Warner Bros joins ESPN College Football playoff games amid NBA talks

Even as Warner Bros. Discovery faces extensive press from investors wanting to know whether the company will retain the rights to broadcast NBA games, it is courting sports from a different realm.

Warner Bros. Discovery has struck a deal with rival ESPN that will allow the network to sublicense a small number of games over five years starting later this year, according to two people familiar with the matter. TNT will be the leading media network for broadcasting two first-round games this year and next, adding two quarterfinals starting in 2026.

The deal emerges as Warner Bros. Discovery remains embroiled in critical discussions with the NBA over renewing longstanding media rights. Warner and the NBA have been allies since 1989, with the relationship growing to such an extent that Warner has helped operate the NBA's cable network and manage some of its digital content.

Still, the NBA's media deals with both ESPN and Warner Bros. Discovery expire after next season, and the league has already worked out deal frameworks with the Disney-backed broadcaster as well as Amazon Prime Video and NBCUniversal, according to people familiar with the situation . Warner Bros. Discovery believes it has the right to try to match a competitor's offering.

Warner and the basketball league continue to have discussions about maintaining their current relationships. “Negotiations are still ongoing. We have a great partnership with the NBA,” Warner Chief Financial Officer Gunnar Wiedenfels said in an address to investors on Wednesday. “We value the product and are very confident that we can find a solution that is mutually beneficial.”

Warner's efforts to secure the college football games were “independent and parallel” to his NBA discussions, according to a person familiar with the matter. The company, like many of its media peers, has been eager to expand its sports portfolio as live events remain one of the few formats that continue to attract the large, concurrent audiences that advertisers and distributors desire. Many of these viewers stream scripted comedies, dramas, and movies at times of their choosing. Warner has long offered NBA and MLB games and shares broadcast rights with CBS for the NCAA March Madness men's basketball tournament. It recently signed new deals with the NHL and NASCAR.

The loss of NBA games would be viewed as a significant hindrance to Warner Bros. Discovery's business. The company's TNT cable network's lineup is filled with NBA broadcasts, and its studio program “Inside the NBA,” which features Charles Barkley, Shaquille O'Neal and Ernie Johnson, among others, is considered one of the top shows ever of US sports.

“We have had a lot of time to prepare for these negotiations and we have strategies in place for the various possible outcomes,” Warner CEO David Zaslav said during the company's recent earnings call with investors.

Discussions with ESPN began about two or three months ago, this person said.

The pact will make college football broadcast on one of Warner's cable channels for the first time since a four-year tenure that ended in 2006. During this time, Warner's TBS aired Big 12 and Pac-10 games sublicensed from Fox. Previously, Warner made TBS the first cable network to broadcast live college football when it began broadcasting games in 1982. A decade later, TBS canceled the games.

The new deal could boost business for Warner and Disney. ESPN can offset some of the money it must spend to broadcast the CFP under a six-year deal worth $7.8 billion and extending through the 2031-2032 season. The inclusion of Warner's TNT Sports would increase promotion around CFP and potentially attract a wider audience to the event. According to the person familiar with the matter, ESPN will produce all games, but TNT Sports will be able to create programming around the CFP games and make its own decisions about talent and some aspects of presentation. However, according to a person familiar with the matter, the ESPN broadcasters will guide viewers through the games themselves.

The two companies are also partners in the soon-to-launch streaming joint venture Venu, and the deal will keep the CFP games available to that outlet. Warner and Disney are together with Fox Corp. Co-owner of Venu. Warner Bros. Discovery would also likely stream the new playoff games on its Max service.