CNBC Sport: Shaquille O'Neal, Kenny Smith to return to TNT Sports

CNBC Sport: Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith to return to TNT Sports

Posted by author January 23, 2025 Sports

Spread the love

A version of this article first appeared in the CNBC Sport newsletter with Alex Sherman, which brings you the biggest news and exclusive interviews from the worlds of sports business and media. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox. A rare event is happening right now in the sports business world. Two media powerhouses are simultaneously building their coverage teams for a marquee sport from scratch. Amazon and NBC are trying to put together separate broadcast teams to cover the NBA. The centerpiece for both companies is concocting their own versions of “Inside the NBA,” the TNT Sports show featuring Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith , Charles Barkley and Ernie Johnson . You may remember “Inside the NBA” got a reprieve in November, when ESPN agreed to license the program from TNT Sports. Warner Bros. Discovery will no longer have NBA game rights after this season in the U.S., so the company struck a deal with Disney to keep the popular studio show going. Behind the scenes, the news didn’t stop O’Neal, Smith and Barkley from talking to NBC and Amazon, according to people familiar with the matter. O’Neal’s contract has an out clause that allowed him to leave TNT if Warner Bros. Discovery didn’t retain NBA rights. Smith’s clause was more open to interpretation, the people said. Barkley’s contract doesn’t have the same flexibility, said the people, though it hasn’t stopped him from musing about his future. But, rest assured NBA fans, O’Neal and Smith are coming back. Both are on the verge of re-signing with TNT Sports, CNBC has learned. O’Neal will sign a five-year contract. Smith will ink a multiyear deal, as well. A Warner Bros. Discovery spokesperson declined to comment. That’s made Amazon and NBC Sports’ decision a bit easier. They can focus on building their own studio shows rather than tearing down “Inside the NBA.” Amazon has already announced several additions. Taylor Rooks , who contributes to “Thursday Night Football” for Amazon, will host Prime Video’s NBA studio show. Former NBA greats Blake Griffin and Dirk Nowitzki will be two of the panelists. Both Amazon and NBC have held talks with former New York Knicks and Denver Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony to join their studio shows, according to people familiar with the matter. Both companies are also looking at current players who may contemplate retirement after this season, including Chris Paul , Kevin Love , Draymond Green and possibly Kyle Lowry . NBC is also considering Maria Taylor , among others, to host the program, the people said. Spokespeople at NBC Sports and Amazon declined to comment. A TV career can bring ex-athletes a lucrative extension on their playing careers. First-time contracts sometimes reach $5 million to $10 million a year, depending on the person and the job. Staying on TV in primetime slots can also lead to other endorsement deals, which has been a boon for Barkley and O’Neal, in particular. “Inside the NBA” is clearly the gold standard of studio shows, not only for the NBA but for any sport, said Josh Pyatt , co-head of WME Sports, in an interview. The camaraderie among O’Neal, Barkley, Smith and Johnson has arguably never been matched by any sports TV crew. “They all want what ‘Inside the NBA’ offers: a great group of guys who have great chemistry together. Everyone is trying to do their version of that,” said Pyatt. “From the athlete perspective, I think they enjoy being a part of a team again. These are people with credibility who are interested in talking about their sport in a unique way. They want to give back to the sport, and they have something to say.” Amazon has had success building a studio show for “Thursday Night Football,” tapping ex-NFL stars Ryan Fitzpatrick , Andrew Whitworth , Tony Gonzalez and Richard Sherman . The combination of personality and analysis is a template for what Prime Video Global Head of Sports Jay Marine wants from an NBA show, he told me. “We’re kind of in that phase of invention right now,” Marine said. “We’ll take the same consumer centric mindset we took to the NFL broadcast team in terms of bringing new talent on air. We’re incredibly excited about it.” NBC Sports executives know they won’t be able to recreate the energy of “Inside the NBA” in year one, so they’re purposely taking a different approach. NBC is introducing a “Sunday Night Basketball” show, which will air next year when “Sunday Night Football” concludes. That show will begin with a studio show that’s more like a news magazine than “Inside the NBA,” which relies on extended banter, according to people familiar with the matter. It will then lead into NBC’s NBA game of the week. NBC will lean heavily into 1990s nostalgia for the actual broadcast (the talks for “Roundball Rock” continue!), said the people. Mike Tirico will lead the play-by-play broadcast, the company announced this week. *** Netflix executives still aren’t convinced buying full live sports packages is smart business. The streamer said this week it added a record 19 million subscribers last quarter, fueled by the popularity of some of its live sports events. Netflix was the exclusive provider of the Mike Tyson – Jake Paul boxing match and its undercards, the home to two Christmas NFL games, and is the new distributor for WWE Raw. Netflix also acquired the exclusive U.S. broadcast rights for the next two FIFA Women’s World Cups. Still, co-CEO Ted Sarandos said Netflix isn’t sure acquiring a full season’s worth of games from any of the major U.S. sports will be a profitable venture for the company. “It doesn’t really change the underlying economics of full-season big-league sports being extremely challenging,” said Sarandos during Netflix’s earnings conference call Tuesday. “If there was a path where we could actually make the economics work for both us and the league, we certainly would explore. But right now, we believe that the live events business is where we really want to be. And sports is a very important part