On Thursday, TNT Sports (part of Warner Bros./Discovery) announced a deal with DAZN to bring a monthly fight series to TNT starting with a patriotic kickoff for July 4th of this year.
An intriguing twist has developed in the broadcasting world of boxing, specifically in the U.S., as Thursday linear, traditional cable outlet TNT Sports, now part of conglomerate Skydance, announced that they will partner with streamer DAZN for a monthly fight series to begin patriotically on the 250th anniversary of USA, July 4th.
From their release,
"TNT Sports and DAZN today announced a groundbreaking new partnership that will bring some of the biggest fights in boxing live to TNT Sports and DAZN platforms in the United States, creating a new series of premium events and expanding access for fans nationwide.
The collaboration will feature monthly major boxing events branded The Fight and promoted in partnership with the leading sports entertainment platform, DAZN, and its roster of premier boxing promoters, including Top Rank, Matchroom Boxing, Golden Boy Promotions, and Queensberry Promotions, among others. The first event is scheduled for Independence Day, Saturday, July 4, 2026, and will launch a showcase of elite boxing across TNT Sports and DAZN platforms. Details on participating fighters, venues, and broadcast schedules will be announced at a later date.
“DAZN has earned a strong reputation within the boxing community, and this will allow TNT Sports to be a player in this growing sport — expanding the reach of these events and the moments surrounding them – to an even broader audience,” said Luis Silberwasser, Chairman & CEO, TNT Sports. “This builds on a successful production and commercial partnership with DAZN to showcase the FIFA Club World Cup last Summer and further expands TNT Sports’ portfolio of year-round premium sports content.”
Shay Segev, DAZN Group CEO, said: “DAZN’s partnership with TNT Sports is an important new chapter for boxing in the U.S. By bringing together two leaders in sports media and collaborating with the world’s top promoters, The Fight will deliver unprecedented access to major fight nights to boxing fans nationwide. This collaboration creates attractive commercial opportunities. It reflects our innovative approach to distribution and our shared ambition to grow the sport by making the biggest events in boxing more accessible than ever before.”
The announcement comes at a time of great "flux" for televised boxing and frustrated fight fights. Ever since Top Rank Boxing was dropped by ESPN last Summer, there has been no "linear" cable, or much less over the air network, televised boxing coverage.
This is a decade removed from Premier Boxing Champions having bought television time for regular fights on over the air networks CBS, NBC and Fox Sports. Eventually, they did a rights fee deal with Fox and their PPV arm in the late 2010s.
Meanwhile, Top Rank Boxing aligned with ESPN starting in 2018 for a monthly regular mix of live events on ESPN, ESPN+ and occasionally for PPV broadcasts.
PBC also did a deal eventually with Showtime Network, a premium paid broadcast service, but they ended their sports division and their deal with PBC at the end of 2023.
But, since the expiration of that deal and the aforementioned Top Rank/ESPN relationship last year, the fight fan has had to rely soley on streaming services for subscriptions to see regular fights.
The TNT release continued,
"Under the agreement, select fight nights will be presented across TNT Sports’ U.S. networks and streamed globally on DAZN, bringing marquee matchups and championship bouts to a broad national audience. The partnership reflects DAZN’s long-standing, open-door approach to distribution and shared vision with TNT Sports to bring championship boxing to a broader audience in the US. TNT Sports and DAZN will enhance the fan experience with expansive, co-produced studio programming and a deep commentating roster that will elevate the events for fans.
TNT Sports’ networks and platforms, including Bleacher Report and House of Highlights, will produce and deliver additional content and original programming that brings fight fans closer to the action and drama of boxing. truTV will also serve as a meaningful platform for robust boxing content, airing additional live and shoulder programming to further elevate fight nights, including event weigh-ins, press conferences, features and original content, and more.
Along with creating memorable moments for fans with each fight night, TNT Sports and DAZN will collaborate on cross-promotion, marketing, and advertising sales. Leveraging their collective reach and innovation, these two industry leaders will create a seamless, multi-platform experience that delivers maximum value for brand partners. TNT Sports and DAZN teams will work together across The Fight, pay-per-view events, and subscription programming, creating a more streamlined way for brands to invest in boxing and activate across a broad, unified rights portfolio.
Through its partnerships with many of the sport’s top promoters, DAZN has established itself as a global destination for boxing. These promotions deliver a year-round slate of high-profile fight nights featuring many of boxing’s biggest stars and rising contenders. With this new union, these relationships — marquee, cross-promotional fights — will be accessible to more viewers than ever before."
As we have written recently, both Top Rank and Oscar De La Hoya's, Golden Boy Promotions, have signed recent, multi-year agreements with DAZN and it's believed that TNT will lean on their fighters and fights over these next few months of their monthly series.
TNT, which was acquired by Skydance as part of their acquisition of Warner Bros./Discovery earlier this year, is still currently available as a linear channel on cable systems. And, the channel is shown the same way on the lineups of streaming providers like Youtube TV and Hulu. The channel is also available, for now, on the HBO/Max app for a monthly fee, but that will eventually be folded into the Paramount+ service.