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“Inside the NBA,” TNT’s longtime basketball studio show, will appear on ABC and ESPN as the NBA and Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company of TNT Sports, have settled their months-long lawsuit, sources briefed on the agreement said. “Inside the NBA” panelists Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, Ernie Johnson and Kenny Smith will remain with the show, the sources said.
Advertisement TNT Sports will receive global rights outside of the United States for “Inside the NBA,” House of Highlights and its parent company, Bleacher Report, per the sources. The broadcaster will have a full package of regular-season and playoff games outside of the U.S.
This marks the first time Bleacher Report and House of Highlights have had global rights. TNT Sports can use highlights and develop shows at no additional costs, according to the sources, and will retain the rights to NBA TV and NBA.com.
TNT continues to be the home of the NBA this season, along with ESPN. The networks declined comment on the settlement and an NBA spokesperson did not immediately return The Athletic ’s messages. TNT Sports sued the NBA in late July after the league rejected its offer to match the terms of Amazon Prime Video’s offer.
Less than a week before the lawsuit’s filing, the league announced its 11-year, $77 billion agreements with ESPN, NBC and Amazon Prime Video that will begin in the 2025-26 season. Since there are no rights fees, TNT Sports is anticipated to be guaranteed $350 million in profits in the first five years of the 11-year deal, according to sources briefed on the agreement. TNT’s nine-year contract, which expires after the current NBA season, includes backend rights, that from TNT’s point of view, allowed it to say it wanted to keep the NBA and assume Amazon’s deal.
When the agreements were signed a decade ago, streaming was on the horizon, but not part of the deals. NBA commissioner Adam Silver had long stated he planned on bringing in a streamer for a third package. This story will be updated.
Required reading (Photo: Andrew Burke-Stevenson / The Boston Globe via Getty Images).
