TNT Sports and the Mountain West Conference have come to terms on a multiyear agreement that will bring a full schedule of live college football games to air exclusively on truTV and Max beginning this year. The platforms will present 14 Mountain West college football games during its inaugural season, starting with a kickoff game between San José State and Sacramento State on Thursday, Aug. 29 at 7 p.m. PST. The first Saturday game on truTV and Max will commence on Saturday, Aug. 31 when San Diego State hosts Texas A&M Commerce at 5 p.m. PST. Both truTV and Max will serve as the home for four Saturday doubleheaders within the conference, including the first three Saturdays in September and on Saturday, Oct. 12 as well.
The new agreement marks the first time TNT Sports will televise a regular schedule of college football games since TBS carried both the Big 12 and Pac 12 Conferences in the 2000s. FOX Sports signed a six-year media rights agreement with the Mountain West that runs through the conclusion of the 2025-26 season, which includes exclusive rights to Boise State home football games and the conference’s championship game.
CBS Sports also broadcasts Mountain West games as part of a multiyear deal that expires at the same time and broadcasts select football and men’s basketball games within the deal, along with the conference’s men’s basketball championship game. Games airing on TNT Sports platforms will be in addition to the 49-game national television package with CBS Television Network, CBS Sports Network, FOX and FOX Networks.
“TNT Sports provides the Mountain West with a third national television partner to showcase the outstanding student-athletes across the league,” Gloria Nevarez, commissioner of the Mountain West Conference, said in a statement. “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.”
Various reports have stated that the NBA is in the process of formalizing new media rights contracts with The Walt Disney Company (ESPN/ABC), NBCUniversal and Amazon’s Prime Video said to be worth a collective $76 billion over the duration of the deal. Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company of TNT Sports, could reportedly explore trying to enact its matching rights clause, although there exists ambiguity as to the breadth of that provision. Over the last two months, TNT Sports has signed media rights deals with the French Open and Big East basketball, along with sublicensing select College Football Playoff games from ESPN.
“We are excited to partner with the Mountain West and bring these compelling college football games to truTV and Max,” Raphael Poplock, senior vice president of acquisitions, business developments and partnerships at TNT Sports, said in a statement. “With this agreement, we will further expand our live sports programming on truTV while creating additional exposure for the Mountain West and its student-athletes across our TNT Sports platforms.”
