Warner Bros. Discovery Sports
WBD-Sports.svg
Launched1995
(as Turner Sports)
2022
(as Warner Bros. Discovery Sports)
OwnerWarner Bros. Discovery
Key peopleLuis Silberwasser (Chairman, WBD Sports)[1][2]
Andrew Georgiou (President, WBD Sports Europe)
HeadquartersAtlanta, Georgia
Major broadcasting contracts
Sister networkEurosport
Original language(s)English
Official websitediscoverysports.com

Warner Bros. Discovery Sports (WBD Sports) is the division of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) that is responsible for sports broadcasts on its parent company's various channels in the United States, including TBS, TNT, AT&T SportsNet, and TruTV. It also operates the online digital media outlets for the NCAA, NBA, PGA Tour, and PGA of America. WBD Sports also operates the sports news website Bleacher Report, and its streaming service, B/R Live, as well as NBA TV on behalf of the NBA. It also owns a minority share in the MLB Network. Internationally, another Warner Bros. Discovery Sports-branded division operates Eurosport in Europe.

Turner also owned WPCH-TV, the former WTBS, which was the longtime television home for Major League Baseball's Atlanta Braves. This relationship ended after the 2013 season. WPCH-TV was itself sold to Meredith Corporation in 2017 (which operated the station under a local marketing agreement since 2011 with CBS affiliate WGCL-TV), then to Gray Television in 2021.

Following AT&T's acquisition of Time Warner in 2018, it was announced in March 2019 that the Turner Broadcasting System would be dissolved, and its assets dispersed into Warner Bros. and two new units. Turner Sports was combined with CNN and AT&T SportsNet into a new division known as WarnerMedia News & Sports, led by CNN president Jeff Zucker.[3] In October 2020, Turner Sports announced a partnership with DraftKings to be the exclusive provider of daily fantasy and sports betting information for most Turner Sports and Bleacher Report properties, excluding the NBA due to its league-wide deal with competitor FanDuel.[4]

In 2022, Warner Bros. Discovery was formed with the spin-off of WarnerMedia by AT&T, and its merger with Discovery, Inc. Turner Sports was then renamed as Warner Bros. Discovery Sports, with the brand also being used for the division that manages Discovery's existing European and international sports assets such as Eurosport, Golf Digest, BT Sport, and Global Cycling Network.

History

The division began in the 1970s as the sports division of Turner Broadcasting System's basic cable networks, with separate TBS Sports and TNT Sports brands for TBS and TNT, respectively. In 1995, a unified Turner Sports rebranding began to be used, accompanied by an intro and outro sequence featuring the voice of CNN Headline News anchor Don Harrison and music from Edd Kalehoff. In 1996, Turner Sports became a division of Time Warner after it merged with Turner Broadcasting System.

In August 2012, Turner Sports acquired the sports news website Bleacher Report for $175 million.[5]

In 2018, Turner Sports launched a subscription streaming service as a branch of Bleacher Report, known as B/R Live; it would be anchored by Turner's recently-acquired rights to the UEFA Champions League, while also featuring content from the NCAA, NBA League Pass, and others.[6]

Following AT&T's acquisition of Time Warner in 2018, it was announced in March 2019 that the Turner Broadcasting System would be dissolved, and its assets dispersed into Warner Bros. and two new units. Turner Sports was combined with CNN and the AT&T SportsNet regional sports networks into a new division known as WarnerMedia News & Sports, led by CNN president Jeff Zucker.[3]

In October 2020, Turner Sports announced a partnership with DraftKings to be the exclusive provider of daily fantasy and sports betting information for most Turner Sports and Bleacher Report properties, excluding the NBA due to its league-wide deal with competitor FanDuel.[4]

Current properties

Other television properties

Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Interactive

Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe properties

Former properties

Turner South

CNN/SI

TBS

TNT

truTV

B/R Live

First-run syndication

Prime Sports

Notable WBD Sports personalities (past and present)

^D denotes deceased.

