[Bill Simmons] On Inside the NBA going to ESPN: “I think ESPN is going to f*ck the show up”
June 1, 2025
[Bill Simmons] On Inside the NBA going to ESPN: “I think ESPN is going to f*ck the show up”
33 comments
Just by putting the show on the same commercial schedule as other ESPN content will fuck the show up
I’m worried they’re going to try to censor Chuck, especially if he keeps calling Perk an idiot.
Not a bad bet.
what? espn? make something worse? no, they could never!
look what Disney did to Star Wars after spending billions. Now picture what they’ll probably do to Inside after a few million on Shaq calling Chuck a fat ass.
ESPN is fucking everything up
Yeah it’s deff not going to be the same at all
I give it three years before the show is completely off the air because the guys don’t wanna do it anymore. ESPN will push more and more shit until one or more of the guys leaves, maybe they try to make it a season without them and then the whole thing just gone.
He’s completely right. Where was that reddit post from a few years back that timed how much of the TNT vs ESPN halftime shows was dedicated to actual analysis? It was like 6 minutes to 2 minutes.
edit: I think what ESPN could do to avoid just spamming ads, is to have product placements on the set. so the desk will have Mcdonalds at the front, desktop itself would have Wendy’s. there’s Wingstop on the right side of Kenny’s big screen, and Gatorade on the left. the guys would have pins for different products like say KIA, Samsung, New Balance etc. their mugs would have product placement too. and then the scoreboards or graphics would also have product placements. so you still have your ads, without cutting the show up to pieces.
Gotta love when bill shits on espn
Say whatever you want about Bill, he knows how to manage and produce good media content. He’s perhaps one of the best at it.
man there used to be a time where espn was good at staying out of the way
He’s not wrong
it’s going to be the narrative even if espn doesn’t touch it because people just seem to have grand idea of what the show is rather than what it actually has become.
also, in this pod, they eventually kinda concluded that because it’s a rights like thing like pat mcafee show, the new era of espn brass won’t mess with it.
The show has been bad for several years, but people will start noticing more with the change. Barkley is the show and he’s 62.
He’s exactly right about why ESPN might fuck it up. It’s not that they’ll change the content, it’s the ridiculous commercials schedule ESPN has right now during NBA content. You get a 2 min halftime report and the rest is commercials.
They may not. ESPN hasn’t changed the Pat McAfee show too much. I think they know this is a cultural import. Unfortunately Stephen A will probably make a cameo here and there, hopefully to a minimum.
When they announced tnt was losing nba bill said everyone was overreacting and that the show would still go on fine somewhere else lol
I think when Shaq and Kenny said “we’re not here to fuck around” they might have been sending a message to ESPN: Leave us alone.
It’s ESPN, of course they will. They’ll force Stephen A onto it.
EJ will just axe it. He’s the realest.
The show was already shit and casuals will keep eating it up and regurgitate the same lame “jokes” Chuck keeps repeating ad nauseum
Hot take, Billy
Too late, I’m already mad.
“Sullied by sponsorships since-“
“2025 Ernie”
“Thank you Dr. O’Neal”
They were correct about all of this. And Van was right about Stephen A being involved on the show. He’s the big money guy at ESPN next to Pat. I don’t see how he doesn’t makel his way onto the show semi regularly and it’ll kill the dynamics.
The second Stephen A is on, I’ll turn the show off
Streaming it, and ESPN can have all-commercials breaks on cable. Of course, we’ll all be watching the stream. LoL.
Of course Bill thinks this lol
Oh god people are starting to talk about Star Wars and marvel in the comment section.
ESPN has been a negative for the NBA for years and ruining this will just be another pelt on the wall for them.
They’ve ruined basketball coverage and this is just the final obstacle.
It’s true. The timing these guys need for their bits doesn’t work on ESPN’s 1:4 minute commercial schedule. That “works” with Perk and SAS screaming inane ten second click bait headlines. We won’t see Shaq rambling for ten minutes about the price of gas and the distance to the moon.
