“Inside the NBA,” TNT’s postgame NBA studio show, set a high bar for studio commentary that other networks have tried for years to emulate. Host Ernie Johnson, along with Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley, and Kenny Smith, have a unique combination of chemistry and name recognition.
Yet as the company that owns TNT tries to retain its right to broadcast NBA games beyond the 2024-25 season, when its current contract with the league expires, the future of the show appears to be in jeopardy.
Warner Bros. Discovery, which owns TNT, is facing a major challenge from NBC to move in on its broadcast rights. The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that NBCUniversal is prepared to pay an average of about $2.5 billion annually for games on NBC and Peacock.
The Athletic previously reported that Amazon Prime Video already agreed to the framework of a deal with the NBA to stream games “for at least a decade and begin (with) the 2025-2026 season.” In his “The Varsity” newsletter, Puck’s John Ourand reported that ESPN has “essentially come to terms” on a deal with the NBA on a new rights package, as well.
The reports all point to a scenario in which three carriers — Amazon, ESPN, and either NBC or TNT — will share NBA broadcast rights beginning in 2025-26. In theory, any of those networks could simply keep the “Inside the NBA” postgame show going by hiring Johnson, O’Neal, Barkley, and Smith to reprise their on-screen magic.
In practice? Johnson’s contract with TNT will keep him with the network regardless of who wins the billion-dollar bidding war, industry sources told Sports Business Journal on Thursday.
Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images
Johnson, 67, has been the lead studio host for “Inside the NBA” for 35 years. Sports Business Journal reports that he “would stay with Turner and likely continue his role as lead studio host for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, as well as do MLB play-by-play” in case TNT loses its NBA package.
Meanwhile, Barkley told ESPN Cleveland that he has an opt-out in his contract in case Warner Bros. Discovery is outbid. Potentially, the 2024-25 season is setting up to be the final season of “Inside the NBA” as it stands today.
Of the myriad consequences riding on the NBA rights negotiation, the one that might resonate most negatively with fans is a package that does not include a return to TNT. Inside the NBA debuted during the 1989-90 season when TNT first acquired the rights to broadcast NBA games. Johnson took over as host the following season. Smith joined full-time in 1998, followed by Barkley in 2000 and O’Neal in 2011.
Barkley reportedly received a 10-year contract extension with Warner Bros. Discovery Sports in Oct. 2022. Barkley’s agreement coincided with contract renewals for host Johnson, Smith, and O’Neal.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.