Inside TNT Sports’ launch after BT Sport takeover with Shaquille O’Neal and Co. the secret weapon

The UK sports television landscape saw another big change this year when TNT Sports replaced BT Sport – surprising many football fans.

Even the most casual sports viewer would have had a hard time identifying the Warner Bros. characters. Discover owned Brand Who entered the scene this season.

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TNT Sports It boasts Premier League rights, Champions LeagueAnd European League Football as well Enough.

But the brand has already become a major force in the US and Latin America – and SunSport visited its 300,000 sq ft Atlanta headquarters to get an exclusive look at its ambitions.

TNT has significantly established itself as a leader in the field NBA The market and close partner of the league.

It was a Warner Bros. The most notable discovery Basketball It has been produced in the United States for decades with support from sister platforms Bleacher Report and NBA TV.

Its crown jewel is the studio’s popular show “Inside the NBA,” starring charismatic basketball icons Shaquille O’NealCharles Barkley and Kenny Smith, as well as legendary American host Ernie Johnson.

A feel-good crew will be central to the media giant’s operations as it seeks to tackle the British television market, SunSport has discovered on a behind-the-scenes tour.

Fresh from a massive merger, Warner Bros. Discovery recently cut back on some of its sports production in the US by canceling some high-profile shows – e.g HBOReal Sports with Bryant Gumbel after 29 seasons.

However, the media giant was not limited to the acquisition BT Sportsa deal that was not initially planned, but also snatched up the UK broadcast rights to the NBA from Sky Sports after it renamed the channel to TNT Sports before the start of the 2023-24 season.

PT GroupBT’s decision to offload BT Sport – which broadcast NBA games between 2013 and 2018 – last year provided the US company with an opportunity to export the TNT Sports brand to the UK.

This came at the right time, coinciding with the end Sky Sports“Four-year television contract with the league.”

With advanced technical infrastructure and access to a vast and diverse content library, TNT Sports could suddenly become the home of the NBA in the UK after it had already become one country.

It also gave the broadcaster a chance to introduce the new branding before Discovery Plus, WDB’s streaming service, moves to Max in the UK as it has done in other markets, which could happen in 2026 at the earliest due to existing production deals with HBO and Sky. .

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“It was too good to miss,” Warner Bros. said. Scott Young, senior vice president of content and production at Discovery Sports Europe, exclusively told SunSport.

TNT Sports wants its UK and US departments to collaborate on sports coverage, a first for WBD’s international companies.

But the Chiefs are determined to make it happen, and they extend beyond basketball, including the 2024 Paris Olympics, Young and Warner Bros. Craig Barry, Discovery Sports’ executive vice president and chief operating officer, said:

They hope the two teams can learn from each other, helping them understand how to translate content from one country to another — and perhaps even reinvent each other’s software.

“I think some of the ways we do content are interesting to some of their fans,” Barry said. “Conversely, I think some of the ways they present content will be a new lens and a new way of looking at it.”

Young added: “We are working very closely with the Premier League and UEFA on how we can raise the level of our soccer coverage. We will start doing the same with the NBA as we start to wait for more and more games.”

When it comes to NBA coverage in the UK, TNT Sports only broadcasts domestically in the US at the moment.

It shows nine live games a week, including Tuesday’s intra-NBA doubleheader — famously rich in on-air antics from O’Neal and Barkley, who watched the former get shoved under the Christmas tree during the broadcast last year.

In addition to the 250 regular season games, the broadcaster promises to present nine playoff games weekly, both conference finals and NBA Finals series.

It also offers two weekly magazine shows: NBA Action, which features general NBA topics, and NBA on Fire, which features the best plays of the previous week.

But TNT Sports is analyzing interest in specific players and teams and reviewing the popularity of different time periods in an attempt to develop a UK-based show, in the hope that it will make its content resonate better with British audiences.

“I mean, sometimes producers can make a mistake when they need to jump too quickly into what they think people want to watch,” Scott said.

“Fortunately, through social media and other touchpoints, you can get real feedback from what audiences are enjoying these days and develop a show that follows the three-year period rather than trying to deliver something on day one that didn’t fit.”

Building on existing NBA programming rather than modifying it into a more culturally appropriate form is Warner Bros.’ approach. Discovery wants to take.

TNT prides itself on embracing the intersection between sports and culture, which is evident in the unscripted, hilarious and largely intentionally chaotic nature of Inside the NBA – a very different approach to the typical British football show.

After SunSport’s visit to TNT headquarters, Shaq put Chuck on the spot during halftime to mock Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green’s altercation with French midfielder Rudy Gobert in a game today — and it went viral on social media.

TNT Sports wants to amplify moments like these to connect with fans, no matter where they come from.

“We understand our commitment to the hardcore fans, but we also understand our equal commitment to the casual fans,” Barry said.

“This is kind of differentiating the way we create content and present our shows — with the kind of honest, unapologetic, real way of doing sports throughout the NBA.”

WBD executives believe TNT Sports’ programming will be localized, relying on its originality, entertainment value and UK audiences’ previous exposure to the NBA.

The star power of the likes of O’Neill and Barkley makes them more confident of the success of the global venture.

“I think that’s what people will gravitate to,” Young said.

“It’s not whether they’re American talent that UK audiences watch but they’re really attractive talent. You sit there and say, ‘They’re having a good time.’ I want to watch this. “I’m learning something along the way.”

“The superfan knows everything there is to know about sports, no matter what type of sport it is. Can we get a casual fan, even a non-NBA fan, to start enjoying that through this content?

“I think this is the real growth opportunity for us.”

Not only that, but WBD is keen to grow the TNT Sports portfolio, pouncing on future opportunities if they fit the platform’s philosophy – as they did with the NBA rights.

“We are looking at all sports rights as they become available,” Scott said. “Every serious sportscaster should do and do.”

Watch all the latest action from around the NBA live on TNT Sports. TNT Sports is available through streaming destination Discovery+ and across all major TV platforms. This is not just a sport, this is everything. For more information visit: www.tntsports.co.uk/basketball/nba/