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ESPN ‘exclusive home’ for ‘Inside The NBA’ starting 2025-26 season

Harry November 19, 2024

Turns out this isn’t the final season of “Inside The NBA” after all.

ESPN announced Monday that it will be the ‘exclusive home’ of Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, Shaquille O’Neal and host Ernie Johnson for the award-winning show to begin the 2025-26 regular season.

“Inside the NBA is universally recognized as one of the best and most culturally influential programs in sports,” ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro said in Monday’s news release.

“We have long admired this incredibly talented team and are excited to add their chemistry and knowledge to our robust NBA studio offerings to deliver superb service to NBA fans like never before. The addition of Inside the NBA confirms that ESPN is the premier destination for sports fans even stronger.

TNT’s “Inside The NBA” program is based on the NBA’s long-time partner Warner Bros., which owns TNT. It is entering its final season after Discovery rejected an offer for an 11-year media rights deal with Walt Disney, owner of ESPN, NBC and Amazon Prime Video. .

On ABC, ESPN will televise “Inside The NBA” pregame, halftime and postgame programming for the NBA during Christmas games, playoffs and finals.

The show will air exclusively on ESPN and ABC platforms. ESPN will also air “Inside The NBA” during the first week of the season, all games after January 1, the final week of the season and “other major live events” on ABC.

TNT Sports will continue to independently produce Inside The NBA in Atlanta as agreed in the agreement.

“At TNT Sports, we take great pride in our Inside the NBA program and know that its success is a reflection of both the iconic talent on set and the incredible people behind the scenes who consistently showcase the creativity and craft of our amazing team,” he said. TNT Sports CEO and Chairman Luis Silberwasser said in an ESPN press release on Monday.

“We are excited to continue producing Inside the NBA for ESPN and ABC, ensuring fans can continue to enjoy the magic of this show throughout the NBA season.”

Silberwasser added that as part of ESPN and TNT Sports’ agreement to present the College Football Playoffs, TNT will air an ‘exclusive slate’ of Big 12 football and men’s basketball games starting next season.

Any thoughts on the Suns’ current situation? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at: [email protected] or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter): @DuaneRankin.

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