TNT’s “Inside the NBA” will air on ESPN, ABC starting next season, as part of NBA settlement
“Inside the NBA” will continue, even though games will no longer be airing on TNT at the end of this season.
The popular studio show will appear on ESPN and ABC beginning next season as part of a settlement between Warner Bros. Discovery and the NBA that was announced on Monday.
The settlement gives TNT Sports, Bleacher Report and House of Highlights a global license for NBA content with no rights fee for the next 11 years.
Charles Barkley dines at Manny’s Steakhouse in downtown Minneapolis
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ESPN will also continue to produce “NBA Countdown” and “NBA Today.”
Warner Bros. Discovery will also continue its relationship with the league’s digital operations, including NBA.com, for five seasons. TNT Sports and the NBA have jointly managed NBA Digital since 2009.
Even though TNT Sports will not be airing games in the United States beginning next season, it does have rights to air a full package of games in select countries, including Latin America (excluding Brazil and Mexico), Poland, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden.
TNT Sports will also begin showing 13 Big 12 football and 15 men’s basketball games next season as part of a sublicense with ESPN. TNT will air two College Football Playoff games beginning this season also under a sublicense with ESPN.
Turner Sports has had an NBA package since 1984 and games have been on TNT since the network launched in 1988. That will end after this season.
“Together these agreements ensure fans will continue to enjoy TNT’s ‘Inside the NBA’ and create tremendous value for our entire portfolio as we accelerate the growth of TNT Sports, Bleacher Report, House of Highlights and our global sports business,” Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said in a statement. “We are pleased to partner with the NBA and Disney/ESPN, and to have solidified long-term rights and revenue for WBD.”
Source: cbsnews.com