The controversy around ESPN’s takeover (licensing) of Inside The NBA has arguably been the top storyline of the show this season. Charley’s Barkley and crew have been given limited air time compared to past seasons when the show was broadcasted on TNT.
The show reportedly remains under the control producers of TNT despite being run on ESPN’s channel. During the Eastern Conference Finals, the producers have the latitude to allow it to run with each post-game show scheduled for an hour but can also run further (cutting into Scott Van Pelt’s late-night Sports Center) at the producers discretion, per Front Office Sports.
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Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, and Kenny Smith will be live during every halftime in addition to having a pre-game and post-game Inside The NBA Show. Here’s the full breakdown for the Eastern Conference Finals, per FOS:
- Every ECF game will have a one-hour pregame show, except for Game 3 on Sat. May 23, which is on ABC.
- Halftime of every game
- Postgame shows will air on ESPN for as long as TNT’s producers decide for them to. ESPN has allotted an hour after each game, but they can go longer at TNT’s discretion.
- For the ABC game, the first half-hour of the postgame will be on ABC, and it can go longer on ESPN if TNT producers wish.
- Draymond Green will have guest appearances on two nights during the ECF.
During the Eastern Conference Finals, the show will be shown from the studio in Atlanta. Once the Finals roll around, the crew will be live on-site from each game.
The New York Knicks are currently favored to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers and win the Eastern Conference while the Oklahoma City Thunder are currently favored to beat the San Antonio Spurs and represent the Western Conference.
