https://apnews.com/article/warner-bros-discovery-espn-nba-tv-6ac764c1827dc9ac3627469107263b66

“Inside the NBA” (https://awfulannouncing.com/espn/5-biggest-questions-for-inside-the-nba-move.html) will appear on ESPN and ABC (https://awfulannouncing.com/espn/inside-the-nba-espn-agreement.html) beginning next season (https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/1gt3m54/inside_the_nba_will_be_licensed_to_espnabc_next/) as part of a settlement (https://www.resetera.com/threads/thr-nba-rejects-warner-bros-discovery%E2%80%99s-rights-proposal-%E2%80%9Cdid-not-match-terms%E2%80%9D-of-amazon-deal-up-wb-files-lawsuit.936021/page-3) between Warner Bros. Discovery and the NBA (https://officialfan.proboards.com/thread/634785/2024-2025-nba-thread-injuries?page=48).

Shaquille O'Neal isn't under contract for Inside the NBA's move to ABC and ESPN (https://www.si.com/nba/shaquille-oneal-contract-expires-tnt-espn-inside-the-nba)

According to Sports Illustrated's Jimmy Traina, O'Neal's contract expires on July 1, 2025, months before Inside the NBA moves to ABC and ESPN. "O’Neal has a slightly different deal than his three castmates because they do other things for WBD, including the NCAA tournament," reports Traina. "Shaq’s deal is strictly for the NBA and it’s up in about eight months. While sources say Shaq wants to remain on the show, he’s frustrated that there has been congratulations and press releases hyping that Inside the NBA is remaining the same while he is currently not under contract to be with the company next season. Given the unique deal that will see TNT produce Inside the NBA while it airs on ESPN, O’Neal could have plenty of options to explore. He could remain with the show, while also cutting a deal with Amazon or NBC, who will become the NBA’s new partners next season. He could also sign a deal with ESPN in addition to WBD."

ESPN reveals Inside the NBA’s regular season schedule (https://awfulannouncing.com/espn/reveals-inside-the-nba-regular-season-schedule.html)

The iconic TNT pregame show will live on at ESPN with 20 episodes this NBA season.

ESPN’s lopsided ‘Inside the NBA’ schedule raises eyebrows (https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6704043/2025/10/09/inside-the-nba-espn-2025-2026-broadcast-schedule/)

By Jordy Fee-Platt
Oct. 9, 2025

The NBA broadcasting landscape is set to look dramatically different this year. After 36 years of NBA games airing on TNT, Turner Sports will no longer carry the games. That also means the beloved “Inside the NBA” studio show, winner of 21 Emmy Awards and a member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, is undergoing a major transition.

Beginning in the 2025-26 season, “Inside the NBA” will air on ESPN, which announced its long-awaited programming schedule Thursday. Reaction on social media quickly centered around disappointment with a limited schedule in the early months of the season.

Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal will make their ESPN debut at 6 p.m. EST on Oct. 22 as part of the network’s season-opening slate. After that, the group will only appear twice more before Christmas. For context, the famed quartet’s show consistently aired weekly on TNT during the NBA season.

However, The Athletic’s Richard Deitsch reported on Sept. 19 that “Inside the NBA” would be taking an early-season “hiatus,” because ESPN’s NBA schedule is backloaded.

Viewers will see the group on a more consistent basis in 2026. From Jan. 24 through the end of the regular season in mid-April, “Inside the NBA” will air 15 times on ESPN, including three straight nights on March 6-8.

“Inside the NBA” pregame shows airing on ESPN will run for one hour, while those aired on ABC will be 30 minutes long. Postgame coverage for ESPN games and “NBA Saturday Primetime on ABC” will begin immediately following the contest. When “Inside” begins appearing on Saturday ABC games in January, a shortened postgame show will run there before continuing on the ESPN app.

The announcement of postgame coverage may assuage some concerns (https://www.google.com/search?q=ESPN%E2%80%99s+lopsided+%E2%80%98Inside+the+NBA%E2%80%99+schedule+raises+eyebrows&oq=ESPN%E2%80%99s+lopsided+%E2%80%98Inside+the+NBA%E2%80%99+schedule+raises+eyebrows&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIGCAEQRRg80gEINzIwajBqMTWoAgywAgHxBceyG4JiuAq7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8), most notably from Barkley. In September, the 11-time All-Star expressed doubts about the direction of the show when speaking to The Ringer’s Bill Simmons. He worried that the show wouldn’t have the freedom for longer segments like in the past, which gave the program its unique flavor.

“We’ve been talking behind the scenes,” Barkley said. “Like, after the game, are we going to get any time or are they going to say, ‘You have to go straight to Sportscenter?'”

ESPN president of content Burke Magnus said the product will remain the same despite the seemingly large change.

“(Fans are) going to get the show they love in a way that’s very similar to the way it’s always been,” Magnus told Deitsch. “It’s still produced in Atlanta by the very same people that produced it for Turner. It’s in their building. Other than a logo on the set, it’s going to appear the same, and that’s exactly what we want.”

Inside the NBA will maintain its music and graphics from its TNT era (https://awfulannouncing.com/espn/inside-the-nba-maintain-tnt-music-graphics.html)

Everything will look the same when the NBA show moves to ESPN, ESPN senior vice president of production Tim Corrigan told Sports Business Journal (https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2025/10/15/espn-production-exec-says-inside-the-nba-integration-going-terrific-ahead-of-season/).

Charles Barkley laments ESPN not working him enough (https://awfulannouncing.com/espn/charles-barkley-laments-not-working-enough.html)

"I wish we had been on more during the first half of the season"