{"id":561304,"date":"2026-04-03T02:00:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T02:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/561304\/"},"modified":"2026-04-03T02:00:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T02:00:10","slug":"cbs-sports-to-merge-with-tnt-sports-in-q3-2026-if-all-goes-according-to-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/561304\/","title":{"rendered":"CBS Sports to merge with TNT Sports in Q3 2026 &#8216;if all goes according to plan&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery are still awaiting regulatory approval for the recent transaction that will combine the two entities. But it appears the two sides are preparing for a merger sooner rather than later.<\/p>\n<p>According to <a href=\"https:\/\/puck.news\/inside-tnt-sports-strategy-ahead-of-the-parabros-merger\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">a report by Puck sports correspondent John Ourand<\/a> on Thursday evening, both companies\u2019 respective sports divisions \u2014 CBS Sports and TNT Sports \u2014 will merge in the third quarter of this year \u201cif all goes according to plan.\u201d CBS Sports president David Berson \u201cis seen as the odds-on favorite to run the combined division,\u201d Ourand writes.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, there are still many hurdles for Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery to clear before a combination becomes official. Not only does the transaction still need federal regulatory approval, but a number of state attorneys general have already <a href=\"https:\/\/deadline.com\/2026\/03\/paramount-warner-bros-state-attorneys-general-1236746176\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">thrown the flag<\/a> on a merger. Not to mention, there will be additional challenges abroad, specifically in Europe, to move the deal forward.<\/p>\n<p>However, we\u2019ve already seen a willingness for expediency from the current administration when it comes to media mergers. Earlier this year, the equity deal between ESPN and the NFL was approved <a href=\"https:\/\/awfulannouncing.com\/espn\/how-nfl-mega-deal-approved-regulators-quickly.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">nearly a year ahead of schedule<\/a>. So while the third quarter of 2026 might seem quick on paper, there might be reason for Paramount\u2019s and Warner Bros. Discovery\u2019s optimism.<\/p>\n<p>For now, CBS Sports and TNT Sports are operating as independent entities. In the report, <a href=\"https:\/\/awfulannouncing.com\/tnt-sports\/extremely-interested-keeping-nhl-rights-luis-silberwasser.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">TNT Sports CEO Luis Silberwasser<\/a> told Ourand, \u201cWhen we talk about the transaction, it\u2019s important to note that we are operating as two separate companies until the transaction is completed. In the meantime, there\u2019s no discussion about the future or what happens. All those things are being decided later. We have the ability to continue to do the deals we\u2019re doing now, and to operate this company as an independent company and a separate company from Paramount.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>If a merger is completed in Q3 2026, it would open up the possibility for CBS to broadcast TNT Sports properties, like postseason MLB games, as soon as this season. It\u2019s unclear exactly how the combined entity will choose to divvy up its inventory; after all, it will still have to honor the obligations of its distribution agreements, which could force properties like postseason baseball to stay on TNT Sports\u2019 cable networks. Nevertheless, the possibility is there.<\/p>\n<p>Realistically, it\u2019ll take at least a full calendar year for a combined CBS Sports-TNT Sports to figure out what inventory it should put where to maximize the value of its live sports rights. But the start of that process could be right around the corner.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery are still awaiting regulatory approval for the recent transaction that will combine the&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":561305,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[26604,88,4208,37316,92,10343],"class_list":{"0":"post-561304","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-cbs-sports","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-paramount","11":"tag-tnt-sports","12":"tag-tv","13":"tag-warner-bros-discovery"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/561304","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=561304"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/561304\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/561305"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=561304"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=561304"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=561304"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}