Ernie Johnson Honors ‘NBA on TNT’ Amid Final Regular-Season Doubleheader

"It is time for appreciation, it’s time for gratitude, and it has been my pleasure to be one of your co-workers, one of your teammates and a part of this family."

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Warner Bros. Discovery is in the midst of its final season with U.S. live game broadcast rights for the National Basketball Association as the league prepares to enter into 11-year media rights deals with The Walt Disney Company, Comcast Corporation and Amazon. Ernie Johnson, who has served as the host of Inside the NBA since 1990, honored the legacy of the broadcast property during a speech to begin the final regular-season doubleheader on the network. Johnson, speaking amid a large crowd gathered on the company’s campus in the Atlanta metropolitan area, spoke as analysts Charles Barkley, Kenny “The Jet” Smith and Shaquille O’Neal were preparing to begin the program.

“I also remember being told back in those days, ‘Look, you haven’t joined a sports network. You’ve joined an entertainment network that does sports,’” Johnson recalled. “The result of that is that every night, we’ve had to prove ourselves – every night – because we were working with the heavyweights in sports. We’d work with the folks at ABC and NBC and CBS, and it was like, ‘Well, prove it,’ and we did, and we do every night. That’ll never change.”

Johnson discussed how gratifying it has been for the broadcast property to become synonymous with the league over the 36 years it has been a part of live game telecasts. Due to this though, he explained how it hurts knowing that it will be over following the NBA Playoffs, but he is cognizant of the fact that it is the business of basketball. Before taking the desk to begin the show and later moving back inside Studio J, Johnson ended his message with a sentiment of recognition and thanks.

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“No time for bitterness,” Johnson said. “It is time for appreciation, it’s time for gratitude, and it has been my pleasure to be one of your co-workers, one of your teammates and a part of this family. Love you.”

The Inside the NBA studio program was recently nominated for two Sports Emmy Awards given by The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in the outstanding studio show categories recognizing weekly programs and those with limited runs. TNT Sports also revealed that it has created a special granting fans a behind-the-scenes look as the show completes its final season in the current iteration. The Walt Disney Company is sublicensing Inside the NBA starting next year as part of a deal with Warner Bros. Discovery.

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