Gee… it’s been a minute since we’ve talked about the hard-to-determine future of “Inside the NBA” on TNT and all the personnel involved. A lot of the talk – and a few ShaqFu Radio blog stories – have focused on Sir Charles Barkley and his desire to stick with TNT.
Barkley has been vocal about how he’s appreciated the way he’s been treated by the TNT network, and his desire to fulfill his contract with the network. “Inside” host Ernie Johnson has also talked about staying at TNT, no matter what happens to the basketball analysis show where he’s been the ringleader for many years.
So we’ve heard from Barkley and Johnson… what about our man Shaq? A recent story in the New York Post (of all the big-name sources!) says when it comes to “free agent” status, O’Neal is going to be a big, BIG fish that could become available to other networks. (Thanks to that same NY Post for info on this post.)
As of this posting date, there’s still no set-in-stone, official and final decision on what TV networks are going to be covering the NBA after the end of this 2024-2025 season. Still, it seems TNT’s parent company Warner Bros. Discovery is out of the game. Now, WBD isn’t fully out just yet. The company has sued the NBA, saying it had a contract clause to match any offer and retain rights to some of the action.
The BIG Podcast with SHAQ
For its part, the NBA front office says Warner Brothers Discovery did not match the terms of Amazon’s streaming-first package on their Prime Video service. So now it’s going to the courts for a (hopefully) final decision.
The Post’s story said it would be “feeding frenzy” by the other networks getting into the NBA coverage game… feeding on all the talent TNT has put together for its outstanding coverage of the game over all these years.
If the current broadcast contracts stand up in court, NBC, ESPN and even Amazon will no doubt be shopping for talent, both in front of and behind the cameras. Would Shaq jump ship and swim over to one of the other networks?
Barkley has already talked about his contract with TNT, saying he had a legal “out,” that would allow him to retire if the network did not win the contract renewal to continue broadcasting the NBA.
Shaq and crew covering other sports?
Even though he hasn’t mentioned it, it’s believed Shaq has a similar deal. When the dust finally settles and the new NBA contract-holders are putting together their broadcast teams, Shaq has got to be the obvious choice as the number one guy on the most-wanted list. Another Number One draft pick, so to speak. Something O’Neal has some experience with, for sure!
How valuable would it be for another network to score Shaq for their game coverage? The Post quotes Nate Jones an NBA agent at Goodwin Sports who works closely with Damian Lillard and actively monitors the media environment. His comment: “Shaq is one of the few monoculture sports superstars left in the business today. Shaq and Charles [Barkley] are similar to Snoop Dogg where everyone from grandmas to young kids know who they are and love them.”
More from Jones: “It’s very hard for sports stars of this fractured social media era to break through like those guys have, so they have real value to sports broadcasters and their brand partners. Shaq is nearly a decade younger than Charles, so he likely has a little more runway as a sports personality than Charles at this stage.”
Shaq would be a huge score for ESPN. The network has had its own hoops analysis show, “NBA Countdown.” While decent, the show has never really gotten a good footing and has gone through quite a number of different hosts and commentators…yet none have really made an impact.
For ESPN, a deal to bring Shaq on board would be huge. Similar to the headline grabbing move to bring on Joe Buck and Troy Aikman for Monday Night Football.
One of the other ideas making the rounds – and something we’ve talked about here on the blog – is for TNT to keep “Inside the NBA,” but re-package it as a wide-ranging sports commentary and analysis show…one that would cover more than just basketball. Not sure how that would work with a team currently made up of all-hoops experts, but anything is certainly possible.