruTV In The United States?

During the week, it was reported that TNT Sports would be expanding to the United States. This comes a few months after Warner Bros. Discovery had launched it in the UK in place of BT Sport offering a variety of sports ranging from MMA, Bundesliga and UEFA.

Unlike the UK, TNT Sports would be rolling out in the United States as a dedicated nightly block on TruTV. Aside from live events, Warner Bros. Discovery is looking to get more sports themed content with a range of films and documentaries. 

Confirmed titles for the block include a betting show known as The Line, an interactive show known as The Bill and an NBA themed show known as The Inside Story.

News of the blocks arrival traces back to 2022 where Warner Bros. Discovery was looking to increase their investment toward the sector. After halting original productions for TNT and TBS, a turnaround plan was purposed with one of the two emphasizing sports.

With the standalone TNT channel remaining intact for the time being. Consumers are led to believe that Warner Bros. Discovery could be looking to replace TruTV with TNT Sports as it was reported that one of their flagship shows Impractical Jokers would move to TBS.

TruTV has been going through identity crisis for several years after converting to a court based brand would divulge into crime and variety. Since its inception, the brand has garnered traction for Hardcore Pawn, Carbonaro Effect, Top Funniest and Impractical Jokers. 

Development Alert: TNT Sports Expands To The United States Through TruTV, Impractical Jokers Moves To TBS

Warner Bros. Discovery is making cable network TruTV a regular home for sports, adding a weeknight sports block and shifting established franchise Impractical Jokers to TBS this summer.

A mix of live sports, original sports programming and ancillary sports content will start appearing on TruTV next Monday, March 11, under the banner “TNT Sports on TruTV.” The block will start at 6 p.m. ET and run through late night.

The NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship, aka March Madness, gets under way the following week. WBD, which shares in March Madness rights with Paramount, often makes use of TruTV as a home for early-round tournament games.

The push toward daily sports programming comes as WBD, Fox and Disney have embarked on a joint sports-focused streaming venture. The JV, scheduled to launch this fall, will bring 14 linear network feeds to subscribers via the internet. Apart from the NCAA tournament, TNT is known for its NBA coverage and TBS broadcasts Major League Baseball.

Impractical Jokers, a cornerstone TruTV property since its premiere in 2011, will move to TBS with a batch of new episodes this summer. During the transitional period, the series will continue to simulcast on both truTV and TBS through early April. Series from the TruTV library, including past seasons of Impractical Jokers, will air on TruTV prior to 6 p.m. each day. 

“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.”

The upcoming programming lineup will include select alternative presentations of live TNT Sports games; simulcasts of games appearing on TNT or TBS; a new 30-minute news and highlight show, TNT Sports Update, airing nightly at 6 p.m.; betting show The Line, airing weeknights at 6:30; NBA-centric show Handles airing in late night; and a House of Highlights show produced weekly as a TruTV exclusive. (WBD’s digital subsidiary Bleacher Report is known for its House of Highlights vertical.)

Also in store for the new sports block are movies and documentaries, including The Inside Story, which looks at TNT’s Inside the NBA studio show; in-season episodes of The Steam Room vodcast featuring Ernie Johnson and Charles Barkley, and special editions of Shaqtin’ a Fool, among other originally produced programming; and an upcoming schedule of MotoGP races.

Thursday, September 15, 2022

TNets Strategy Comes Into Focus With Lower-Cost, Mass-Appeal Shows As New Chief Kathleen Finch Meets With Creative Community

There probably has been no other division of WarnerMedia more impacted by the Discovery merger than the TNets, which consist of TNT, TBS and TruTV. In the span of a couple of months after the transaction was completed, they got new leadership, with Discovery’s Kathleen Finch adding them to her portfolio, while the previous toppers exited: General Manager Brett Weitz, SVP Original Programming Adrienne O’Riain, and unscripted chief Corie Henson.

The new owners quickly scrapped or ended scripted series such as Chad, Snowpiercer and Kill the Orange Bear, cut a number of unscripted series such as the already completed The Big D, and let go a number of big-ticket development.

