BUDAPEST, HUNGARY – MAY 30: Marquinhos of Paris Saint-Germain lifts the UEFA Champions League trophy after his team’s victory in the UEFA Champions League Final 2026 match between Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal FC at Puskas Arena on May 30, 2026 in Budapest, Hungary. (Photo by Michael Regan – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
UEFA via Getty Images
Paramount Skydance’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery will shake up every corner of entertainment, and that includes sports.
The newly-named Skydance Corporation inherits a significant collection of rights between everything held by CBS Sports and TNT Sports. And plenty of it could be shuffled around across the various traditional TV and streaming networks like CBS, CBS Sports, TNT, TBS, Paramount+ and HBO Max.
Eventually.
Both Awful Announcing and Puck have highlighted that while the rights all exist under the same parent company now, the carriage deals in place with Pay TV providers (on both the streaming and linear sides) mostly prevent this sort of thing from occurring without new contracts negotiated.
Why Carrier Disputes?
The agreements that prevent UFC fights from leaving Paramount+ for TNT or MLB playoff games from departing TBS for CBS work both ways.
TV carriers like YouTube TV, Charter Spectrum, Cox, Comcast Xfinity, DirecTV and others pay network groups a particular fee per subscriber, and part of that is predicated on the network airing specific programming that drives subscription interest.
This came up in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic as well, when these same carriers were starting to push back on the high fees associated with live sports networks that weren’t airing live sports anymore.
In the Skydance situation, the problem stems from these carriers paying more for a network like TNT – because audiences are interested hockey – and with that comes the expectation that those hockey games will appear there. If they don’t, the carrier is overpaying for the network.
By the same token, moving hockey games to CBS would also mean Skydance wasn’t making nearly as much as it should in carriage fees. Since it would be airing more premium live sports programming than it had when these contracts were agreed to.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JUNE 14: Jordan Staal #11 of the Carolina Hurricanes holds the Stanley Cup trophy after winning in Game Six of the 2026 Stanley Cup Final against the Vegas Golden Knights 3-0 in Game Six of the 2026 Stanley Cup Final at T-Mobile Arena on June 14, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
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Hockey Exception Coming?
This coming spring’s Stanley Cup Playoffs could be the first major test of what can move, though.
TNT Sports has the rights to aspects of hockey’s playoffs, including the Stanley Cup Final. But TNT and TBS are cable networks. CBS, on the other hand, is a broadcast network that gets larger reach, exposure and ad dollars for all involved.
Plus, observers likely noticed the massive jump in viewership and TV ad revenues the NBA experienced this past season when part of its package moved from TNT to NBC. The NHL itself saw more TV success when its games left NBC Sports Network for ESPN/ABC and TNT/TBS.
Since the NHL’s current TV deal is up at the end of the 2027-28 season, the property (with a niche but passionate following that grows when bigger teams/markets are involved) could be an easy one to test, as to avoid ruffling feathers until that contract is almost expired.
The TV industry would also have potential interest in what a CBS-only or CBS/TBS simulcast Stanley Cup Final could look like from a ratings and revenue perspective. Not that ESPN or ABC lacks reach under the current deal. But CBS is regularly jockeying with NBC for the title of “most-watched network.” And since hockey isn’t typically housed there, would the Cup appearing on CBS make for an event, or confusion?
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH – OCTOBER 03: Natalia Silva of Brazil celebrates after defeating Wang Cong in the UFC flyweight championship fight during the UFC 332 event at Delta Center on October 03, 2026 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
Zuffa LLC
UFC, Champions League
Another major opportunity could lie in the rights that are more streaming focused at the moment, as is the case for UFC and UEFA Champions League matches that largely air on Paramount+.
Soccer already has a foothold with TNT Sports’ audience, since it currently owns the rights to U.S. Men’s and Women’s Soccer. A natural next step could be transporting some of the Championship League matches to TNT to take potentially increase distribution and grow the network’s notoriety as a hub for soccer on U.S. TVs.
There’s long-term benefit too, if Skydance opts to get involved in MLS rights, which run out with Apple in June 2029. Having a “soccer network” already built out by then makes it a more appealing add on both sides, and helps avoid the inherent issue MLS would have contracting with ESPN or Fox, which are already well subscribed to football and college sports content during most of soccer’s months.
UFC is more complicated, given its pay-per-view reliance. But a new arrangement could see pay-per-view matches stay on Paramount+ (or get the HBO treatment given the network’s long-standing work with boxing), while other matches head to TNT/TBS to help grow audience and interest.
The powers-that-be at Skydance have assuredly thought a lot of this through already internally. Now audiences will have to sit back and watch it all play out (while hopefully not incurring more costs to tune into these events in the process).
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