It's not quite over for Inside the NBA just yet
It seems that the NBA’s broadcast home for the 2025-26 season has finally been decided. And it sounds like there’s a solid chance that TNT won’t be part of it.
The league has reportedly finalized TV deals with Amazon, ESPN and NBC to make those networks its various broadcast homes for the next 11 seasons, according to The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand.
The league had reportedly been negotiating these deals behind the scenes for months, though plenty of details leaked across the internet in the meantime.
Much to the chagrin of many fans, though, TNT has reportedly been sidelined as one of the league’s broadcast partners. That would mean that Inside the NBA would effectively be over after next season.
Still, while the deal has reportedly been agreed upon, things aren’t quite over. Let’s dive into the details and talk about what happens next.
Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports
To put things in plain terms, the NBA has reportedly agreed to an 11 year, $76 billion (SHEESH) deal with NBC, ESPN and Amazon to make all three networks their broadcast partners through the next decade. That’s a massive raise from the previous TV deal, valued at $24 billion.
The league will remain on ESPN while adding Amazon and NBC to its Rolodex of broadcast partners. There’d also be NBA games appearing on Peacock, according to Marchand’s reporting.
You’d be getting a lot more NBA games than usual. There’d legitimately be games on a national broadcast nearly every day per week.
Starting in the 2025-2026 season, the NBA will feature nationally televised games seven days a week once the NFL season concludes.
– Monday: Peacock
– Tuesday: NBC
– Wednesday: ESPN
– Thursday: Amazon
– Friday: ESPN/Amazon
– Saturday: ESPN/Amazon
– Sunday: NBC/ESPN(Via @RealGM… pic.twitter.com/gGRrdMzvcH
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) July 10, 2024
Here’s more detail from Marchand:
“The NBA will borrow a page from the NFL, as following the end of football’s regular season, NBC will have the NBA succeed the highest-rated primetime show on television, “Sunday Night Football,” while, on Thursdays, Amazon will do the same after its TNF coverage concludes.
During the entire regular season, Amazon Prime Video is anticipated to have its other games streamed predominantly on Friday nights and Saturdays.”
ESPN will also reportedly have fewer regular season games with more spread out across the league’s other networks.
Amazon Prime Video will be the home of the In-Season tournament. All three networks will have playoff games as well, but ESPN will have a conference finals matchup and the NBA Finals in each season.
(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Well, things certainly look bleak for all of the Inside the NBA fans out there. With Charles Barkley’s retirement on the table the network doesn’t have much of a bargaining chip there.
READ MORE: Charles Barkley has other TV options if he decides against retiring.
While things look bleak, they certainly aren’t over. As the league’s current broadcast partner, Marchand says TNT still has the right to match any deal the NBA agrees to here.
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav brought up the possibility of matching Amazon’s offer on the company’s earnings call last month. If Zaslav holds true to his word there, this negotiation is certainly not over. Warner reportedly believes NBC is overpaying for the NBA’s rights, but that Amazon slot might seem ripe for the taking.
“We’ve had a lot of time to prepare for this negotiation and we have strategies in place for the various potential outcomes,” he told investors on the call.
Whether he actually makes a move here remains to be seen.
Regardless, things seem to be set in motion now. This deal is no longer just some pie-in-the-sky idea for folks to talk about — these companies have to take action.
The NBA is ready to move forward. We’ll see how serious TNT is about moving forward with it.
