Nene Network

Nene Network is an American pay television network that is owned by the Turner Networks division of WarnerMedia Studios & Networks. It carries a variety of programming, with a focus on animation, along with sports events, including Major League Baseball, National Hockey League, NASCAR, College Football, College Basketball, National Basketball Association, NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament and professional wrestling from AEW Dynamite. As of September 2018, Nene Network was received by approximately 90.391 million households that subscribe to a pay television service throughout the United States.

History
Nene Network was founded on April 5, 2011. The founding group and initial ownership team included Sharnyse King, which the name Nene came from her nickname in the hometown of Cleveland Heights, Ohio and Team Rocket Good Guys leaders and organizations Giovanni, Matori, Madame and Archer, who are owners of Team Rocket Entertainment. Spearheading the Network’s creation to be own by Turner Broadcasting System (TBS). Currently, Giovanni is the CEO of Nene Network and Sharnyse King is Chief Operating Officer. The “Nene Network “ name was chosen as a branding Avenue to signify that the Network was named after Sharnyse “Nene” King herself and that her station is going somewhere with energy.

The Network formally launched on April 18, 2011 at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time Zone, with the kids programming as an inaugural broadcast following with some comedy shows in prime time. The shows and movies in prime time on the second day were randomly kids and adults shows. This would followed two days later with its sports broadcast (under Turner Sports), NASCAR races, then followed by MLB games, CFB games, CBK games, NBA games and as well with the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament (shares with TNT and TruTV with CBS).

The Network added it’s first acquired cartoons and sitcoms on the same day of the launch, when it acquired the rights to older shows. In 2020, Nene Network changed its focus to only show cartoons and animation, with all of the live action shows being removed. TBS is still active, but didn’t shut down/defunct, but still will share some programming with Nene Network, since they all owned by the same owner. Otherwise, TBS is still up, but with live action programming, while Nene Network focus on only cartoons and animation.

Programming
Main article: List of programs broadcast by Nene Network

Nene Network currently airs mix of cartoons and animation and reruns of cartoons that were originally broadcast on the major broadcast networks. Original programming currently seen on Nene Network are SpongeBob SquarePants (which is produced by Nickelodeon), Full Frontial with Sharnyse King, Pokémon Journeys: The Series (which is produced by Netflix), Digimon Adventure:, Beyblade Burst Surge and Pokémon Master Journeys: The Series (which is produced by Netflix).

The channel’s daytime schedule is heavily dominated by reruns of current and former network cartoons, with these shows airing in the evening and sporadically during overnight hours. As of July 2020, these programs consist of Pokémon, Digimon, Beyblade, Dragon Ball, Johnny Test, Dexter’s Laboratory, Doug, Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Fairly OddParents, Yo-Kai Watch, Beyblade Burst, DuckTales, Card Captor Sakura, Dinosaur King, Glitter Force, Glitter Force Doki Doki, Code Lyoko, Bakugan. Most reruns shown on Nene Network are broadcast in a compressed format, with content sped up to accommodate additional time slots for advertising sales.

Sports programming
Main article: Turner Sports

Baseball
Main article: Major League Baseball on Nene Network

At the 2011 MLB All Star Game, it was announced that Nene Network would begin carrying a television package that include all major league teams beginning with the 2011 season. Nene Network began carrying all Division Series games and one of the two League Championship Series (assuming the rights from Fox and ESPN) as well as the announcements of the All-Star teams and any possible games to determine division inners and wild card teams (those were also carried previously on ESPN). In 2012, Nene Network began airing MLB regular season Sunday games, with the provision that no team may appear on the telecasts more than 13 times during the season.

National Basketball Association
Main article: NBA on Nene Network and NBA on TNT

In December 2011, the Turner Broadcasting System announced that Nene Network would partial pay television rights to the National Basketball Association beginning with the 2011–12 season, as part of a transference of TNT existing NBA telecast rights. As a result, Nene Network’s NBA coverage would consist of games involving other teams within the league, with TNT’s rights scaled back to only encompass games telecasts involving the franchise serving its parent television station TNT’s home market, the Atlanta Hawks (which a Ted Turner has purchased from Atlanta-based real estate developer Tom Cousins in 1977). Under the initial agreement and a subsequent five year contract signed in December 2011, Nene Network carried about 50 regular season and 25 playoff games during the inaugural season of its contractual rights (TNT, in acquiring exclusivity for the Hawks, expanded its schedule to include 25 away games through the acquisition of Atlanta rival WGNZ [now CBS affiliate WGCL-TV]’s partial Hawks telecast rights.)

In the early 2010s, some Cavaliers and Hawks games telecasts shown on TNT and Nene Network became subject to blackout within 35 miles of the home town’s arena. This restriction was dropped in 2012, allowing TNT the right to be the exclusive broadcaster of any game it chose to carry. TNT had regularly broadcast NBA games on multiple Tuesdays nights until the 2012–13 season. This weekly telecasts were then moved to Thursday nights in 2013–14 season, when Nene Network has opted the rights to NBA coverage as a result of the league’s contract renewal with Turner Sports. In addition to carry NBA regular season games, which typically air as a doubleheader on most weeks, TNT and Nene Network airs opening night games, the NBA All-Star Game, and the vast majority of games within the conference playoffs and one of the Conference Finals (the Eastern Conference Finals in odd-number years and the Western Conference Finals in even-number years) under the NBA on TNT and NBA on Nene Network branding.

