Skydance’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery has brought CBS Sports and TNT Sports under one parent company, opening the possibility of moving some NHL programming to CBS. The 2027 Stanley Cup Final is still scheduled for TNT, and no broadcaster change has been announced.
In an October 8 report, Awful Announcing’s Drew Lerner identified the Final as a possible target for CBS. He reported that NHL commissioner Gary Bettman supported the merger partly because CBS could reach more viewers than TNT.
Existing TNT and TBS distribution contracts complicate a move. Pay-TV companies pay carriage fees partly for exclusive sports programming, so shifting an event to CBS could conflict with those agreements.
Lerner cited Puck’s John Ourand, who reported that Skydance and league executives were examining the contracts to determine which events could move. Ourand reported that programming changes were not imminent.
Skydance announced completion of the Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition on October 6. The company’s announcement listed CBS Sports and TNT Sports within its combined live-sports portfolio, alongside Paramount+, TNT and other television and streaming properties.
