Inside the NBA on TNT is no longer.
After nearly four decades, the long-standing staple of TNT’s NBA coverage that features Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley and Ernie Johnson will be moving over to both ESPN and ABC from next season.
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The sports studio show is one of the most popular on TVCredit: Getty
This comes as a result of TNT losing their media rights deal, with ABC, ESPN, a reunion with NBC, and a brand new partnership with Amazon Prime Video taking over the television package in an 11-year deal worth at least $76 billion.
With TNT losing their media rights, their parent company Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) announced earlier this week their intentions to divide their cable assets, including that of TNT sports into a publicly traded company.
In short, they are separating it from their streaming and studios businesses, and going forward will be known as The Global Networks group.
This announcement ends the speculation that WBD was heading towards a split after they moved to internally restructure the company’s assets last year.
Company CEO David Zaslav, who is set to lead the new streaming-focused entity, will, as a result, see his annual cash bonus significantly slashed, according to reports.
According to Front Office Sports, “WBD said that it will ‘significantly reduce’ the target annual compensation of Zaslav… after his $51.9 million total for 2024 recently received a firm rebuke from investors – particularly as WBD continues to see issues with a lagging stock performance and is still working through the loss of its live NBA rights.”
In a recently completed agreement, whilst Zaslav will keep his base salary of three million annually, his bonus will now have a target of $6 million, and the payout being capped at $12 million based on completion of performance objectives.
This is a considerable drop with his bonus reaching $23.9 million in 2024 alone, but will help with WBD’s mammoth debt load.
When TNT announced that they would no longer be broadcasting the NBA, this led to a lot of speculation over what that meant for the popular “Inside the NBA” show and its star line-up, known for their chemistry and entertainment.
They are also able to provide unique insights to the game of basketball itself having been former players, and Hall of Fame-level ones at that.
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Inside the NBA aired for the final time on TNT during the Eastern Conference FinalsCredit: Getty
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The highly-popular Inside the NBA will air on ESPN from next seasonCredit: Getty
At first, it seemed that it would cease to exist, and even the show’s star-studded panel were left in the dark.
Kenny ‘The Jet’ Smith told Forbes in August 2024: “I think we have the most unique opportunity if we move together in sports television history and own the (intellectual) property.
“Even if we stay, own the property, distribute it and make sure the people that made it great — including the producers, directors, cameramen, statisticians, audio — they’re still a thought.”
Furthermore, former 11-time All-Star Charles Barkley explained back in September during an appearance on The Bill Simmons Podcast his own initial confusion over what the future held for him.
“They don’t even have no idea what we’re going to do,” Barkley said.
“So I’m sitting in this meeting in Philly. ‘We wanna keep doing the show.’ I was like, ‘What do you mean? Like, ‘We want to keep ya’ll together.’ Well, I would consider that because I want all my friends to keep their jobs. I said ‘What are we gonna do?’ ‘We haven’t figured that out yet.’
“I’m like, ‘What?’ I says, ‘We won’t have basketball. What the hell are we gonna do?’ And so that’s the thing that’s fascinating. Like I say, I know we got one more year with the NBA then we’re going to lose it. And they want to do the show at least another year, but I’m like we don’t even have basketball. ‘We’re going to pay for highlights!”
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Barkley has voiced his concern about what the new iteration of the show will look likeCredit: Getty
NBA’s Greatest
But it wouldn’t be long before ESPN struck a deal with WBD for the rights to air “Inside the NBA” from the 2025-26 season.
The deal is said to include TNT being able to produce the show for ESPN from its usual studio, while TNT was given the rights to broadcast Big 12 basketball and football games.
TNT’s final broadcast of Inside the NBA came following the conclusion of the 2024-25 Eastern Conference Finals, where the Tyrese Haliburton-led Indiana Pacers punched their ticket to the Finals by defeating the New York Knicks 4-2.
Whilst bidding an emotional farewell to the broadcaster they had called home for multiple decades, O’Neal insisted that things wouldn’t change, and that they were there to take over once they reach their new home.
“Even though the name changes, the engine is still the same,” O’Neal said during the final broadcast. “And to that new network we’re coming to, we’re not coming to (expletive) around. … We’re taking over, OK? I love you guys and I appreciate you guys.”
Although the coveted team are sticking around, there will no doubt be a different atmosphere as the show enters a regeneration of sorts.