Since the end of the exclusive 90-day negotiating window between the National Basketball Association and its incumbent media partners, there has been augmented speculation surrounding a new media rights contract to commence in the 2025-26 season. Multiple reports have stated The Walt Disney Company to have exited the period with the framework for an agreement, whereas Warner Bros. Discovery did not reach a deal. Gregg Giannotti has seemingly been following these negotiations and understands the potential implications the end result could have.
A point of concern for basketball fans surrounding these reports has been the future of Inside the NBA, TNT Sports’ heralded studio program featuring Ernie Johnson, Kenny “The Jet” Smith, Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal. Barkley recently commented that he could consider taking the show independent through his production company and licensing it to a network should TNT lose broadcast rights to the NBA.
Barkley, O’Neal and Smith all reportedly have opt-outs in their contracts should the network no longer broadcast NBA games. The quartet all signed 10-year extensions with TNT Sports last October and recently won another Sports Emmy award for the program. WFAN host Gregg Giannotti, however, is growing tired of hearing about the show and ostensibly tried to put things in perspective on Friday morning’s edition of Boomer & Gio.
“They have a great show – it’s entertaining – they do a good job with the studio show,” Giannotti said. “The Beatles aren’t breaking up. This has been going on for two weeks now as if Yoko went in there and blew up the greatest combo of all time.”
Co-host Boomer Esiason, who recently left CBS Sports and The NFL Today after a 22-year run on the studio program, acknowledged before Giannotti provided his opinion that the rights fees have become “too exorbitant” and represents something that Warner Bros. Discovery cannot afford. Later on, he reminded Giannotti that the program has a special place for NBA fans whether or not the show appeals to him.
“I know they do,” Giannotti replied, “but we’re going to move on and forget about it like everything else.”
A new report from Lucas Shaw of Bloomberg divulged that Warner Bros. Discovery president and chief executive officer David Zaslav would not bid higher than $2.1 billion despite the NBA looking for $200 million more for a package of games. Moreover, subsequent reporting suggests that NBA Commissioner Adam Silver was irked when Zaslav stated that the company did not need the NBA at a conference two years ago.
While Barkley was on the Dan Patrick Show on Thursday, he explained that the situation has caused low morale and fear about what will happen to people who work on the NBA on TNT property. In addition to using an analogy pertaining to the quality of different wines to illustrate what executives at the company are doing during these negotiations, Barkley also stated that he has watched family members of the crew grow up and that a familial relationship exists. Giannotti, however, believes there has been adequate discussion and coverage pertaining to a potential end to the program.
“It’s like, ‘Alright, enough already. It’s over. So what? Everything in media ends. We’re all walking around with a guillotine over our head every single day, so tough,’” Giannotti said. “These guys made hundreds of millions of dollars throughout their careers, got paid handsomely and now they’re not going to do a show today. Oh, okay. Great. They’re living, they’re healthy and they’re rich. Big deal. We’ll be able to move on without the TNT Inside the NBA show.”
