NBA on TNT is an American presentation of National Basketball Association (NBA) games, produced by TNT Sports (formerly known as Turner Sports and later Warner Bros. Discovery Sports). In the United States, the TNT cable network has held the rights to broadcast NBA games since 1989, and its telecasts have been streamed on its Max platform since 2023. TNT's NBA coverage includes the Inside the NBA studio show, weekly doubleheaders throughout the regular season on Tuesdays and Thursdays (the latter of which starts in the winter to avoid clashing with the National Football League's Thursday Night Football), a majority of games during the first two rounds of the playoffs, and one conference finals series.
TNT airs many of the NBA's marquee games, including the NBA All-Star Game, Opening Night games, and games on Martin Luther King Day. During the playoffs, TNT splits its games with ESPN and airs a full Conference Final. During the regular season, TNT airs games on Tuesday nights and Thursday nights. To avoid competition with the NFL's Thursday Night Football, regular season games during the first half of the season air exclusively on Tuesday nights.[1]
In the summer of 1987, the Turner Broadcasting System signed a new joint broadcast contract between TBS and TNT effective with the 1988–89 NBA season; beginning that season, TBS and TNT split broadcast rights to televise NBA games. TNT held rights to broadcast the NBA Draft and most NBA regular season and playoff games, while TBS only aired single games or double-headers once a week.[2][3]
NBA on TNT logo 2005–2008
The 2001–2002 season would ultimately mark TBS's final year of NBA coverage. Turner Sports signed a new NBA television contract in which TNT would assume rights to the company's NBA package, while TBS would discontinue game coverage altogether TNT also broadcast games on Wednesday and Thursday nights ESPN assumed TBS's half of the league's cable television rights. As part of the deal, TNT acquired the rights to the NBA All-Star game, which was moved to a cable television network for the first time.[4]
Variation of previous NBA on TNT logo with glossy finish, 2008 until 2015
On May 11, 2011, Turner Sports (this includes TBS) broadcast its 1,000th playoff telecast.[6]
For the 2015–16 season, the NBA and Turner Sports partnered with NextVR to stream the Warriors vs. Pelicans, the first-ever game to be broadcast live in virtual reality.[7]
The previous NBA on TNT logo, before TNT's network logo change, used until 2016
For the 2016–17 season, TNT announced that it would air a new series of Monday-night doubleheaders during the later half of the season, beginning on January 16, 2017. Monday night games from February 27 to March 27 were branded as Players Only broadcasts, featuring only former NBA players and without a traditional play-by-play announcer. Additionally, TNT announced that it would hold a "Road Show" tour in various cities throughout the season, which would feature fan experiences and festivities, and a live broadcast of Inside the NBA on-location. The tour began in Cleveland outside the Quicken Loans Arena, host of TNT's opening night game featuring the Cleveland Cavaliers.[8][9]
In the 2023–24 season, the NBA introduced its in-season tournament, later known as the NBA Cup, with round-robin playdates on Tuesdays and Fridays during November. TNT broadcast Tuesday games during the tournament, followed by the quarterfinal games on December 4 and 5, and one semifinal game on December 7.[15][16] In the semifinal games, both ESPN and TNT collaborated on each other's coverage, with Reggie Miller joining ESPN's broadcast, and Doc Rivers (a former commentator with TNT from 1995 to 1999) joining TNT's broadcast. ESPN's Stephen A. Smith and Michael Wilbon also appeared on Inside the NBA.[16] TNT also began simulcasting select NBA games on truTV.[17]
Ernie Johnson has been TNT's NBA studio host since the 1990–1991 season. Currently, Johnson is joined by Shaquille O'Neal, Kenny Smith, and Charles Barkley. The NBA postgame show which features the four, Inside the NBA, has gained popularity in recent years for the chemistry and banter they have. Occasionally, Johnson, O'Neal, Smith and Barkley are joined by Draymond Green.
