Warner Bros. Discovery’s “Inside The NBA” heads to ESPN and ABC next fall
Surprise deal lands popular pre-, halftime, and post-game show at ESPN
This article was updated on November 18 with more information.
The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday that Warner Bros. Discovery has settled a lawsuit with the NBA after not being included in the recent $76 billion worth of new media deals, which saw NBCUniversal, Disney, and Amazon grab rights.
WBD sued the NBA after being passed over, saying they had a right to match at least one of the offered packages. In the settlement, the company signed an eleven-year deal to retain rights to non-game NBA content for the league’s digital platforms, such as Bleacher Report and House Of Highlights, and distribute games in a few international markets. The agreement also solves a dilemma with NBA TV, which will continue to operate and create programming for the channel, but no longer carry games or be operated by TNT Sports. There was speculation NBA TV could close after WBD lost rights. WBD also gets free access to NBA highlights for their platforms at no cost throughout the deal.
Meanwhile, WBD is licensing Inside The NBA to ESPN in a separate – and surprise deal.
Starting next fall, Inside will air on Disney’s ESPN and ABC during NBA games, giving the crew exposure on over-the-air broadcast TV for the first time. In return, ESPN agreed to sublicense a Big 12 college football and basketball game package to TNT and streamer Max. Inside will air opening week, Christmas Day, all ABC telecasts, and all NBA Playoff and Finals games with pregame, halftime, and postgame segments.
Current Inside the NBA stalwarts Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, and Charles Barkley are expected to be on board. The crew will also handle the NBA Finals for the first time. Shaquille O’Neal’s deal expires after this season and it isn’t known if he’ll be back for the new ESPN iteration. TNT Sports will have full editorial control over the show and remain in their production facilities in Atlanta. ESPN will continue with NBA Countdown programming on Wednesday and Friday nights (keep in mind ESPN as a cable network will air fewer NBA games in the new deal.)
Johnson, Barkley, and Smith will also continue to appear on CBS and TNT Sports’ NCAA March Madness coverage.
Inside The NBA heading to ESPN is a vast improvement over what passes for what they have now in terms of pre-, post, and halftime shows, which are regarded as the worst and criticized by fans. By comparison, Inside is known for its witty banter and instant viral moments.
The lawsuit WBD filed was reminiscent of a similar action ABC took in 1973 after losing the NBA to CBS. The network wouldn’t meet the league’s demands, including airing games on Saturday afternoons in the fall, preempting the network’s highly rated college football games. The lawsuit was later dropped.