See also

References

  1. ^ Mullin, Benjamin; Draper, Kevin (June 9, 2022). "Warner Bros. Discovery Picks Sports Chief to Navigate Streaming Era". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
  2. ^ Steinberg, Brian (June 9, 2022). "Warner Bros. Discovery Taps Luis Silberwasser as News Sports Chief". Variety. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
  3. ^ a b Feiner, Lauren (March 4, 2019). "Layoffs expected as WarnerMedia reorganizes its leadership team after AT&T acquisition". CNBC. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  4. ^ a b Young, Jabari (15 October 2020). "DraftKings strikes another media partnership, this time with AT&T's Turner Sports". CNBC. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  5. ^ Lunden, Ingrid (August 6, 2012). "Update: It's Done. Time Warner Buys Bleacher Report, Price Reportedly $175M". TechCrunch. Retrieved September 18, 2019.
  6. ^ Spangler, Todd (March 27, 2018). "Turner Sports Unveils 'Bleacher Report Live' Pay-Streaming Service". Variety. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  7. ^ "Turner Sports and Major League Baseball Reach Seven-Year Media Rights Extension Through 2028" (Press release). New York: Warner Bros. Discovery. September 24, 2020. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
  8. ^ "The NHL Comes to Turner" (Press release). New York: Warner Bros. Discovery.
  9. ^ "Turner, WME-IMG Get in the Esports Game With Own League". AdAge. 23 September 2015.
  10. ^ Spangler, Todd (September 24, 2015). "Turner, WME/IMG Form E-Sports League, With TBS to Air Live Events". Variety. Los Angeles: Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  11. ^ "WarnerMedia signs eight-year deal with U.S. Soccer for men's and women's national team matches". Awful Announcing. 2022-03-01. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
  12. ^ "CBS Sports, Turner Broadcasting, NCAA Reach 14-Year Agreement". NCAA (Press release). Indianapolis: Warner Bros. Discovery Sports. April 21, 2010. Archived from the original on November 9, 2013. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  13. ^ "Turner wins NCAA digital rights". Associated Presswebsite=ESPN. September 21, 2010. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  14. ^ Russ, Hilary (February 7, 2019). "Turner Sports inks deal with Caesars for Bleacher Report betting..." Atlanta. Reuters. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  15. ^ Goldbart, Max (September 1, 2022). "Warner Bros. Discovery & BT Sport Close Joint Venture Transaction". Deadline Hollywood. Los Angeles: Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  16. ^ Sutton, Mark (April 23, 2021). "Discovery Inc takes full ownership of Play Sports Group". Cycling Industry News. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
  17. ^ Reid, Carlton (February 8, 2021). "Discovery Subsidiary GCN To Launch Netflix-Style Streaming TV Channel For Cyclists". Forbes. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
  18. ^ "Turner Sports Acquires NASCAR's Internet Rights; NASCAR Online to be Produced by Turner Sports". WarnerMedia. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
  19. ^ "Turner Sports New Media, PGA Tour Ink Multi-Year Web Deal". www.sportsbusinessdaily.com. September 12, 2006. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
  20. ^ Selbe, Nick. "Report: Turner to Opt Out of UEFA Champions League Deal". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2020-07-10.
  21. ^ "Turner Sports Reaches Multi-Year Agreement to Present NCAA National Collegiate Beach Volleyball Championship". NCAA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. 26 April 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  22. ^ "Turner Sports Reaches Multi-Year Agreement to Present NCAA National Collegiate Beach Volleyball Championship". Turner Sports. 26 April 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  23. ^ a b Ourand, John (February 24, 2017). "Turner's Soccer Shocker". SportsBusinessDaily.com. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  24. ^ "Report: Turner secures US streaming rights for SPL". SportsPro. Retrieved 2018-07-31.
  25. ^ "Where to find soccer leagues and competitions on US TV and streaming".
  26. ^ Bupp, Phillip (July 31, 2018). "Turner Sports to broadcast 46 Champions League matches on TNT, offer B/R Live subscription on per match basis". AwfulAnnouncing.com. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  27. ^ "Legendary Hall of Fame Broadcaster Marv Albert Announces His Retirement Following TNT's Coverage of 2021 NBA Eastern Conference Finals". pressroom.warnermedia.com. WarnerMedia. May 17, 2021. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  28. ^ Bieler, Des (January 27, 2022). "Warriors' Draymond Green signs deal with Turner Sports while still active in NBA". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  29. ^ "Ernie Johnson bio". www.turner.com. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
  30. ^ "Shaquille O'Neal and Turner Sports reach multi-year extension". NBA.com. August 24, 2020. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  31. ^ "Catch up with Turner Sports rising star Roslyn Gold-Onwude". TheShadowLeague.com. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
  32. ^ "Candace Parker & Turner Sports Reach Multi-Year Extension". pressroom.warnermedia.com. WarnerMedia. September 9, 2019. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  33. ^ "Dwyane Wade signs deal to be NBA Analyst for TNT". ESPN. Retrieved October 22, 2019.

External links

Warner Bros. Discovery
Warner Bros. Discovery Sports broadcast properties (including TNT, TBS, TruTV and HBO)
Warner Bros. Discovery Sports & News
Sports television in the United States
Categories