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One of the biggest storylines of this NBA season involves "Inside the NBA,"as the beloved studio show could be in its final year of existence. TNT is set to lose the right to broadcast NBA games after this season, leaving the future of "Inside the NBA" up in the air.
However, the popularity of the show means that there has been an effort to try and keep it intact despite TNT's lost media deal with the league. Warner Bros. Discovery even sued the NBA for breach of contract, giving the company more leverage with the league regarding "Inside the NBA."
On Saturday, the two sides appeared to come to an agreement, making the future of "Inside the NBA" more clear as a result. Here is what you need to know regarding the agreement.
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Inside the NBA future
According to Joe Flint of The Wall Street Journal, the NBA and Warner Bros. Discovery have settled their legal battle regarding the league's rights, which includes the future of "Inside the NBA." As part of the agreement, ESPN and ABC will reportedly license "Inside the NBA" from Warner Bros. Discovery beginning next year, broadcasting the show from as part of its own NBA coverage. That means that Charles Barkley, Shaquille O'Neal, Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson can remain intact moving forward.
ESPN announced the addition of "Inside the NBA" on Monday, confirming the show will continue to be produced by TNT sports but will air on ESPN for many major events including "pregame, halftime and postgame coverage of the NBA Finals on ABC, Conference Finals, NBA Playoffs, all ABC games after January 1, Christmas Day, opening week, the final week of the season."
In return, ESPN will allow TNT to broadcast several Big 12 college football and basketball games. Additionally, Warner Bros. Discovery will retain access to NBA content, allowing the company to run NBA digital operations, continue its NBA content production through Bleacher Report and House of Highlights, and even develop new shows if it so chooses.
This season is the last on TNT's NBA media deal, and the league opted not to renew the deal moving forward, instead reaching deals with NBC and Amazon. However, Warner Bros. Discovery sued the NBA over the summer, arguing that the league breached its contract during negotiations with other companies.
TNT had been broadcasting NBA games since 1989, and established itself as a premier operation in the 2000s thanks to the emergence of "Inside the NBA."
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