of that, but it is a part of that expansion.” This has been Sarandos’ stated attitude toward sports for years. “Please stop asking Ted Sarandos if Netflix is getting into live sports cause he’ll just keep saying no,” Awful Announcing declared as a headline in 2023. All this said, I still wouldn’t write off Netflix as a buyer of a full package of NFL games when it gets a chance. Talks for those games are likely still four or five years away, given the NFL’s ability to pull out of its current media rights deal after the 2029-30 season. There’s also plenty of precedent for Netflix to change its mind. It has cracked down on password sharing and introduced advertising in recent years – two things that were previously anathema to the company. The changing media landscape in the next few years could alter Sarandos’ thinking. Netflix has already taken the plunge to be a regular provider of WWE events. It’s not much of a leap to assume the world will change enough in four years that Netflix being one of the NFL’s primary partners makes business sense for both parties. On the record With top sports agent Jeff Schwartz … Jeff Schwartz is one of the most influential sports agents in the world. He personally represents a slew of NBA players including Nikola Jokic, but he’s also the founder, president and managing partner of Excel Sports Management, the agency that represents Tiger Woods , Caitlin Clark , Peyton Manning and hundreds of other athletes. Schwartz expressed his thoughts on how it’s “ridiculous” how underpaid WNBA players are (and how the league should do its own media rights deal rather than partner with the NBA), how NIL is forcing agents to sign clients in high school, and how agents often wear many hats, including psychologist and friend. But what I found most fascinating about our chat was his behind-the-curtain look at how deals are hammered out. He told me that when an agent is negotiating a deal for a player as good as the three-time NBA MVP Jokic, no one bothers with slideshow presentations. But when it comes to an average player, most deals are hammered out the same way: with the agent preparing documents showing how great the player is, and with the team arguing how flawed he or she is. “You are going to put together a presentation for the teams,” said Schwartz. “We have an analytics department … and they will help put together something to show a team why we believe a player is worth what we believe. The team, on the other hand, will have their analytics people have a counter to that. And so it’s a conversation that will start once we’ve exchanged these documents and we’ve talked to each other – we give our argument on why we believe our position is the right one, and they’ll give their argument on why they believe their position. And then it is a back and forth. Any type of positive … anything we can use to help show the team why we should get to the number we want, we’re going to use that. And the team, on the other hand, is obviously going to try the other way.” Schwartz said the NBA’s new collective bargaining agreement has made it increasingly difficult for teams to keep their players. And he acknowledged that it’s the agent’s responsibility to make it even harder. “For a team, no matter how much they like a player, they’re going to do their best to get that player at the lowest amount possible,” Schwartz said. “And obviously it’s our job to make sure that doesn’t happen.” Watch the full interview. CNBC Sport highlight reel The best of CNBC Sport from the past week: Unrivaled, the new 3-on-3 women’s professional basketball league, debuted Friday to modest ratings – just over 300,000 viewers on average. The league, co-founded by WNBA stars Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart, has already announced deals with a dozen sponsors and raised $35 million in funding. CNBC’s Russell Leung explains how the league works here . It’s gonna cost you more to watch those Netflix sporting events – the streamer is raising prices across the board. CNBC’s Lillian Rizzo has the details . The big number: 30 An 11-year-old this week pulled a Paul Skenes 2024 Topps Chrome Update baseball card that includes a patch the Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher wore on his jersey from his Major League debut. The card is likely to have an immediate six-figure value, but the Pirates want it back. So, the team has made an offer. In exchange for the card – which is unique – the Pirates and Skenes’ girlfriend Livvy Dunne have offered: Two season tickets behind home plate for the next 30 years A meet and greet with Skenes Two autographed Skenes jerseys A softball game at PNC Park with coaching from Pirates alumni A private tour of the Pirates’ Spring Training facilities in Florida Taking batting practice and warming up with the team Sitting in a suite with Dunne, a popular social media influencer, to watch a game. No word yet if the 11-year-old has taken the Pirates’ deal or proposed a counteroffer. Quote of the week “The more I think about it, the more I feel us giving more access and insight can make a WORLD of difference.” – PGA golfer Justin Thomas penned a letter this week to fellow tour members about the importance of on-the-record interviews and mic’d up conversations with caddies and peers. TGL, the new indoor golf league, leans heavily on giving fans open access to players, who banter during matches. Thomas urged other PGA golfers to give more in-match commentary to draw in younger fans. Around the league Congratulations to Ohio State’s boosters, whose charitable donations of $20 million to members of the football team helped bring them a national championship. Ohio State collected more in NIL funds than any other college football program, noted Front Office Sports . Even the NFL can’t increase ratings every year. Early playoff returns show ratings are down from last year . Of course, they’ll still be watched by more people than almost anything else on TV this year. The CNBC Sport team is heading to New Orleans for the Super Bowl! Please shoot me an email (alex.sherman@nbcuni.com) if you’re going to be there and would like to meet up. And make sure to pack appropriately for New Orleans weather – snowpants and skis.

