TNT's deal with ESPN to broadcast CFP games reportedly isn't in response to potentially losing NBA rights

With its future sports lineup uncertain, TNT Sports has pivoted to college football. But don't say it's because they're about to lose the rights to broadcast NBA games.

On Wednesday, TNT agreed to a deal with ESPN to sublicense several College Football Playoff games from the worldwide leader, beginning in 2024. However, according to an executive who spoke with Andrew Marchand of The Athletic, the move has nothing to do with the NBA potentially taking its ball elsewhere. 

"While TNT's future partnership with the NBA is in doubt, the move for CFP games is unrelated to those current tenuous negotiations," Marchand wrote. "The CFP agreement would have happened regardless of where the talks with the NBA stood." 

Per ESPN, the deal with TNT is for five years. TNT will broadcast two first-round CFP games in 2024 and 2025 before adding two quarterfinal matchups from 2026 through 2028. 

Securing a pact with ESPN to show college football games makes too much sense for TNT or any other network, with or without the NBA. Meanwhile, the timing might seem curious, but if the network hadn't struck while the iron was hot, surely another company would've gleefully stepped up to the plate in its place. 

For now, it appears the NBA will be leaving TNT's airwaves, ending a partnership spanning over three decades. According to the latest reports, the league has already reached the "framework" for deals with ESPN and Amazon. 

However, all is not lost. 

TNT's parent company, Warner Brothers Discovery, can match any third-party offers. Nevertheless, the NBA is reportedly determining whether it can reject that claim, which has both sides seemingly prepared to fight a legal battle over the matter. 

Either way, it looks like WBD isn't going down without a fight. And that's good news for fans of TNT's coverage of the NBA, including beloved shows like "Inside the NBA," which may have already signed off for the final time.