As the dust has started to settle, Finch, Chairman and Chief Content Officer, US Networks Group, Warner Bros. Discovery, recently made an outreach to talent agencies and producers, laying out her plans for what original programming on the TNets will look like going forward.

In response to a request for comment on that outreach and her message to the creative community, Finch issued a statement to Deadline.

“I’ve had some great meetings with agents and production partners to let them know that yes, we’re definitely open for business at TNT, TBS, and at all the brands that make up the WBD US Networks portfolio,” she said. “We’ve spent the past few months evaluating content, our audience make up, which audience groups we want to grow and what kinds of series we need to do that. The content teams are looking at both scripted and unscripted, and have already put some exciting projects into development. Once the deals are signed we’ll be able to share more, but for now the message we want to send to the production community is that we’re bullish on delivering great slates to the fans of these Top 10 networks.”

Finch would not comment further. But according to sources, on the scripted side the focus is on TNT, whose sole current series, Snowpiercer, recently wrapped production on its fourth and final season. On the unscripted side, TBS is believed to be more of the focus, with sibling network truTV leaning in to its Impractical Jokers franchise and spinoffs.***

Scripted Strategy

Snowpiercer, TNT’s post-apocalyptic drama starring Jennifer Connelly and Daveed Diggs, may be the last of the kind of high-end, prestige dramas with big stars and budgets (in the $7 million-$8 million an episode range) that the network has been doing since The Alienist in 2018. TNT is now looking for more cost-effective series that don’t go after A-list movie talent and would complement the tentpole sports/unscripted programming on TNT — as well as the rest of Warner Bros. Discovery’s suite of linear networks under Finch. That could include wrestling-themed shows, as AEW is a major draw on TNT, and scripted series that have the feel of some of the signature Discovery docu reality series like The Deadliest Catch. IP-based/genre series also are being explored, we hear.

Before taking the turn to big-budget, premium dramas under previous programming chief Kevin Reilly, TNT had success with original crime procedurals that complemented its roster of off-network crime dramas, most notably The Closer and its spinoff Major Crimes.

To keep costs low, we hear producers are being asked to find a studio that would handle international distribution, somewhat emulating the traditional indie financing model where international pre-sales bring in the funding needed to make a movie feasible and lower financial risk for its backers. TNets’ sister studio, Warner Bros. Television, which most recently produced TNT’s recently departed drama Animal Kingdom, is expected to continue to be a supplier with the right projects that fit the new business paradigm. As Finch noted, there are a handful of projects currently under consideration.

We hear that TNT was presented to the creative community as the sole scripted brand among the TNets, though Warner Bros. Discovery sources dispute that. TBS, which relies heavily on off-network sitcoms, mainly The Big Bang Theory, currently has two ongoing scripted series in hits Miracle Workers and the animated American Dad!

Unscripted Strategy

As for the unscripted side, TBS has a history of attracting big talent to unscripted such as John Cena co-hosting its reboot of Wipeout and NBA All-Star Dwyane Wade fronting its adaptation of British format The Cube.

In a stronger way than the scripted side, we hear agents and producers have been encouraged to remember that Warner Bros Discovery owns a movie studio, and to figure out if there can be any crossover, be it on talent or IP. For instance, Harry Potter: Hogwarts Tournament of Houses, the Warner Bros-produced, Helen Mirren-fronted competition series, performed well for TBS and Cartoon Network.

It was also pointed out that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson acted as master of ceremonies for this summer’s Shark Week on the Discovery side.

However, one of the challenges remains budgets. The TNets have long had higher budgets for its slate of unscripted shows than the Discovery networks, partly down to bringing in higher carriage fees.

Similar to how the scripted side is looking at deficit financing via international distribution, their reality counterparts are looking for “Discovery-style dealmaking” on the unscripted side. In the past, this has meant selling full global and format rights to projects, with producers essentially operating on a work-for-hire basis.

There remains some confusion among unscripted agents and producers as to TNets’ messaging, with one source saying Finch’s comments have been “inconsistent” with remarks from some of its other network executives.