Normally the studio crew of Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley would stay in the TNT Atlanta studios for all of the regular season and the first two rounds of the playoffs. However, in the 2010-11 NBA season the studio crew started taking their pre-game, halftime and Inside the NBA shows on the road in the regular season, specifically select games involving the Miami Heat on TNT, due to the heightened media coverage surrounding the Heat's acquisitions of LeBron James and Chris Bosh. The substitute studio hosts will also be on hand for Inside the NBA and the other game's pre-game and halftime presentations; the "backup" crew at the time consisted of Matt Winer, Chris Webber and Kevin McHale.
For the 2019–20 season, TNT announced plans to reformat its Tuesday games. The pre-game and halftime shows will have a larger focus on social media interaction, "culture", and "style", while Dwyane Wade, Candace Parker, Shaquille O'Neal, and Bleacher Report's Adam Lefkoe will serve as panelists. The new studio panel was originally intended to premiere with a doubleheader on January 28, 2020. However, due to the death of Kobe Bryant the previous Sunday (which led to the postponement of a Clippers-Lakers game scheduled to be televised as part of the doubleheader), the premiere was delayed to February 4, and the remaining game was instead preceded by a special edition of Inside the NBA from Staples Center, covering the aftermath of Bryant's death.[18][19][20] The Tuesday postgame shows carried the Inside the NBA brand during the first half of the season (the program airs on Thursday nights during the second half of the season), but the 2020–21 season saw the program rebrand simply as the NBA on TNT Postgame Show for the second half of the season. Jamal Crawford replaced Wade in 2023.
Playoff coverage
TNT's playoff coverage is nicknamed 40 Games in 40 Nights. During the first round, TNT airs games from Sunday to Thursday nights, with occasional broadcasts on Saturdays. In the second round, TNT airs playoff games from Sunday to Wednesday nights.
In previous years, TNT and TBS aired doubleheaders opposite each other on each night of the first round of the playoffs, with one network airing a doubleheader at 7:00p.m. and 9:30p.m. and the other network airing a doubleheader at 8:00p.m. and 10:30p.m. (all times Eastern). Starting in 2000, the NBA spread out playoff series so that only two series would play per day (so as to avoid TNT and TBS competing for ratings). TNT would air doubleheaders on most weekdays, while TBS would air one doubleheader per week (in 2002, TBS aired doubleheaders every Tuesday night of the playoffs until the conference finals).
With the advent of the new NBA television deal in 2003 (which ended TBS's coverage), TNT has aired playoff games alone, including (in 2003 only) some weekday tripleheaders. The tripleheaders, which were criticized by both fans and many in the media, consisted of one game at 6:00p.m., another at 8:30p.m., and a final game at 11:00p.m. After 2003, the NBA and TNT discontinued the tripleheaders, instead settling for a doubleheader on TNT and a single game on NBA TV simultaneously. However, when Turner Sports acquired NBA TV in 2008, the network abandoned airing the lone non-national Thursday game, instead leaving it up to the local sports networks. However, TBS may still air the start of the second game in case the ongoing first game on TNT extends beyond the tip-off time of the second game.
TNT also carries exclusive coverage of one NBA Conference Final. Since the 2004 NBA playoffs, TNT has aired the Eastern Conference finals in odd-number years and the Western Conference finals in even-number years, a pattern which will continue until the expiration of its television contract. ESPN airs the other Conference Final, with weekend coverage of the ESPN-covered series and the Finals being broadcast on ABC.
For the first round, TNT's coverage of the playoffs is not exclusive; regional sports networks can still carry a local call and presentation of their team's games. After the first round, only national coverage from TNT or ESPN/ABC is produced.
Canadian coverage
NBA on TNT games are regularly simulcast on the NBA's Canadian TV partners: TSN, Sportsnet, and NBA TV Canada. However, if the Toronto Raptors are featured, then the Canadian broadcast of the game is shown.
