TNT Makes New Deal to Air 3-on-3 Women’s Basketball from Unrivaled
In the deal, games will air on TNT and truTV, as well as stream on Max.
Warner Bros. Discovery is continuing to pursue more live sports opportunities. The latest acquisition by the company was announced on Wednesday; WBD is partnering with the professional women’s basketball league Unrivaled to air three-on-three basketball games on TNT, truTV and Max starting in 2025.
Key Details:
- The deal includes rights to air more than 45 regular season games.
- Action tips off on Jan. 17, 2025.
- The move is the latest sports deal from WBD, another indication that it fears the NBA is about to depart.
The deal between WBD and Unrivaled will allow the company to broadcast and stream 45 three-on-three women’s basketball games from the league. Games will air on Mondays and Fridays on TNT, and Saturdays on truTV. All matchups will stream on Max live.
Unrivaled is a three-on-three league co-founded by WNBA superstars Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart. It’s comprised of 30 total players across six teams, making for a high-paced and entertaining product on the court. The upcoming season will be Unrivaled’s inaugural campaign, and the season tips off on Jan. 17.
“Our TNT Sports portfolio centers on premium live sports and our media and equity partnership with Unrivaled deepens our commitment to further expanding the depth of top tier women’s sports programming we offer our fans and presents an opportunity for us to shape and amplify the continued growth of women’s basketball,” said Luis Silberwasser, Chairman & CEO, TNT Sports.
The deal comes at a propitious moment for women’s basketball. Sports Business Journal reports that the WNBA is averaging over 1 million viewers in its 2024 playoffs, a jump of 131% over last year. In addition to live games, WBD will distribute Unrivaled highlights and other content on Bleacher Report and other platforms.
The deal also comes at a crucial moment for WBD. The company is still in the midst of a lawsuit against the NBA, arguing that the league improperly disregarded a match of Prime Video’s offer for the league’s “C” broadcasting package starting in 2025. Since filing that lawsuit, however, WBD has continued to add other sports in anticipation that it could lose the case.
Those additions include the addition of some College Football Playoff rights, Mountain West football games, BIG EAST basketball starting in 2025, the French Open tennis tournament, NASCAR Cup Series races starting next year and more. WBD also recently announced an extension of its deal with All Elite Wrestling, which will allow some AEW shows to stream on Max for the first time.
TNT may be close to losing the NBA, but it and its sibling channels are not likely to run out of sports content any time soon. The addition of three-on-three women’s basketball from Unrivaled could even feature commentary or pre-game analysis from Charles Barkley, who has pledged to stick by TNT even if the NBA leaves.
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Max
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