Inside the NBA to continue on ESPN & ABC in 2025-26

Nov 18, 2024, 11:51 AM

SANTA MONICA, CA - JUNE 25: (L-R) Shaquille O'Neal, Ernie Johnson Jr., Kenny Smith, and Charles Bar...

(Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Turner Sports)

Lead Editor & Kings Beat Writer

Basketball fans have been mourning the eventual loss of TNT’s Inside the NBA, which was set to conclude at the end of this season in light of the league’s new TV deal.

With new partners NBC and Amazon on the way in to join Disney (owners of ESPN and ABC), Warner Bros. Discovery (parent company of TNT) was left out of the new 11-year, $76 billion pact that will run through the 2035-36 season.

The largest media casualty of the new deal was undoubtedly Inside the NBA, the award-winning program that features Ernie Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley, and Kenny ‘The Jet’ Smith.

Plenty of speculation has surrounded the show’s future and its hosts, but now it is official: Inside the NBA will continue on ESPN and ABC, with TNT continuing to produce the program out of its Atlanta studios.

ESPN will be the exclusive home of the iconic ‘Inside the NBA’ starting with the 2025-2026 season

The pregame, halftime & postgame show for NBA Finals, NBA Playoffs, Christmas Day, NBA on ABC & more

Details: https://t.co/0y3YDenAUJ pic.twitter.com/ABBdsM74VH

— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) November 18, 2024

More on Inside The NBA joining ESPN

Official Announcement on ESPN partnering with TNT

ESPN, in partnership with TNT Sports and the National Basketball Association, announced today that it will exclusively present the iconic Inside the NBA studio show on its platforms starting with the 2025-26 regular season – the first season in ESPN and the NBA’s landmark 11-year rights extension, announced in July. TNT Sports will continue to independently produce Inside the NBA from its Atlanta-based studios over the term of the agreement.

The legendary Inside the NBA studio team will appear on ESPN and ABC surrounding high-profile live events, including ESPN’s pregame, halftime and postgame coverage of the NBA Finals on ABC, Conference Finals, NBA Playoffs, all ABC games after January 1, Christmas Day, opening week, the final week of the season and other marquee live events.

Jimmy Pitaro, Chairman, ESPN:

“Inside the NBA is universally recognized as one of the best and most culturally impactful shows in sports. We have long-admired the immensely talented team and are thrilled to add their chemistry and knowledge to our robust set of NBA studio offerings to super-serve NBA fans like never before. The addition of Inside the NBA further solidifies ESPN as the preeminent destination for sports fans.”

Luis Silberwasser, CEO & Chairman, TNT Sports:

“At TNT Sports, we take great pride in our Inside the NBA show and know its success is both a reflection of the iconic talent on set and the incredible people behind the scenes who consistently demonstrate the creativity and craft of our great team. We are thrilled to continue to produce Inside the NBA for ESPN and ABC, ensuring fans are able to keep enjoying the magic of this show during the NBA season.”

As part of this creative partnership, which builds on the existing agreement between ESPN and TNT Sports to present the College Football Playoffs, TNT Sports will now televise an exclusive slate of Big 12 football and men’s basketball games starting with the 2025 season.

ESPN will continue to produce NBA Countdown and NBA Today as both franchises will remain integral parts of ESPN’s NBA coverage offerings. Malika Andrews hosts both shows with a team of industry-leading analysts and reporters, including Stephen A. Smith, Kendrick Perkins, Richard Jefferson, Chiney Ogwumike, Bob Myers, Shams Charania, Brian Windhorst, Ramona Shelburne, and more.

TNT’s Inside the NBA made its debut during the 1989-90 NBA regular season. It has won 21 Sports Emmy Awards and in 2020 was recognized by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as the recipient of the Curt Gowdy Transformative Media Award.