Turner Sports said it made a deal with the Alliance of American Football that will put one of the new league’s regular season games and one of its playoff games on TNT, with one weekly game streaming on Turner’s Bleacher Report Live streaming service.
The new league, started by TV producer Charlie Ebersol and NFL veterans including Bill Polian, is scheduled to start playing in February. It will face off against another new league, the XFL, being started by WWE’s Vince McMahon.
The Alliance of American Football previously made a deal with CBS. That deal puts the AAF’s opening day one CBS and one game each week on CBS Sports Network. CBS Sports Network will also carry one playoff game and CBS will broadcast the league’s championship game.
Financial terms of the deal with Turner was not disclosed.
TNT’s game will pit the Salt Lake Stallions against the Birmingham Iron on Feb. 16. That game will air at 2 p.m. ET, before Turner’s coverage of the NBA All-Star Saturday Night.
In addition to live game coverage, all Alliance games distributed through B/R Live will be available on demand, with highlight rights extending across B/R platforms.
“We’re looking forward to this exciting partnership with The Alliance – including working closely with its leadership team of Charlie Ebersol, Bill Polian, Hines Ward and Troy Polamalu – and share the enthusiasm and forward-thinking vision being applied to this newly-formed league,” said Lenny Daniels, president of Turner Sports. “This is a true partnership and The Alliance will have our full support in the distribution of its live game coverage and content across the Turner Sports portfolio.”