A version of this article first appeared in the CNBC Sport newsletter with Alex Sherman, which brings you the biggest news and exclusive interviews from the worlds of sports business and media. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox.

A rare event is happening right now in the sports business world. Two media powerhouses are simultaneously building their coverage teams for a marquee sport from scratch.

Amazon and NBC are trying to put together separate broadcast teams to cover the NBA. The centerpiece for both companies is concocting their own versions of “Inside the NBA,” the TNT Sports show featuring Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley and Ernie Johnson.

You may remember “Inside the NBA” got a reprieve in November, when ESPN agreed to license the program from TNT Sports. Warner Bros. Discovery will no longer have NBA game rights after this season in the U.S., so the company struck a deal with Disney to keep the popular studio show going.

Behind the scenes, the news didn’t stop O’Neal, Smith and Barkley from talking to NBC and Amazon, according to people familiar with the matter. O’Neal’s contract has an out clause that allowed him to leave TNT if Warner Bros. Discovery didn’t retain NBA rights. Smith’s clause was more open to interpretation, the people said. Barkley’s contract doesn’t have the same flexibility, said the people, though it hasn’t stopped him from musing about his future.

But, rest assured NBA fans, O’Neal and Smith are coming back. Both are on the verge of re-signing with TNT Sports, CNBC has learned. O’Neal will sign a five-year contract. Smith will ink a multiyear deal, as well. A Warner Bros. Discovery spokesperson declined to comment.

That’s made Amazon and NBC Sports’ decision a bit easier. They can focus on building their own studio shows rather than tearing down “Inside the NBA.”

Get CNBC Sport directly to your inbox

The CNBC Sport newsletter with Alex Sherman brings you the biggest news and exclusive interviews from the worlds of sports business and media, delivered weekly to your inbox.

Subscribe here to get access today.

Amazon has already announced several additions. Taylor Rooks, who contributes to “Thursday Night Football” for Amazon, will host Prime Video’s NBA studio show. Former NBA greats Blake Griffin and Dirk Nowitzki will be two of the panelists.

