Starting with the 2025-26 season, the popular basketball analysis show “Inside the NBA” will be featured on ESPN and ABC. This move is part of a settlement reached between Warner Bros. Discovery and the National Basketball Association (NBA).
The legal conflict arose when Warner Bros. Discovery, which oversees TNT Sports, initiated a lawsuit against the NBA in a New York state court. The NBA declined to accept Warner Bros. Discovery’s offer to match a competing bid for one of the packages included in its recent 11-year media rights agreement.
While TNT Sports will continue producing “Inside the NBA” from its Atlanta studio, it will now air on ESPN and ABC during significant NBA events, such as opening night, Christmas Day, the playoffs, and the NBA Finals. Additionally, it may be broadcast on Saturday nights during the latter half of the season when ABC features a prime-time game package.
Three individuals informed The Associated Press on Saturday that an announcement regarding the settlement is likely to come out on Monday. They chose to remain anonymous as the legal proceedings are still active, with a deadline for dismissal set for Tuesday.
The Wall Street Journal was the first to report on the settlement, which includes a licensing agreement allowing TNT Sports, Bleacher Report, and House of Highlights to share NBA content globally without having to pay rights fees for the next 11 years. Furthermore, Warner Bros. Discovery plans to maintain its partnership with the NBA for digital operations, including NBA.com, for five additional years.
Ernie Johnson Jr., Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Shaquille O’Neal will continue to be the faces of “Inside the NBA.” Notably, Barkley signed a contract extension with Warner Bros. Discovery in August, despite the company losing its NBA broadcasting rights.
Although TNT Sports won’t broadcast games in the United States starting next season, it does hold rights to air a full package of NBA games in select international markets, including Latin America and Poland. In addition, TNT Sports will feature Big 12 football and men’s basketball games next season through a sublicensing agreement with ESPN, and it will show two College Football Playoff games this season, also in partnership with ESPN.
Warner Bros. Discovery has expanded its sports portfolio this year by acquiring rights to the French Open tennis tournament and Big East basketball. Turner Sports has been associated with the NBA since 1984, and since TNT’s establishment in 1988, the network has been a key player in broadcasting NBA games. However, that era will conclude at the end of the current season.
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