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College Basketball on TNT Sports is the de facto title of college basketball coverage produced by TNT Sports for TNT, TBS, TruTV and NBA TV.
Early TBS games (1982–1983)
On December 11, 1982, TBS[1][2] (with the aid of more than 100 independent network affiliates and stations[3]) broadcast a contest between Virginia and Georgetown[4][5][6] (led by Ralph Sampson and Patrick Ewing[7] respectively). The game in question (in which TBS paid approximately US$600,000[8] for the broadcasting rights) was called by Skip Caray[9] and Abe Lemons. On November 26, 1983, TBS broadcast a contest between Kentucky and Louisville. TBS, in a joint venture with Sports Productions Inc. of Dallas, paid $600,000 for the rights to the game.[10] Skip Caray and Joe Dean were on the call of the game.[11]
Coverage returns (2011–2020)
On April 22, 2010, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) reached a 14-year agreement,[12] worth US$10.8 billion, with CBS and the Turner Broadcasting System to receive joint broadcast rights to the Division I men's college basketball tournament.[13] This came after speculation that ESPN would try to obtain the rights to future tournament games.[14] The NCAA took advantage of an opt-out clause in its 1999 deal with CBS (which ran through 2013, even though the NCAA had the option of ending the agreement after the 2010 championship) to announce its intention to sign a new contract with CBS and Turner Sports, The new contract came amid serious consideration by the NCAA of expanding the tournament to 68 teams.
The agreement, which runs through 2032 (extended from 2024 in 2016),[15] stipulates that all games are available nationally. All First Four games air on truTV. During the first and second rounds, a featured game in each time "window" is broadcast terrestrially on CBS (15 games), while all other games are shown on TBS (12 games), TNT (12 games) or truTV (nine exclusive games, from 2024 on select TNT and/or TBS games may get a simulcast on TruTV when that network is not airing any games). Sweet 16 (regional semifinal) and Elite 8 (regional finals) games are split among CBS and TBS. In 2014 and 2015, Turner channels had exclusive rights to the Final Four (with standard coverage airing on TBS), and CBS broadcast the championship game. Since 2016, rights to the Final Four and championship game alternate between Turner and CBS; the 2016 tournament marked the first time that the national championship game was not broadcast on over-the-air television.[16]
In 2011, TruTV acquired the rights to the preseason Coaches vs. Cancer Classic, beginning with 2012. The tournament was the first regular season games aired by TNT Sports since 1983. The tournament was discontinued after the 2014 edition.[17]
Coverage expands (2021–present)
Regular season basketball produced by TNT Sports returned during the 2020–21 season. NBA TV, which is operated by TNT Sports, televised 2 college basketball games as part of a doubleheader on February 22, 2021. The telecasts featured both men's and women's college basketball games between Jackson State University and Grambling State University and were the first college basketball games ever on the network.[18]
Prior to the 2021–22 season, TNT Sports expanded its HBCU coverage when it reached an agreement to air the Invesco QQQ Legacy Classic, a two-game event featuring four HBCU teams, on TNT. Also, as part of its NBA All-Star Game coverage, NBA TV began producing the NBA-HBCU Classic game, which is also simulcast on TNT and ESPN2.[19] In 2022, NBA TV also aired four other regular season games from the SWAC. On February 5, 2022, NBA aired a doubleheader of men's and women's college basketball games between Florida A&M University and Texas Southern University. On February 12, 2022, NBA aired a doubleheader of Men's and Women's college basketball games between Texas Southern University and Grambling State University.[20]
In 2023, TNT and TruTV began airing the Hall of Fame Series from Las Vegas. The four game event features two early afternoon games on TruTV and two primetime games on TNT. Two of the four games featured Women's college basketball, which had never aired on TNT or TruTV prior to 2023.[21] The event was reduced to two games, one women's and one men's, for the 2024 edition.[22] In 2024, TNT and TruTV will also air one game from the Hall of Fame Series in Baltimore.[23]
On June 27, 2024, TNT Sports announced that they had reached a six-year agreement with the Big East Conference, joining incumbent Fox and newcomer NBC, to air men's and women's college basketball games on their platforms, marking the first time TNT Sports will hold rights to air college basketball games for a specific conference. TNT will air more than 65 games (more that 50 men's basketball games and at least 15 women's basketball games) over the course of the six-year deal. While most games will air on TNT, select games will air on TBS and TruTV, with all games available on Max.[24]
On August 22, 2024, TNT Sports announced it had acquired the rights to the Acrisure Classic. As part of the agreement, 19 men's and women's basketball games over four days will air on TruTV and stream on Max.[25] On September 10, 2024, TNT Sports announced it had acquired the rights to the Players Era Festival, with 12 games airing on TNT, TBS, TruTV or Max.[26]
Starting with the 2025–26 season, TNT Sports will have the rights to air games from the Big 12 Conference as part of a sublicense from ESPN. In return, ESPN will have the rights to air TNT's NBA studio Inside the NBA.[27]
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Current rights
- NCAA March Madness
- First Four exclusively on TruTV (2011–present)
- 33 first and second round games (2011–present)
- 12 Sweet Sixteen and Elite 8 games (2011–present)
- Final four and Championship game every other year (2016–present)
- Invesco QQQ Legacy Classic (2021–present)
- NBA-HBCU Classic game (2022–present)
- Hall of Fame Series (2023–present)
- Acrisure Classic (2024–present)
- Acrisure Holiday Classic (2024–present)
- Acrisure Holiday Invitational (2024–present)
Former rights
- NCAA March Madness
- Final four (2014–2015)
- Coaches vs. Cancer Classic (2012–2014)
- Southwestern Athletic Conference (2021–2022)
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Play-by-play
- Skip Caray (1982−1983)
- Brian Anderson (2012–2014, 2024–present)[28][29]
- Ro Brown (2021)
- Stephanie Ready (2021–2023)[30]
- Ro Parrish (2022)
- Brian Custer (2022, 2024–present)[31][32]
- Spero Dedes (2023–present)[33][24]
- Angel Gray (2023–present)[33]
- Michael Grady (2024–present)[34]
- JB Long (2024–present)[29]
- Cindy Brunson (2024–present)[29]
- Chris Sylvester (2024–present)[29]
Color
- Abe Lemons (1982)
- Joe Dean (1983)
- Greg Anthony (2012–2014)[28]
- Steve Smith (2012–2014, 2024–present)[28][29]
- Deuce McAllister (2021)
- Grant Hill (2021–present)[32][34][30][24][29]
- Santoria Black (2022)
- Brendan Haywood (2022)[31]
- Monica McNutt (2023)[30]
- Candace Parker (2023–present)[33][24][29]
- Christy Winters-Scott (2024–present)[29]
Reporters
- Craig Sager (2012)[28]
- Seth Davis (2014)
- Taylor Rooks (2022–present)[33][30][31][24]
- Allie LaForce (2023–present)[33][29]
- Stephanie Ready (2024–present)[34]
- Chris Haynes (2024–present)[32]
- Jared Greenberg (2024–present)
- Lauren Jbara (2024–present)[29]
- Autumn Johnson (2024–present)[29]
- Nkwa Asonye (2024–present)[29]
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