The NBA’s broadcast landscape could be changing and very soon. The league’s rights deal with ESPN and TNT Sports will end following the 2024-25 season. The latter could be left out in the cold with NBC and Amazon in the mix as a new home for the NBA. The price to stay in the game is upwards of $2.5-billion-dollars. That’s the number NBC is reportedly offering per year to the NBA. If WBD doesn’t match or go a bit over that figure, it could be lights out.
According to those in the know, it’s not a done deal by any stretch, but it’s late in the 4th quarter and TNT may be out of timeouts. The loss would be big, because since the 1988-1989 season, NBA fans have been able to watch games on the network. They’ve grown accustomed to the games being there. The biggest issue could be the disbanding of the award winning Inside the NBA pre and postgame show. Now that would be a big-time shame.
Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley star on the show, which is pretty much universally loved. The crew’s future would certainly be in doubt, if TNT loses the NBA. Separation seems a certainty in that case. Johnson has already stated he is going to stick around even if there are no NBA broadcasts to be a part of.
Barkley told 850 ESPN Cleveland earlier this month that he has an opt-out clause in his contract, which allows him to become a free agent should TNT lose the NBA. “I said, ‘If you guys lose the NBA, I want to make sure that I can get out of here.’ So I am actually in a really great position,” Barkley said. “Listen, I love TNT, they’ve been great to me … I wanted to make sure that if we lost the NBA in two years, I could be a free agent.” There’s a report that says O’Neal would leave television if Inside the NBA is no more. Smith hasn’t made his intentions known, but it may not matter. It’s almost a foregone conclusion that the show would cease to exist.
Barkley had more to say, even before last season started about what might happen if the show disbanded. “I wouldn’t go by myself,” Barkley told Sports Illustrated. “And I would find it hard to go without Ernie, to be honest with you. Obviously, me, Kenny, and Shaq are close, but Ernie is the guy. So, I would have to look at if they were gonna bring those guys, but also if they had other guys in mind who to partner with.”
The chemistry between the panelists is really unparalleled in the industry. It’s also quite palpable. They work so well together. Each has his own strengths. Johnson is the glue that holds the entire show together. He is the guy that keeps the show on the tracks and still has the personality to allow himself to be immersed in the fun and laughter.
Barkley is the strong personality that dominates but doesn’t completely take over the show. He is able to laugh at himself and be the butt of a joke. Barkley comes up with outlandish opinions that really get everyone going. O’Neal and Smith are the perfect combination to be paired with Johnson and Barkley. O’Neal is the playful kid, with pretty good comedic timing. Smith can be a curmudgeon, but in a funny way. He also has some pretty strong opinions.
This show is the envy of all other studio shows. Other networks have tried to copy the formula but have failed. It’s really hard to duplicate what this show brings to the viewer. Wit, personality, fun and mayhem all wrapped into a neat little package. But it really comes down to the personalities who make the show what it is. Heck, even TNT tried to play off the formula when they gained the rights to the NHL. It’s a good show, but it doesn’t compare to the NBA broadcast.
Provided the hosts still want to work in the industry, the new rightsholders would likely pursue the show, to give it a landing spot post-TNT. I think it would be a longshot that the established team can or will stay together. That would be a shame.
Among the many scenarios that may come to pass over the next year or so, I see three main one’s materializing.
Scenario #1, TNT loses the rights, Johnson stays put and the panelists go to Amazon.
Barkley mentioned it earlier in this column that he wouldn’t find it easy to go somewhere else without Johnson. It might soften the blow if he would be heading to Amazon with his other teammates, Smith and O’Neal. But the show would need a host that the panelists are familiar with and could be that “Johnson type” where he is in control without appearing to be in control. Not an easy task. Who could step in? I’ve got a few ideas, and one is extremely outside the box.
Adam Lefkoe: Already a host at TBS/TNT and appears on the set of the NCAA Tournament coverage. As I wrote a few months ago, “Lefkoe finds a way to interject some humor into his hosting, without trying to hijack the spotlight from his analysts.” That is an important factor here.
Laura Rutledge: She shows the ability to adapt to pretty much any situation. Hosting, reporting or anchoring, Rutledge can handle it. It would be interesting to me to see what she could do on that particular set. To me, she’d be just fine.
Samuel L Jackson: Yeah, this is outside the box. Could it or would it work? Yeah, probably not. Wouldn’t it be fun though? Jackson has a relationship with Barkley from the credit card commercials, which are pretty funny. Label this one a ‘pipe dream.’
Scenario #2, TNT loses the rights and everyone goes their separate ways.
This is likely to happen if TNT is left on the outside looking in. There wouldn’t be a show on TNT. We’d find out if the current panelists have any desire to continue in the business in this scenario. Surely, calls to their agents would be made, since the individuals would be highly sought after. Especially if Amazon wanted to get into this realm, they’d need some credible and popular analysts, to make their shows relevant and legit. This is the worst of the three scenarios, as it would be difficult to see the main players separated as a result of TNT losing the NBA.
Scenario #3, TNT regains the rights and the show remains the same.
This would be the top scenario among pretty much every NBA fan that watches Inside the NBA. It would require the bosses at WBD to pony up and get into the mix to retain the rights to the league. TNT wouldn’t have to worry about how to use Johnson, who, as mentioned, says he’ll stay no matter what. This one falls under the ‘if it ain’t broke, why try to fix it’ category. It seems the simplest of the scenarios, but maybe the costliest.
I’m convinced that this show only works on TNT. It’s not just the forward-facing people on the set, but the production team. These are the folks that allow the talent to be themselves within the framework of the vision for the program. The chemistry works on the set and it certainly seems to work behind the scenes, and is a big reason why this show, Inside the NBA needs to stay where it is to continue to work.
Andy Masur is a columnist for BSM and works for WGN Radio as an anchor and play-by-play announcer. He also teaches broadcasting at the Illinois Media School. During his career he has called games for the Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres and Chicago White Sox. He can be found on Twitter @Andy_Masur1 or you can reach him by email at Andy@Andy-Masur.com.