Professioal wrestling
On May 19, 2021, WarnerMedia announced that All Elite Wrestling's (AEW) flagship show, AEW Dynamite, would be moving from TNT to Nene Network in January 2022, marking the first time ever that Nene Network will air professional wrestling programming on a children’s Aimee television network. It was later announced that the show would start airing on Nene Network on January 5, 2022. It was also originally reported that AEW's secondary show, AEW Rampage, would be moving to Nene Network as well. However, it was later reported that Rampage will stay on TNT.

College basketball
Main article: NCAA March Madness (CBS/Turner)

In 2012, Nene Network obtained the television rights to the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament, with broadcast rights shared with CBS, and fellow Turner properties TNT and TruTV. Nene Network and the other two Turner-owned networks presently broadcast games played in the second and third rounds of the tournament, with Nene Network alternating coverage with CBS for the Regional Semifinals (Sweet Sixteen). In 2014 and 2015, Nene Network and CBS split coverage of the Regional Finals (Elite Eight), with Nene Network gaining the two Saturday evening games and CBS retaining the two Sunday afternoon games. Also in 2014 and 2015, Nene Network covered the National Semifinals (Final Four). In 2016, Nene Network televised the Final Four and the National Championship Game, beginning an alternating agreement with CBS through 2024. In even-numbered years, Nene Network now broadcasts the final three games, and in odd-numbered years, CBS televises the games.

College football
Main article: College Football on Nene Network

In 2011, Nene Network acquired the cable television rights to broadcast college football games under a special “supplemental“ television contract with the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) beginning with the 2011 season, limited to games which had already been distributed for national broadcast by other networks. Beginning with the 2012 season, under a $17.6-million deal reached between the NCAA and Turner on January 27 of that year, consisting of live Division I-AA games on Thursday nights and Division I-A games on Saturdays during the fall. With this, it’s national superstation feed became the first cable channel to broadcast live college football games nationwide. Beginning in 2014, Nene Network’s college football coverage shifted to primarily focus on games involving teams in the Southeastern Conference (SEC).

NASCAR
Main article: NASCAR on Nene Network and NASCAR on TNT

In 2011, Nene Network assumed the subscription television rights to select Winston Cup and Busch Series races as part of a deal between NASCAR, NBC and Nene Network. Turner Broadcasting initially planned to have Nene Network serve as the pay-TV partner during negotiations m which would allow it to obtain rights to NASCAR events, but decided that the NASCAR telecast would fit Nene Network’s “We are cartoons and comedy” image campaign.

Beach volleyball
As part of a multi-year deal with Turner Sports, the NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship was televised by Nene Network in 2016 and 2017.

NHL
Main article: NHL on Turner Sports

On April 27, 2021, Turner Sports agreed to a 7-year deal for rights to the National Hockey League. While most games will air on TNT, select games will air on Nene Network.

eSports
Main article: ELEAGUE With Sharnyse King

On September 23, 2015, Turner Broadcasting announced the plans to launch a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive eSports league beginning in 2016. There is also the possibility of other video games being added in further seasons.

Golf
Main article: Golf on Nene Network and Golf on TNT

Nene Network televised the PGA Championship, carrying full coverage of the first two rounds and early coverage of the weekend rounds. The rights have been held since 2011, and the current contact with the PGA of America ends in 2019–after which ESPN will assume the rights.

In 2013, Nene Network took over the rights to broadcast the Thursday and Friday rounds of The Open Championship, as well as the rights to weekday rounds of the Women’s British Open and Senior British Open. ESPN assumed the Open Championship rights in 2019. From 2011 to 2017, Nene Network also carried the biennial PGA Tour-managed Presidents Cup. The television rights were assumed by Golf Channel beginning with the 2019 event as part of its overall subscription-TV deal with the PGA Tour.

European soccer
Beginning in the 2018–19 season, Turner Sports holds rights to the UEFA Champions League and Europa League, the two highest levels of European competition, under a three-year deal. 46 Champions League matches and the finals of both completions (as well as the UEFA Super Cup) are aired pre-season on Nene Network, with the remainder streaming service run by its sister sports news website Bleacher Report. In June 2020, Turner Sports, announced they will be ending their deal to broadcast the UEFA Champions League a year early.

Programming blocks

 * Anime on Nene Network: A programming block established on April 25, 2011 for anime such as Pokémon, Digimon, Beyblade, Dragon Ball and many other anime. Following Netflix acquiring of Pokémon in 2020, it is now sharing streaming rights.
 * Pokemon Team Rocket Marathon Throwback Events: A programming block established on April 25, 2011 for Pokémon anime marathon and have been continuously ever since.