Amazon eyes TNT’s iconic Inside the NBA cast after securing media rights deal with the NBA: Report
The future of the iconic "Inside the NBA" show, featuring Charles Barkley, Shaquille O'Neal, Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson, is in jeopardy following Amazon Prime Video securing the NBA's new media rights deal. However, a top Prime Video official revealed they have plans for the show's cast.
Prime Video will begin streaming NBA games starting in the 2025-26 season as part of the league's new 11-year, $76 billion media rights deal. This transition marks a significant change in the NBA's broadcast landscape, ending TNT's three-decade-long partnership with the league.
Jay Marine, the global head of sports for Prime Video, expressed interest in reuniting the cast of "Inside the NBA" under the new deal in an interview with Sports Business Journal.
"Obviously, there’ll be a lot of interest, and we’ll just have to see how that plays out," he said.
Marine praised "Inside the NBA" as one of the best in the industry and mentioned it as an inspiration for Prime Video's Thursday Night Football program.
"I would say, first and foremost, ‘Inside the NBA,’ we view it as the gold standard studio program," he said.
"We're big fans. I'm a big fan. They are absolutely fantastic, incredibly entertaining. And collectively, that chemistry is really awesome and, to be honest, it was an inspiration for us that we pointed to when we designed our TNF pregame team….That’s what we wanted to aspire to."
Despite this interest, Prime Video faces challenges in reuniting the beloved cast.
Barkley has announced his plans to retire from television after the 2024-25 season, and Johnson is reportedly not interested in leaving Turner.
A source cited by SBJ’s Tom Friend stated there is "essentially zero chance of the show going anywhere intact."
In 2022, the four hosts signed long-term contracts with TNT.
How the ‘Inside the NBA’ cast was formed
"Inside the NBA" started in 1989, the same year TNT began broadcasting NBA games.
Ernie Johnson, who was a news reporter at WSPA-TV in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and a general assignment news reporter at WSB-TV in Atlanta, became the show's first permanent host the following year and has remained in that role ever since.
Kenny Smith joined the show in 1998, followed by Charles Barkley two years later. Shaquille O'Neal was the last to join after his retirement in 2011.
The show is known for its recurring segments such as "Shaqtin' a Fool," showcasing the week's bloopers, "EJ's Neat-O Stat of the Night," known for being "unsullied by sponsorship since 1989," "Who He Play For," where Barkley is quizzed about NBA players who switched teams, and "Gone Fishin'," depicting players from eliminated playoff teams going fishing.