Both Amazon and NBC have held talks with former New York Knicks and Denver Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony to join their studio shows, according to people familiar with the matter. Both companies are also looking at current players who may contemplate retirement after this season, including Chris Paul, Kevin Love, Draymond Green and possibly Kyle Lowry.

NBC is also considering Maria Taylor, among others, to host the program, the people said. Spokespeople at NBC Sports and Amazon declined to comment.

A TV career can bring ex-athletes a lucrative extension on their playing careers. First-time contracts sometimes reach $5 million to $10 million a year, depending on the person and the job. Staying on TV in primetime slots can also lead to other endorsement deals, which has been a boon for Barkley and O’Neal, in particular.

“Inside the NBA” is clearly the gold standard of studio shows, not only for the NBA but for any sport, said Josh Pyatt, co-head of WME Sports, in an interview. The camaraderie among O’Neal, Barkley, Smith and Johnson has arguably never been matched by any sports TV crew.

“They all want what ‘Inside the NBA’ offers: a great group of guys who have great chemistry together. Everyone is trying to do their version of that,” said Pyatt. “From the athlete perspective, I think they enjoy being a part of a team again. These are people with credibility who are interested in talking about their sport in a unique way. They want to give back to the sport, and they have something to say.”

Amazon has had success building a studio show for “Thursday Night Football,” tapping ex-NFL stars Ryan Fitzpatrick, Andrew Whitworth, Tony Gonzalez and Richard Sherman. The combination of personality and analysis is a template for what Prime Video Global Head of Sports Jay Marine wants from an NBA show, he told me.

“We’re kind of in that phase of invention right now,” Marine said. “We’ll take the same consumer centric mindset we took to the NFL broadcast team in terms of bringing new talent on air. We’re incredibly excited about it.”

NBC Sports executives know they won’t be able to recreate the energy of “Inside the NBA” in year one, so they’re purposely taking a different approach. NBC is introducing a “Sunday Night Basketball” show, which will air next year when “Sunday Night Football” concludes. That show will begin with a studio show that’s more like a news magazine than “Inside the NBA,” which relies on extended banter, according to people familiar with the matter. It will then lead into NBC’s NBA game of the week.

NBC will lean heavily into 1990s nostalgia for the actual broadcast (the talks for “Roundball Rock” continue!), said the people. Mike Tirico will lead the play-by-play broadcast, the company announced this week.

***
Netflix executives still aren’t convinced buying full live sports packages is smart business.

The streamer said this week it added a record 19 million subscribers last quarter, fueled by the popularity of some of its live sports events. Netflix was the exclusive provider of the Mike Tyson–Jake Paul boxing match and its undercards, the home to two Christmas NFL games, and is the new distributor for WWE Raw. Netflix also acquired the exclusive U.S. broadcast rights for the next two FIFA Women’s World Cups.

Still, co-CEO Ted Sarandos said Netflix isn’t sure acquiring a full season’s worth of games from any of the major U.S. sports will be a profitable venture for the company.

“It doesn’t really change the underlying economics of full-season big-league sports being extremely challenging,” said Sarandos during Netflix’s earnings conference call Tuesday. “If there was a path where we could actually make the economics work for both us and the league, we certainly would explore. But right now, we believe that the live events business is where we really want to be. And sports is a very important part of that, but it is a part of that expansion.”

This has been Sarandos’ stated attitude toward sports for years.

“Please stop asking Ted Sarandos if Netflix is getting into live sports cause he’ll just keep saying no,” Awful Announcing declared as a headline in 2023.

All this said, I still wouldn’t write off Netflix as a buyer of a full package of NFL games when it gets a chance. Talks for those games are likely still four or five years away, given the NFL’s ability to pull out of its current media rights deal after the 2029-30 season.

There’s also plenty of precedent for Netflix to change its mind. It has cracked down on password sharing and introduced advertising in recent years – two things that were previously anathema to the company.

The changing media landscape in the next few years could alter Sarandos’ thinking. Netflix has already taken the plunge to be a regular provider of WWE events. It’s not much of a leap to assume the world will change enough in four years that Netflix being one of the NFL’s primary partners makes business sense for both parties.