SAG Awards leaving TNT & TBS

SAG-AFTRA

UPDATED with SAG-AFTRA statement: The SAG Awards need a new home: Deadline has confirmed that TNT and TBS will no longer air one of Hollywood’s major events.

Launched in 1995 on NBC, the SAG Awards have aired on TNT since 1998. The show has been staged at Santa Monica’s Civic Auditorium, the Shrine Auditorium, and Santa Monica’s Barker Hangar. It returned to an in-person show in February, where CODA and Squid Game were the night’s big winners.

It’s not yet clear where the awards ceremony will land.

“SAG Awards is engaged in discussions with Warner Bros. Discovery as well as other networks and streamers regarding the broadcast rights to the show,” SAG-AFTRA said in a statement provided to Deadline. “While the TNT Network has advised us that they do not expect to conclude a new licensing agreement with the SAG Awards prior to the expiration of the exclusive negotiating window, we are exploring multiple other options. Engaging in negotiations for the broadcast of the show is not unusual and has occurred several times over the history of the SAG Awards. This is no different. These discussions will continue as they normally are done and will not be conducted in the public eye. As such, we have no further comment at this time.”

It is the latest programming change for Turner’s T-Nets, which are increasingly under fire following the Discovery/Warner Bros. tie-up.

Deadline revealed in April that TBS’ Kill The Orange-Faced Bear starring Damon Wayans Jr. was killed a week before it was set to go into production – the first major decision to kill a WarnerMedia entertainment project following the completion of Discovery’s acquisition.

Warner Bros. Discovery has pledged to deliver $3 billion in cost savings from the deal, and the end of the SAG Awards comes as the conglomerate is examining the newly acquired assets, with TNT and TBS pulling away from new scripted development.

This year’s SAG Awards was also the last for exec producer Kathy Connell, who has produced the awards show since its inception nearly 30 years ago. She is replaced by Jon Brockett.