Industry insiders argue that the TNets will need to keep offering desirable originals rather than a slate of repeats of Discovery shows such as 90 Day Fiancé, for Warner Bros. Discovery to justify the significantly higher affiliate fees cable and satellite operators pay for them compared with the Discovery cable networks.

However, the TNets’ main attraction is sports. TNT and TBS boast NBA and Major League Baseball coverage, wrestling, and last year they closed a big, seven-year NHL deal. Additionally, TNT, TBS and TruTV share NCAA men’s basketball games. In today’s environment and proliferation of streaming, live sports is what drives premiums for linear networks, with entertainment considered an additive.

Friday, January 7, 2022

Bobby Flay Extends His Contract With Food Network, Joe Gatto Exits Impractical Jokers Due To Personal Issues And New Bleach Anime The Thousand-Year Blood War Arc Debuts In October 2022

Food Network continues to be The Guy Fieri and Bobby Flay channel

The 56-year-old celebrity chef has signed an exclusive, new three-year contract with the network, Discovery Inc. confirmed in a statement last year:

"I'm thrilled to extend my relationship with Food Network and Discovery," Flay said in the statement. "Although these talks to renew took a little longer than expected, the important thing is that both sides are happy that we can now build on an already rock-solid foundation. Stay tuned for some incredibly exciting new shows as I promise to take food and cooking to places we've never imagined before."

The Beat Bobby Flay has signed on to stay once his current, three-year contract expires at the end of 2021. In October, it was reported that he would be parting ways with Food Network after 27 years, after both parties could not agree on financial terms.

Though Flay's new paycheck remains undisclosed, he will develop new content for the culinary channel and elsewhere within the Discovery portfolio as part of the deal.

"We are thrilled to continue Bobby Flay's long standing relationship with Food Network. He captivates our audience with his incredible culinary skill, fierce competitive spirit and his trademark ability to share a deep passion for food," Courtney White, President of Food Network and Streaming Food Content for Discovery Inc., said in a statement. "Bobby generously invites viewers into his culinary world, sharing his #WeCook philosophy and inspiring everyone in the kitchen. Continuing this creative relationship with such an extraordinary talent is the perfect way to usher in the holidays."

Flay has been a longtime star on Food Network, making his debut in 1994 and co-hosting his own series, Grillin' & Chillin' , by 1996. Since then, the chef has hosted numerous hit shows — including Boy Meets Grill, Beat Bobby Flay, Throwdown! with Bobby Flay, Brunch @ Bobby's, and Iron Chef America.

Impractical Jokers is losing a member

In December 2021, actor and comedian Joe Gatto announced his departure from truTV's Impractical Jokers currently seen on Comedy Central citing personal issues as the reason for his exit.

Joe Gatto was one of the initial members of the hit camera show Impractical Jokers when it first began in 2011. It managed to span 9 seasons with a 10th one currently underway.

Of course, it hasn't been stated if Joe Gatto will make a cameo in the 10th season but he likely won't form part of the new season. All that is known for now is that Impractical Jokers will continue despite his absence.

After 11 years, we're getting more Bleach

In March 2020, Weekly Shōnen Jump and "Bleach 20th Anniversary Project & Tite Kubo New Project Presentation" livestream announced that the manga's last story arc, "Thousand-Year Blood War", will be given a new anime project.

In November 2021, it was announced that the new project would be an anime television series, Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War. The trailer and visual for the series were revealed last month.

The Thousand-Year Blood War arc is set to debut by October 2022. The series will continue from where the original ended with characters from the former series reprising their roles.

Bleach is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tite Kubo. It follows the adventures of the hotheaded teenager Ichigo Kurosaki, who inherits his parents' destiny after he obtains the powers of a Soul Reaper.

The franchise continued to perform well commercially despite its cancellation back in 2012, and had over 120 million tankōbon volumes in circulation worldwide as of 2018, making it the eleventh best-selling manga in history.

You can also find me through the other platforms by pressing this link in brackets (Lnk.Bio).

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