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yesterday

‘Inside the NBA’ Moves to ESPN/ABC, Keeping Its Iconic Cast

Under the NBA’s new $76 billion media rights deal, Warner Bros. Discovery will license the program to ESPN with TNT retaining production duties.

Shaquille O'Neal, from left, Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley speak at the NBA Awards on Monday, June 25, 2018, at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, Calif. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
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Overview

  • Inside the NBA aired its final TNT edition at the close of the 2024–25 season and will debut on ESPN/ABC for the 2025–26 campaign.
  • The full on-air lineup—Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal—will reunite on ESPN/ABC under the existing TNT production team.
  • The transition forms part of the NBA’s new 11-year, $76 billion media rights agreement that allocates packages to ESPN, NBC and Amazon.
  • ESPN’s history of unsuccessful NBA studio shows has fueled skepticism among analysts about potential changes to the program’s format and runtime.
  • Shaquille O’Neal closed TNT’s run with an impassioned farewell speech, reaffirming the crew’s commitment to bring the show to its new network home.