Mike Fratello, Reggie Miller and Marv Albert, along with TNT production staff, during an NBA on TNT broadcast
The current NBA on TNT commentating roster includes Kevin Harlan, Brian Anderson, Ian Eagle, and Spero Dedes for play-by-play. Harlan and Anderson normally call Thursday games, while the latter also usually works Tuesday games with Eagle. Dedes usually fills in occasionally for both Tuesday and Thursday games, but mainly call games for TNT during the NBA playoffs.
Ernie Johnson controls the main studio hosting duties on Thursdays, with Bleacher Report's Adam Lefkoe serving that role on Tuesdays. Occasionally, whenever Johnson is away for other assignments, most notably March Madness, or personal reasons, Lefkoe or Kevin Frazier will fill in for Johnson, and vice versa for Lefkoe. Studio coverage is usually contributed by Shaquille O'Neal, Kenny Smith, and Charles Barkley on Thursdays, with O'Neal, Candace Parker, and Jamal Crawford contributing on Tuesdays. Parker and Crawford, along with Draymond Green and other analysts will contribute to the studio show at times.
Prior to his death on December 15, 2016, Craig Sager served a variety of roles on TNT, most prominently as a sideline reporter. Sager was usually paired with Cheryl Miller on most doubleheaders from 1997 to 2013.
Before he was hired as head coach of the Golden State Warriors in 2014, Steve Kerr was the primary game analyst on TNT. Kerr served that role from 2003 to 2006, and again from 2010 to 2014; in between he served as general manager of the Phoenix Suns.
Prior to leaving Turner before the 2021 NBA playoffs, Hall of Fame forward Chris Webber had been tapped as a co-lead analyst, and fill-in studio analyst from 2008-2021. Webber and Turner had parted ways without any contract renewal negotiations. A contributing factor may have been the fact that Turner bosses were angered with Webber, after he let them know very late that he wanted to opt out of working the 2021 NCAA tournament, which Turner has shared rights to with CBS Sports. Because of that, Turner and CBS did not have the announcements of its broadcast teams during their press conference to preview the NCAA Tournament like they usually did in years past.
Miami Heat legend Dwyane Wade was part of the Tuesday studio team for three seasons beginning in 2019, but left to pursue other business ventures.
Doug Collins used to be the secondary analyst on TNT; he was also the lead analyst in his first stint with the network from 1989 to 1995, pairing with the likes of Bob Neal, Ron Thulin and Pete Van Wieren. In his second stint from 2003 to 2010, he was usually paired with Harlan during the regular season, but was also paired with Albert during the NBA All-Star Game and the Conference finals.
Several prominent NBA analysts have chosen TNT over ABC or ESPN, such as Collins and Charles Barkley (Barkley was not only approached by ABC about an NBA studio job in 2002, but as also rumored to have been approached for a job on Monday Night Football). Reggie Miller was also sought out by ABC and ESPN, only to go to TNT.
The biggest acquisition TNT made, once sought out by ABC and ESPN, was Marv Albert. After the 2002 NBA Finals, Albert, along with Bob Costas, essentially a free agent, was a candidate for the lead spot on The NBA on ABC (which ultimately went to Brad Nessler). As Costas elected to remain with NBC, Albert, hired by TNT in 1999, decided to stay with the network.[21] Some[who?] attributed this to TNT having given Albert his first chance to be on national television after the sex scandal that led to his firing at NBC. Albert and Mike Fratello—both of whom worked as a team in the NBA on NBC's early years—would ultimately reunite on TNT.
