Jemele Hill will lead a sports newsmagazine program called “Above the Fold” for the TNT Sports evening lineup on TruTV, broadening out the network’s nighttime portfolio as parent company Warner Bros. Discovery seeks a bigger foothold in regular sports programming.
Hill, a popular commentator on sports and culture and a former ESPN anchor, will launch “Above the Fold” this week and host it on Thursdays at 7 p.m., after a debut on October 22 at 5 p.m. The 60-minute show will feature Hill and a rotating lineup of contributors who will discuss and debate the latest news surrounding some of the biggest and sports stories of the week.
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The series has been developed by TNT Sports and Uninterrupted, the arm of LeBron Hill’s and Maverick Carter’s SpringHill Company that focuses on athletes and storytelling. Hill, James and Carter all serve as executive producers of the program. TNT Sports and Uninterrupted are also developing additional projects to be announced at a later date.
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“I’m very excited to be working with TNT Sports and Uninterrupted on a project that centers sports journalism and compelling storytelling, said Hill, in a statement. “The sports media landscape is constantly evolving, but there is always room for nuance, depth and perspective.”
Warner launched the new TNT Sports on TruTV programming block earlier this month, and has plans to fill the schedule with not only live sports, but movies, unscripted competition programs and original series and so-called “alterna-casts” that offer a different type of experience around a regular sports match. Plans call for TNT Sports to televise nearly 1,000 hours of sports programming on TruTV in 2024 with plans to increase volume in 2025.
“Jemele is an influential voice within the sports community and has a unique lens,” said Craig Barry, TNT Sports’ chief content officer, in a statement. “We are looking forward to building a platform to share meaningful and compelling perspectives with our fans.”
