The glorious partnership of NBA and TNT is drawing its last breaths. But even when fans are still reeling from the trauma, TNT seems to have already moved on and found new partnerships for the foreseeable future. So, even when we’ll no longer see Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Ernie grace our television screens come the 2025-26 NBA season, fans can see a few college football games on the network. This is all part of TNT’s contingency plans, as they plan to air Mountain West College Football games from August 29 this year.

All of this does not come as a surprise, since a month ago, even Shaq confirmed the imminent end of the NBA-TNT partnership through his social media. But what’s surprising is that to save TNT’s face amidst all this drama, its rival network ESPN came in.

So, why now? Why would ESPN swoop in to help TNT out?

At first, it wasn’t ESPN’s intention. But as per Sports Illustrated, they decided to share the broadcasting onus of College Football playoffs and a few other games right when they saw TNT’s offer on the table.

Earlier, ESPN held the right to broadcast 11 of the College Football playoff games, but TNT’s future is up in the air, it still has the relevant branding needed to uplift any sport worked out in TNT’s favor. Plus, this deal offers ESPN some “breathing room”, financially speaking. As part of the deal, TNT will pay close to 9 figures to ESPN for broadcasting rights of these games. This surge of revenue coming in from TNT will help ESPN repay a part of the $1.3 billion contract for the College Football playoffs through the 2031 season.

ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro feels this move was for the best. “We took a step back and asked ourselves, was this better or worse for college football? And we ultimately decided that [WBD] putting their networks behind these games would be a net positive.”

So, come August 29, TNT will start broadcasting almost all the Mountain West and other sports content through TruTV.

After cutting chords with Shaquille O’Neal and crew, TNT plans to solidify the network

“Inside the NBA on TNT” has been gracing our TV screens since 1989, and is highly popular among generations for its insights on the sport along with the entertainment they display. There’s never a dull moment, all thanks to the crew’s natural charm. But, judging from Warner Bros. Discovery’s recent strategy, they don’t seem keen on splashing cash on its most valuable asset anymore. The era of Inside the NBA seems to be heading for doom after next season.

According to Front Office Sports, WBDy, TNT’s parent company is expanding its horizon through this multi-year agreement to air 14 MW football games each season through TruTV, via its basic cable channel, and on Max (formerly HBO Max) OTT platform.

Mountain West Commissioner Gloria Nevarez gave an official statement once the deal was set in stone, saying, “TNT Sports provides the Mountain West with a third national television partner to showcase the outstanding student-athletes across the league. TNT Sports has always been a leader in sports broadcasting, and adding one of the top conferences in the FBS to its lineup will certainly be a benefit to MW and college football fans across the country.”

The first game TruTV will broadcast will be played between Sacramento State and San Jose State at 10 p.m. ET., continuing their run through November 2. Post the first game on August 29, TNT is set to broadcast 4 Saturday MW doubleheader games on September 7, 14, and 21, and October 12. Later, they are planning to broadcast single games on October 5, 19, and 26, and November 2.

TNT hasn’t broadcast any college football games since 2006, but considering the appeal college football has across the nation, through this move, they are planning to expand and prove their mettle in the sports broadcasting industry.

Warner Bros. Discovery is confident that this move is only going to strengthen its sports offerings, drive more subscriptions, and keep it at the forefront as the ultimate sports viewing destination in the market. And it’s a win-win for both WBD and MW since Mountain West will now get a major outreach in the upcoming season.

And this is not just it. TNT is also expanding its horizon to the Roland Garros tennis Grand Slam, French Open, Big East College Basketball, and even NASCAR. So, it seems TNT is all jam-packed with everything sorted out as NBA legends and analysts Shaq, Charles Barkley, and other members of their beloved crew bid adieu next season. The network is adding value and volume with these moves, foregoing their claims on the NBA media rights.