TNT Sports Launching New Ambitious TruTV Sports Channel ... Led By Jemele Hill

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav's new plan is ambitious: turn the obscure truTV cable network into an evening sports hub.

TNT Sports said on Monday it will televise nearly 1,000 hours of sports programming on truTV in 2024, starting at 6 p.m. ET, "with plans to significantly increase its volume in 2025."

To help with the launch, TNT called upon a former sports television host for help: Jemele Hill.

This week, truTV will debut a sports and newsmagazine show called "Above the Fold with Jemele Hill." The program will air each Thursday at 7 p.m.

The network says, "The 60-minute show will feature Hill and a rotating lineup of correspondents who will discuss and debate the latest news surrounding some of the biggest and most relevant sports stories of the week."

But there's more.

Hill and TNT are not the only partners behind the project. The show will be a joint production with Uninterrupted, LeBron James’ media company. 

"UNINTERRUPTED is a big fan of Jemele Hill, and given our previous work with her, we know audiences are in for a treat as she shares her unique perspective on sports and culture," said Jamal Henderson, the chief content officer of LeBron's The SpringHill Company.

In other words, the show is going to talk about race. A lot. And white people are about to be called racist. A lot.

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 20: (L-R) Jemele Hill and Gretchen Whitmer speak on stage during the "Gretchen Whitmer on True Gretch" panel for The Atlantic Festival 2024 on September 20, 2024 in Washington, DC.  (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images for The Atlantic)

Pulling off a newsmagazine show in 2024 is challenging, no matter who the host leading the project is. Let alone Jemele Hill.

Hill moves to the needle on X. Feigning outrage over racism that does not exist drives engagement. However, Hill's X engagement has yet to translate to monetizable content. 

And it's not that she has lacked the opportunities.

Since 2015, Hill has worked for ESPN, ViceTV, Spotify, and The Atlantic. She failed at each stop. She also published a memoir that sold just 5,000 copies in its first month.

Few people in media have failed more than Jemele Hill has. Bomani Jones is the only person who comes to mind. And yet, here is Hill getting yet another chance to prove herself.

We are skeptical she will.

The truth is, there just aren't that many people seeking more anti-white racial grievance commentary. The market is already saturated by MSNBC, "The View," and the white guys on late-night television.

Put simply, the insatiable demand for white supremacy in the media vastly outstrips the supply of actual white supremacy in America. 

Thereby, one-trick ponies like Jemele Hill have to resort to shaming journalists for reporting the truth about Caitlin Clark's impact on the WNBA ratings suggesting that Tyreek Hill's arrest is a warning about Donald Trump, arguing that black people should be allowed to call white people "thugs," and blaming kidnap hoaxer Carlee Russell's punishment on racism against black women.

No wonder no one watches, listens, or reads her.

For more, try to find truTV on your dial.