TNT Sports might have lost the NBA rights, but its iconic Inside the NBA program will carry on. The network will still produce the Sports Emmy Award-winning show, which features host Ernie Johnson Jr., Hall of Famers Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal, and two-time NBA Champion Kenny Smith, and then license it to ABC and ESPN.
Inside the NBA was originally launched in 1989 and made Johnson Jr. its permanent host in 1990. Smith and Barkley joined in 1998 and 2000, respectively, while O’Neal became part of the setup in 2011. The show became synonymous with TNT’s NBA coverage and became arguably the most popular NBA TV show in existence.
However, the future of Inside the NBA became murky when TNT’s parent, Warner Bros. Discovery, failed to renew its broadcasting rights with the league past the 2024-25 season. Turner believed it had the right to match other offers but ended up short-handed as the league pivoted to ESPN/ABC, NBC, and Amazon Prime.
Warner Bros. then filed a lawsuit against the NBA that had little chance of succeeding but could have been a thorn in the league’s otherwise smooth business. In order to avoid a messy court drama, the NBA settled the lawsuit with TNT and gave up some concessions.
Besides getting the opportunity to keep on producing Inside the NBA, TNT will own a global license for NBA content at no charge for the next 11 years while airing NBA games in various overseas markets. I
“The opportunity to continue the iconic and Emmy Award-winning ‘Inside the NBA’ is a huge win for basketball fans everywhere,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “We look forward to building on our longstanding partnership with TNT Sports and working together to promote NBA content across key WBD and NBA platforms.”
