
The tip off of the 2025-26 NBA season marked the beginning of a new media rights deal and the end to the TNT era. Luckily for NBA fans, the beloved Inside the NBA pre- and postgame show with host Ernie Johnson and analysts Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith continued with Disney landing a licensing deal to air the show across ESPN and ABC, with Turner Sports producing the program.
A move to ESPN brought unwarranted outcries regarding whether the new network would bring drastic change to Inside the NBA. Those concerns weren’t necessary, as Inside the NBA kept its entire makeup in place from the cast to the producers to the studio with Turner retaining creative control.