Ahead of new 11-year media rights deals with The Walt Disney Company, Comcast Corporation and Amazon taking effect, the National Basketball Association has filed two trademark applications related to NBA Inside Stuff. The highlight show gained popularity among basketball fans throughout its history across three different networks, enjoying a 26-year run across NBC and ABC featuring original hosts Ahmad Rashad, Julie Moran and several others. The program has not taken the air since 2016 when it was hosted by Kristen Ledlow and Grant Hill on NBA TV. Alex Sherman of CNBC was the first to report the news about the show making a potential return.
NBC is reportedly considering bringing back a “refreshed version” of the program as the company begins airing live game broadcasts of NBA matchups for the first time since 2002. A decision surrounding the show has not yet been decided, but a source cited by Sherman indicated that the filing is part of the “routine trademark process” by the league. These trademarks applications reportedly request use of the verbiage as the name of a television show and to create branded merchandise. It remains unknown if NBA Inside Stuff would be back on linear television should the show make a return or if it could be leveraged on digital platforms instead.
“Entertainment, namely a continuing show broadcast over television, satellite and internet in the field of basketball; entertainment services in the nature of exhibitions, promotions, and other basketball-related events,” the league wrote in its application filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office on Monday.
The NBA Inside Stuff program first took the air on NBC in 1990 with co-host Rashad inking a two-day contract and playing for the Philadelphia 76ers in a preseason game. Initially working with Moran, the show sought to connect with younger basketball fans by highlighting pop culture, music and providing behind-the-scenes access to players in the league. Willow Bay, the dean of the USC Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism, took over hosting duties for Moran after the first season and worked with Rashad for the ensuing seven years.
The program moved to ABC in 2002 and continued to include Rashad with co-host Summer Sanders, who had joined the show four years earlier. Rashad continued his television work surrounding the league after the program ended with his show, NBA Access with Ahmad Rashad, which continued to run until 2011. Over the years, the show utilized highlights, interviews and analysis to highlight the game of basketball, its teams and players.
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