Currently, Hubie Brown is the only former TNT announcer working for ESPN/ABC. Brown, whose role on TNT was going to be significantly reduced starting with the 2002–03 season, left in 2002 to coach the Memphis Grizzlies. After two seasons of coaching, he left Memphis in early 2004 (leading to the departure from TNT of lead analyst Mike Fratello, who replaced him in Memphis) and was quickly picked up by ABC. Jeff Van Gundy, who was fired by the Houston Rockets after they lost in the first round, was also a game analyst for TNT, but left and joined ESPN/ABC at the beginning of the Western Conference Finals. Doug Collins, who resigned from TNT to become the Philadelphia 76ers head coach in 2010, joined ESPN after resigning from the 76ers three years later and left ESPN in 2017 to work with the Chicago Bulls. Part-time TNT broadcaster Mike Breen is now the lead broadcaster for ABC and one-time TNT analyst Doc Rivers worked for ABC in 2004. Rivers, alongside ESPN/ABC analyst Doris Burke, joined Breen in the lead commentary team full-time before 2023–24 NBA season, replacing former TNT analyst Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson, both of which who were laid off by ESPN in 2023. Doc Rivers then left ESPN in January of 2024 to become the Milwaukee Bucks head coach. Meanwhile, Pam Oliver, the then-lead sideline reporter for Fox NFL, joined Turner Sports in 2004 as she would only be on during the NBA playoffs, a role she fulfilled until 2009.
The NBA on TNT is the network's longest-running regular program and sporting event, dating back to only a year after TNT's October 3, 1988 launch, with TNT also being the current longest-running NBA coverage partner. On October 6, 2014, Turner Sports and the NBA renewed their television and digital rights agreements through 2025.[28][29]
NBA TV is an American sports-oriented pay television network owned by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and operated by Warner Bros. Discovery through TNT Sports. Dedicated to basketball, the network features exhibition, regular season and playoff game broadcasts from the NBA and related professional basketball leagues, as well as NBA-related content including analysis programs, specials and documentaries. The network is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The network also serves as the national broadcaster of the NBA G League and WNBA games. NBA TV is the oldest subscription network in North America to be owned or controlled by a professional sports league, having launched on November 2, 1999.
The NBA on NBC is the branding used for presentations of National Basketball Association (NBA) games produced by the NBC television network in the United States. NBC held broadcast rights from 1954 to 1962 and again from 1990 to 2002. During NBC's partnership with the NBA in the 1990s, the league rose to unprecedented popularity, with ratings surpassing the days of Magic Johnson and Larry Bird in the mid-1980s. Although the main NBC network no longer airs NBA broadcasts, NBA games currently air on the NBC Sports Regional Networks in the form of game telecasts that air on a regional basis, featuring local NBA teams that each of the regional networks have respective broadcast rights to air in their designated market.
Nationally television broadcasts of National Basketball Association (NBA) games first aired on ABC from 1965 to 1973. In 2002, NBA games returned to ABC as part of a contract signed with the league, along with cable sister network ESPN. After the ABC Sports division was merged into ESPN Inc. by parent company Disney in 2006, broadcasts have since been produced by ESPN, and have primarily used the NBA on ESPN branding and graphics instead of the NBA on ABC branding.
National Basketball Association (NBA) games are televised nationally in the United States, as well as on multiple local channels and regional sports networks. Since the 2002–03 season, broadcast channel ABC, and pay TV networks ESPN and TNT have nationally televised games. Throughout most of the regular season, ESPN shows doubleheaders on Wednesday and Friday nights, while TNT shows doubleheaders on Tuesday and Thursday nights. In the second half of the season, ABC shows a single game on Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons. Games are shown almost every night on NBA TV. There are some exceptions to this schedule, including Tip-off Week, Christmas Day, and Martin Luther King Jr. Day. More games may be shown as the end of the regular season approaches, particularly games with playoff significance. During the playoffs, the first round are split between TNT, ESPN, NBA TV, and ABC on mostly weekends the second round are split between ESPN, TNT and ABC on weekends. The conference finals are split between ESPN/ABC and TNT; the two networks alternate which complete series they will carry from year to year. The entire NBA Finals is shown nationally on ABC. The NBA Finals is one of the few sporting events to be shown on a national broadcast network on a weeknight.
