TNT
With its parent company Warner Bros. Discovery losing out on renewing the right to broadcast NBA games, TNT is trying to figure out what to do with its insanely popular, Emmy-winning show Inside The NBA, which features Charles Barkely, Shaq, Kenny Smith, and Ernie Johnson.
TNT has already confirmed that Charles Barkley isn’t going anywhere, and as for Inside The NBA, reports indicate the network is considering turning it into a SportsCenter-like show called Inside Sports.
“Though rival networks are exploring whether Barkley could join their NBA shows once TNT loses its package, Barkley has a long-term contract at Warner,” reported the Wall Street Journal.
“The company is considering turning the show into Inside Sports, allowing Barkley to talk about the other sports the company airs, including baseball, hockey, college basketball, and college football, according to a person familiar with the matter.”
Given that Barkley is one of the most popular voices in the modern history of sports media, it isn’t surprising that TNT is looking for a way to reverse-engineer a show around him, especially with other networks clearly trying to poach him.
With TNT and Warner Bros. not having their contract with the NBA renewed, the 2024/2025 season is set to be the final year of pro basketball coverage on the network, and therefore the end of Inside The NBA.
“Clearly the NBA has wanted to break up with us from the beginning,” Barkley said in a statement about TNT losing its NBA rights.
“I’m not sure TNT ever had a chance. TNT matched the money, but the league knows Amazon and these tech companies are the only ones willing to pay for the rights when they double in the future. The NBA didn’t want to piss them off.”
Inside the NBA premiered in 1989 and has since won 19 Sports Emmy Awards.
Beginning with the 2025/26 season, the NBA will be broadcast on ESPN/ABC, Prime Video, and NBC.