TNT’s iconic “Inside The NBA” show will end after the 2024-2025 season as the network has lost its NBA rights. This brings an end to a show that started in 1989. It currently features Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny “The Jet” Smith, Charles Barkley, and Ernie Johnson. The show is widely regarded as the best of its type on television. They perfected the format of live sports banter with a cast of characters. It is not clear what will happen to the “Inside the NBA” brand or if any of the cast members will go on to do other things.
NBC, Amazon, and Disney are finalizing deals to secure the rights to broadcast NBA games. The deals are worth around $2 billion, respectively. TNT’s contract was worth $1.2 billion. They can counter the offers from other networks, but the price is simply out of their budget. TNT’s parent company, Warner Brothers, is over $20 billion in debt. Also, Warner does not have the television infrastructure that NBC has, as NBC owns the telecommunications company Comcast.