Inside the NBA, branded for sponsorship purposes as Inside the NBA presented by Kia, is the postgame studio show for NBA on TNT broadcasts. The show is currently hosted by Ernie Johnson, joined on set by three analysts: Kenny "The Jet" Smith, Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal. Notable former analysts have included Magic Johnson (2003–2007), Reggie Miller (2008–2011), and Chris Webber (2008–2011). By the early 2000s, the show was being consistently rated as among the best sports analysis shows on American television, and over its history has won eighteen Sports Emmy Awards.
MLB on TBS is an American presentation of regular season and postseason Major League Baseball (MLB) game telecasts that air on the American pay television network TBS and the streaming service Max. The games are produced by TNT Sports.
The NBA on ESPN is the branding used for the presentation of National Basketball Association (NBA) games on the ESPN family of networks. The ESPN cable network first televised NBA games from 1982 until 1984, and has been airing games currently since the 2002–03 NBA season. ESPN2 began airing a limited schedule of NBA games in 2002. ABC began televising NBA games under full ESPN production in 2006. On October 6, 2014, ESPN and the NBA renewed their agreement through 2025.
Brian Anderson is an American sportscaster for Bally Sports Wisconsin and TNT Sports. Since 2007, he has called play-by-play for the Milwaukee Brewers' telecasts on Bally Sports Wisconsin. As a part of his work on the 2007 Brewers Preview Show, Anderson and the Bally Sports team were awarded a regional Emmy Award.
The NBA on TBS is an American presentation of National Basketball Association (NBA) regular season and playoff game telecasts that aired on the American cable and satellite network TBS. The games were produced by Turner Sports, the sports division of the Turner Broadcasting System subsidiary of Time Warner, TBS's corporate parent.
TNT Sports is the division of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) that is responsible for sports broadcasts on its parent company's streaming service Max and on their various cable channels in the United States, including TBS, TNT, and TruTV. It also operates the online digital media outlets for the NCAA, NBA, PGA Tour, and PGA of America. TNT Sports also operates the sports news website Bleacher Report, as well as NBA TV on behalf of the NBA. It also owns a minority share in the MLB Network.
NCAA March Madness is the branding used for coverage of the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament that is jointly produced by CBS Sports, the sports division of the CBS television network, and TNT Sports, the national sports division of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) in the United States. Through the agreement between CBS and WBD, which began with the 2011 tournament, games are televised on CBS, TNT, TBS and truTV. CBS Sports Network has re-aired games from all networks.
As the national broadcaster of the NBA, CBS aired NBA games from the 1973–74 until the 1989–90 season, during which the early 1980s is notoriously known as the tape delay playoff era.
As the national broadcaster of the NBA, CBS aired NBA games from the 1973–74 until the 1989–90 season, during which the early 1980s is notoriously known as the tape delay playoff era.
Upon expiration of the contract in 2002, the league signed an agreement with ABC, which began airing games in the 2002-03 season. NBC had made a four-year $1.3 billion bid in the spring of 2002 to renew its NBA rights, but the league instead went to ESPN and ABC with a six-year deal worth $2.4 billion, a total of $4.6 billion when adding the cable deal with Turner Sports.
The NHL on TNT is an American presentation of National Hockey League (NHL) games produced by TNT Sports, and televised on TNT and streamed on Max in the United States.
NBC Sports's deal with the National Hockey League for U.S. television rights ran through the 2020–21 season, and was replaced in 2021–22 by seven-year agreements with ESPN and TNT to split coverage.
The National Hockey League (NHL) is shown on national television in the United States and Canada. With 25 teams in the U.S. and 7 in Canada, the NHL is the only one of the four major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada that maintains separate national broadcasters in each country, each producing separate telecasts of a slate of regular season games, playoff games, and the Stanley Cup Finals.
The following is a general overview of the National Basketball Association (NBA) on television in the 2020s. There have been no new national media contracts during this period. Locally three NBA teams, the Los Angeles Clippers, Utah Jazz and Phoenix Suns, moved all or some of their games from regional sports networks to over-the-air television networks.
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