"Inside The NBA" Is Headed To A New Network Amid TNT Licensing Drama

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Turner Upfront 2015 - Green Room
NEW YORK, NY - MAY 13: (L-R) Charles Barkley, Ernie Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal, and Kenny Smith attend the Turner Upfront 2015 at Madison Square Garden on May 13, 2015 in New York City. 25201_002_TW_0189.JPG (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Turner)
Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith, and Ernie Johnson will be able to continue with "Inside The NBA."

TNT's iconic talk show, Inside the NBA, will reportedly be headed to ESPN and ABC following the end of this season after the original network lost the rights to the NBA over the summer. The update comes after fans have worried for months that this will be the final season with Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith, and Ernie Johnson all together to cover the league. Both Alex Sherman of CNBC and Joe Flint of The Wall Street Journal have confirmed the news as of Saturday night.

"Can confirm WBD has reached a settlement with the NBA," Sherman wrote on X (formerly Twitter). "Inside the NBA will continue and be licensed to ESPN. All the talent will remain TNT Sports employees and can be used in other future shows or projects for warner bros Disocvery. [sic]"

Shaquille O'Neal, Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, & Charles Barkley Speak During The NBA Awards

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 26: (L-R) Shaquille O'Neal, Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, and Charles. Barkley speak onstage during the 2017 NBA Awards. Live on TNT on June 26, 2017 in New York, New York. 27111_002 (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for TNT)

Charles Barkley has been particularly vocal about his disappointment regarding TNT's loss of the rights to broadcast the NBA. "Clearly, the NBA has wanted to break up with us from the beginning. I'm not sure TNT ever had a chance. TNT matched the money, but the league knows Amazon and these tech companies are the only ones willing to pay for the rights when they double in the future. The NBA didn't want to piss them off," he said in a statement from earlier this year, as caught by Bleacher Report. "It's a sad day when owners and commissioners choose money over the fans."

"Inside The NBA" Will Continue On A New Network

Fans were also very vocally disappointed by the originally presumed loss of Inside The NBA. Now, however, they're ecstatic. "This is FREAKING MAJOR … but I'm waiting to read the fine print," one user on X wrote in response to the new report. Another added: "INSIDE THE NBA IS STAYING LETS GOOO." Check out Alex Sherman's report about Inside The NBA below.

[Via]

About The Author
Cole Blake is a current staff writer at HotNewHipHop based out of New York City. He began writing for the site as an intern back in 2018 while finishing his B.A. in Journalism at St. John’s University. In the time since, he’s covered a number of breaking stories for HNHH. These include the ongoing YSL RICO trial, the allegations surrounding Diddy, and much more. His work also extends outside of hip-hop, having written extensively about a myriad of topics including politics, sports, and pop culture. He’s attended several music festivals to provide coverage for the site as well, such as Rolling Loud and Governors Ball.
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