The Biggest Trade in Sports Wasn't an Athlete — It Was a TV Show
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What is 'Inside the NBA' and why is it popular?
If you're a basketball fan like me, you've definitely heard of, no, no, you've definitely watched Inside the NBA. It's a show that airs alongside NBA basketball games on TNT.
Hey, it's Inside the NBA presented by Kia from Studio J in Atlanta where it's 1157.
Who are the key figures in 'Inside the NBA'?
It features the broadcaster Ernie Johnson and former NBA superstars Kenny Smith. That's my biggest regret. I'm like, man, I never made an All-Star game.
Charles Barkley.
No matter how much you scream, you laugh. That does not make you right.
And my favorite player when I was a little kid, Shaquille O'Neal.
Stop babying these players.
My baby don't play. He don't play. He don't play. He got to sit his ass down. Period. it before, you might wonder why it's so popular. Shaq and Barkley tend to mumble. They talk over each other. But then you start to see their chemistry. These former players bantering about their own glory days and what the NBA is like now. There's a ton of inside jokes and a lot of laughing.
What are you laughing about? You know what they're laughing about. I'm laughing at Shaq. Shaq, I know what they're laughing at.
I would describe it, I mean, on the one hand, it's a similar type of pregame show to Inside the NFL or the types of shows we see on ESPN before big events. But it's much more than that.
That's our colleague Joe Flint, who covers the media industry and who's also a big sports fan.
They just have a really great vibe between all of them and they gel and sometimes there's tension between them and they speak in a way that does not feel manufactured. They're there to give the fans their view and without regard of how it may play with the teams that they're talking about or the league.
But earlier this year, Warner Brothers Discovery, the parent company of TNT, lost the right to air NBA games, which meant it looked like Inside the NBA might disappear forever. Personally, I was sad, ready to mourn the loss of my favorite basketball show. Until earlier this week, when I saw that my colleague Joe had a big hoop, I mean big scoop, He reported that thanks to an unusual deal, Inside the NBA would be living on. Like a basketball player, the show is being traded to another network. I couldn't believe my eyes.
So it's a very complex, very unusual deal, but one that I think will keep fans happy, the league happy, and hopefully the cast of Inside the NBA as well, because they also need to all get on board with this.
Welcome to The Journal, our show about money, business, and power. I'm Ryan Knudson. It's Thursday, November 21st. Coming up on the show, how inside the NBA became the hottest trade in sports.
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NBA basketball has been an important part of the TNT network for a long time.
TNT first started carrying the NBA all the way back in 1989. So, you know, this is a very long relationship. And way back then, TNT also had for a while NFL football. Sports was a big part of putting TNT on the map.
Inside the NBA and its host's witty analysis quickly became a big part of the network's appeal.
I love his game in terms of its versatility. He has the ability to play multiple positions. He's going to play one, two, and three. I still like the Knicks. My Sixers. This shit be sinking.
Or sunk. Or sunk.
After 35 years on air, Inside the NBA became as much a fixture of NBA basketball as the games itself. But when the NBA's media rights deal came up for renegotiation this year, which it does roughly every decade, it looked like TNT's long relationship with the sport was getting shaky. That's because in 2022, TNT was one of the many media brands swept up in a giant merger between Warner Brothers and Discovery. And the conglomerate's new CEO didn't seem to prioritize the NBA.
What happened to TNT's NBA broadcasting rights?
Their chief executive, David Zaslav, made clear that they were going to be very careful in how they were spending money on content. That's entertainment content, sports content. He famously said in an investor conference about almost two years ago now, hey, we don't need the NBA.
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