TNT Sports latest network to add women’s college volleyball rights
· Yahoo Sports
TNT Sports is adding women’s college volleyball to its programming lineup for the first time with the acquisition of a new tournament.
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TNT Sports will hold the rights to Spikes Under the Lights, a volleyball tournament that will be played on Aug. 27, 2026, at AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys.
The tournament will feature Florida, Nebraska, Penn State, and SMU. Florida and Nebraska, along with Penn State and SMU, will meet in the semifinals, with the two winners advancing to the championship later that same day.
The news, which was first noted by @symmering on X, was confirmed by the Spikes Under the Lights website. According to John Ourand of Puck, the broadcasts will be produced by Full Day Productions and GSE Worldwide.
The move for TNT comes while its parent company is in limbo waiting for legal proceedings to play out over Paramount’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. If the acquisition is approved, TNT Sports will be unified with CBS Sports under the combined company. Until then, TNT Sports continues to pursue additional sports rights to support its cable networks.
Women’s college volleyball has seen an increase in television exposure in recent years. This is the first time TNT Sports has aired women’s college volleyball, though TBS aired the NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship in 2016 and 2017.
ESPN will air a number of college volleyball tournaments this year as well. ESPN networks have a number of returning tournaments, including AVCA First Serve, Sprouts Farmer Block Party, Showdown at the Net, and the ACC/SEC Challenge, while adding the rights to the Opening Spike Classic, SEC/Big Ten Challenge, and the Paradise Invitational.
Fox Sports will also air a number of volleyball tournaments, including the State Farm Volleyball Showcase, the Players Era Volleyball Showcase, and both AVCA First Serve, and the SEC/Big Ten Challenge, shared with ESPN.
This all comes as women’s college volleyball posted strong viewership last year. The national championship on ABC averaged 1.4 million viewers, the third most-watched college volleyball match ever. Earlier, the regional round of the NCAA women’s volleyball tournament averaged 530,000 viewers, up 32% from 2024 and the most-watched regional round ever.
To open the 2025 season, a match between Nebraska and Penn State averaged 771,000 viewers. At the time, the match was the second most-viewed regular-season women’s college volleyball telecast in history and the most viewed without an NFL lead-in.
With ratings continuing to climb and more marquee events being created, broadcasters are continuing to invest heavily in women’s college volleyball.
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