![[Bill Simmons] On Inside the NBA going to ESPN: "I think ESPN is going to f*ck the show up"](https://www.rawchili.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/3X7Y-fzdptQISUaDnzvpKGJa0xn5PzJQW-79FTds7dI-1080x1024.jpg)
33 comments
Just by putting the show on the same commercial schedule as other ESPN content will fuck the show up
I’m worried they’re going to try to censor Chuck, especially if he keeps calling Perk an idiot.
Not a bad bet.
what? espn? make something worse? no, they could never!
look what Disney did to Star Wars after spending billions. Now picture what they’ll probably do to Inside after a few million on Shaq calling Chuck a fat ass.
ESPN is fucking everything up
Yeah it’s deff not going to be the same at all
I give it three years before the show is completely off the air because the guys don’t wanna do it anymore. ESPN will push more and more shit until one or more of the guys leaves, maybe they try to make it a season without them and then the whole thing just gone.
He’s completely right. Where was that reddit post from a few years back that timed how much of the TNT vs ESPN halftime shows was dedicated to actual analysis? It was like 6 minutes to 2 minutes.
edit: Here it is. It was 6:20 compared to 1:50. Jesus christ. https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/s/bcW2rWnm9N
I wouldn’t be surprised if they did.
edit: I think what ESPN could do to avoid just spamming ads, is to have product placements on the set. so the desk will have Mcdonalds at the front, desktop itself would have Wendy’s. there’s Wingstop on the right side of Kenny’s big screen, and Gatorade on the left. the guys would have pins for different products like say KIA, Samsung, New Balance etc. their mugs would have product placement too. and then the scoreboards or graphics would also have product placements. so you still have your ads, without cutting the show up to pieces.
Gotta love when bill shits on espn
Say whatever you want about Bill, he knows how to manage and produce good media content. He’s perhaps one of the best at it.
man there used to be a time where espn was good at staying out of the way
He’s not wrong
it’s going to be the narrative even if espn doesn’t touch it because people just seem to have grand idea of what the show is rather than what it actually has become.
also, in this pod, they eventually kinda concluded that because it’s a rights like thing like pat mcafee show, the new era of espn brass won’t mess with it.
The show has been bad for several years, but people will start noticing more with the change. Barkley is the show and he’s 62.
He’s exactly right about why ESPN might fuck it up. It’s not that they’ll change the content, it’s the ridiculous commercials schedule ESPN has right now during NBA content. You get a 2 min halftime report and the rest is commercials.
They may not. ESPN hasn’t changed the Pat McAfee show too much. I think they know this is a cultural import. Unfortunately Stephen A will probably make a cameo here and there, hopefully to a minimum.
When they announced tnt was losing nba bill said everyone was overreacting and that the show would still go on fine somewhere else lol
I think when Shaq and Kenny said “we’re not here to fuck around” they might have been sending a message to ESPN: Leave us alone.
It’s ESPN, of course they will. They’ll force Stephen A onto it.
EJ will just axe it. He’s the realest.
The show was already shit and casuals will keep eating it up and regurgitate the same lame “jokes” Chuck keeps repeating ad nauseum
Hot take, Billy
Too late, I’m already mad.
“Sullied by sponsorships since-“
“2025 Ernie”
“Thank you Dr. O’Neal”
They were correct about all of this. And Van was right about Stephen A being involved on the show. He’s the big money guy at ESPN next to Pat. I don’t see how he doesn’t makel his way onto the show semi regularly and it’ll kill the dynamics.
The second Stephen A is on, I’ll turn the show off
Streaming it, and ESPN can have all-commercials breaks on cable. Of course, we’ll all be watching the stream. LoL.
Of course Bill thinks this lol
Oh god people are starting to talk about Star Wars and marvel in the comment section.
ESPN has been a negative for the NBA for years and ruining this will just be another pelt on the wall for them.
They’ve ruined basketball coverage and this is just the final obstacle.
It’s true. The timing these guys need for their bits doesn’t work on ESPN’s 1:4 minute commercial schedule. That “works” with Perk and SAS screaming inane ten second click bait headlines. We won’t see Shaq rambling for ten minutes about the price of gas and the distance to the moon.