The NBA’s decision to leave TNT as its broadcast platform was expected to herald the end of the hit show, Inside The NBA. Fans had mourned about it for months. However, ESPN will keep the show alive after acquiring the rights to broadcast it beyond the 2024-25 season. The show’s crew and the fans are celebrating though no one is very sure how things will pan out. So much so that Charles Barkley calls it a “blind date”.
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On The Steam Room podcast, Barkley and Ernie Johnson discussed TNT and ESPN’s deal to keep Inside The NBA running. Chuck insisted it was a win for the people working behind the scenes rather than the show’s four stars.
“I don’t know what happened with this whole Inside the NBA thing. [But] number 1, I’m just so excited for the people who work here… These people are my family,” said Barkley.
Johnson also found it hard to understand the arrangement between the two networks, and said he had as many questions as the fans. The sharp-witted Barkley added:
“So you are saying we are going on a blind date?”
Charles then lauded ESPN, claiming he never saw them or any other network as competition but rather as peers tasked with giving fans the best possible experience. Barkley’s diplomacy is understandable. The network, after all, is keeping him, his co-hosts, and the rest of the Inside the NBA crew employed.
However, not everyone is guaranteed to return.
Shaq’s contract is a concern
Shaquille O’Neal’s contract with Warner Brothers Discovery, TNT’s parent company, is set to expire in July 2025. The Hall of Famer wasn’t sure whether he would sign a new deal considering WBD lost the broadcast rights.
Now with Inside the NBA moving to ESPN while still being produced by TNT, WBD will likely have to foot the bill of re-signing O’Neal to a massive contract. Barkley, Johnson, O’Neal, and Kenny Smith are a package deal, and without one of the four, the show would lose its sheen.
It remains to be seen whether WBD retains the Hall of Famer with a huge offer or sit back and watch another network whisk him away. The four-time NBA champion’s preference would be to stay with the show. However, the price has to be right too.
