TruTV Pivots Primetime to Sports Programming, Including NCAA Men’s Basketball
Live sports are coming to truTV’s primetime block, TheWrap has learned.
TNT Sports will premiere a new weeknight sports programming block on truTV starting on March 11. That day is notable as being a week before the beginning of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship. This new programming window will include live sports, original shows about sports and related sports content.
Moving forward, this block will include live broadcasts of NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournaments, which will either air exclusively on truTV or will be simulcast from TNT and/or TBS, as well as altcasts for live games produced by TNT Sports and simulcasts of live games. The 30-minute news and updates show “TNT Sports Update” will also be televised weeknights at 6 p.m., and the live betting sports show “The Line” will follow at 6:30 p.m.
Additionally, the NBA-centric “Handles,” a new weekly “House of Highlights” show from “The Broadcast Boys” and in-season episodes of “The Steam Room” featuring Ernie Johnson and Charles Barkley as well as special editions of “Shaqtin’ a Fool” will air on truTV. Starting on March 15 at 9 p.m., the channel will embrace sports movies and documentaries, including the award-winning “The Inside Story.” MotoGP races will also be coming to the channel.
“We are constantly striving to create and deliver the best sports content and experiences to sports fans wherever they are, and this is an exciting opportunity to expand the reach of our premium TNT Sports programming with greater consistency throughout the year,” Luis Silberwasser, chairman and CEO of TNT Sports, said in a press release. “By creating a primetime block of sports programming on truTV, in addition to our existing premium live sports on TNT and TBS, we are now able to deliver a more comprehensive sports offering for our fans, while generating additional growth opportunities for our sports division and strategic business and league partners.”
As for “Impractical Jokers,” which currently occupies the primetime slot for truTV, it will move to its new home on TBS with episodes this summer. The series will continue to simulcast on truTV and TBS through early April. It will air back-to-back episodes on March 7 and after the NCAA Men’s Final Four National Semifinals on April 6.
Reruns of “Impractical Jokers” will continue to air on truTV prior to 6 p.m. each day.
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