October is one of the best sports month of the year for many sports fans. The NBA and NHL are coming back, NFL is in full swing and the MLB Playoffs are nearing their conclusion.
TNT has taken this opportunity to have some very interesting crossovers in coverage of all of these sports.
Charles Barkley has recently appeared on NHL on TNT. Hockey great Wayne Gretzky appeared on the network’s NBA coverage along with former MLB players Pedro Martinez, Jimmy Rollins, and Curtis Granderson.
On Sunday, the Executive Vice President and CEO of Turner Sports Craig Berry spoke with Awful Announcing about October coverage, and how covering three sports across TNT and TBS creates a great chance for crossover coverage between the sports.
“All of these things go back to us trying to go out there and have a good time and present sports in a way that’s fun and engaging and informative and accurate, and we try to differentiate ourselves that way,” saidd Berry.
He added that it was a particularly unique opportunity for Turner Sports because, unlike ESPN and FS1, they are not a channel devoted to around-the-clock sports coverage. WarnerMedia, Turner’s parent company, is an entertainment company. It makes sense then for Turner’s sports coverage to be presented with a focus on entertainment.
“It starts with good chemistry in front of and behind the camera. It’s really an important part of the DNA of what we do. In addition to that, there’s just some intangibles. Obviously, the fan comes first, and everything that we’re doing is kind of fan-focused. We believe if we’re having fun doing what we’re doing, then the fan will have fun as well.”