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ESPN’s ‘Inside the NBA’ Deal is Latest to Snatch Top Sports Ideas From Rivals
ESPN has been increasingly willing to snatch rivals' talent and program concepts to future-proof itself as an era of streaming bundles seems likely
A creative deal that will bring what is perhaps America’s favorite sports studio show to Disney after years of it airing on Warner Bros. Discovery’s TNT spotlights a growing willingness at ESPN to take a “curation” approach to game-day concepts and content. When it comes to hearing Kenny Smith or Ernie Johnson talk to the all-star duo about basketball, however, Warner is giving up the chance to tie that solely to TNT, where NBA games have driven millions of dollars in ad revenue. To gain access to Barkley and team, ESPN was willing to give Warner’s TNT Sports the rights to televise an exclusive slate of Big 12 football and men’s basketball games starting with the 2025 season.
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