The fate of the beloved segment on TNT – ‘Inside the NBA’ looked pretty darn bleak, but it seems as though the show will live beyond the 2024-25 season.
TNT will license ‘Inside the NBA’ to air on ESPN and ABC beginning next season, after the NBA and Warner Bros. Discovery (the parent company of TNT Sports) have settled their months-long lawsuit, Joe Flint of The Wall Street Journal first reported.
“The accord gives Warner Bros. Discovery the ability to develop new shows with NBA content in the U.S. and abroad, and international NBA rights in parts of Northern Europe and Latin America excluding Mexico and Brazil,” Flint wrote.
Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, Ernie Johnson and Kenny Smith will remain with the show, The Athletic reports, though “O’Neal still needs to agree to an extension but has indicated his intention to remain on the program, according to one of the sources.”
Even though the segment will be on ESPN and ABC beginning with the 2025-26 season, TNT Sports will continue to produce the popular studio show.
The show is expected to air during key moments on the league’s calendar, like opening night, Christmas Day, the playoffs and the NBA Finals. It will also likely air during Saturday nights of the second half of the season when ABC has a prime-time games packages.
It is unclear how ESPN plans to use ‘Inside the NBA’ – whether that be in conjunction with its current program ‘NBA Countdown’ or not.
TNT Sports sued the NBA in late July after the league rejected its offer to match the terms of Amazon Prime Video’s offer.
Just days before that, the NBA announced an 11-year, $77 billion agreements with ESPN, NBC and Amazon Prime Video that starts in the 2025-26 season.
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