User:FrostFairBlade/sandbox/Inside the NBA

Production

 * The show was initially produced as a traditional sports highlights program, with Johnson reading from a script
 * Producer Tim Kiely, a former producer for ESPN's SportsCenter, joined the show in 1995
 * Kiely believed that a traditional post-game show was under-utilizing the talents of Johnson, realizing that a less scripted version would highlight Johnson's abilities to generate on-air rapport
 * He wanted to have a show that felt more casual and spontaneous, and took inspiration from various other shows unrelated to sports to achieve this ideal
 * He appreciated the chaos of public affairs talk show The McLaughlin Group, noting the show's frequency of going to commercial break with its political pundits shouting at each other
 * Kiely also cited how late-night talk show host David Letterman frequently made his staff part of the show as an inspiration, along with HBO's unorthodox programming schedule
 * According to Kiely, he was able to make these changes to the show because at the time, executives at TNT were more focused on the network's NFL program
 * After Johnson balked at the idea, Kiely, in an effort to prove his point, turned off the teleprompter during a live broadcast, forcing Johnson to improvise the rest of the show
 * Johnson was upset that the producer would leave him out to dry, and after an argument with Kiely, threw and shattered a coffee mug against a bathroom wall in anger
 * Kiely was able to make amends by buying a replacement mug for Johnson with a design that read, "Postal Worker Wanted"; eventually Johnson realized that the producer was only trying to challenge him to grow professionally
 * Throughout the years, the show has upheld this level of spontaneity: while Johnson prepares for each taping with meticulous notes, Smith, Barkley, and O'Neal do not attend production meetings so that they do not know anything ahead of time
 * Like other sports programs, the show has its panelists provide game analysis and conduct post-game interviews, but its "freewheeling" style enables Smith, Barkley, and O'Neal to use these segments as springboards for silliness and banter

History
Inside the NBA debuted after TNT was awarded the rights to broadcast NBA games in the 1989–90 season. In its first season, there were no permanent hosts nor analysts. Craig Sager, Hannah Storm, Vince Cellini, Tim Brando and Fred Hickman shared hosting duties at various points of the season. It was not until the following season that Ernie Johnson Jr., at the time a sideline reporter, took over as the show's full-time host, a role he retains to this day.


 * In July 1989, Turner Broadcasting System announced that it would move its NBA telecasts for the upcoming season from SuperStation TBS to its new cable channel, TNT
 * Turner was able to meet the requirement of having 30 million subscribers to TNT in order to successfully be awarded exclusive cable rights to the NBA
 * With this change, Turner also moved Inside the NBA from TBS to TNT
 * Johnson was sometimes paired with guest analysts like Lenny Wilkens, Don Nelson, Doug Collins, and Hubie Brown
 * During this period, Johnson was noted as a young, rising talent
 * In his ranking of best sportscasters in 1991, Rudy Martzke of USA Today praised Johnson's abilities as Inside the NBA 's studio host, calling him "a smoothie with [an] outstanding future"
 * The Salt Lake Tribune also noted Johnson as an "on the rise" talent in their "list of best sports television" for 1991
 * Johnson renewed his contract with Turner in July 1992 for three more years
 * Show's popularity steadily increased; in January 1996, it was announced that the show would be broadcast on two different nights, due to a 20% increase in ratings from the previous season
 * Used 3D computer graphics technology to generate a virtual studio for various segments during the 1996-1997 regular season of the NBA
 * Kenny Smith, who had appeared on broadcast previously as a guest studio analyst, emerged as the front-runner to replace Chuck Daly as the permanent analyst after the latter accepted a coaching position with the Orlando Magic
 * Smith was selected because Johnson and producer Tim Kiely liked his spontaneous attitude

2000–2011

 * Turner offered a contract to Charles Barkley to appear on Inside the NBA as a studio analyst while the Houston Rockets forward was recovering from a knee injury sustained on December 8, 1999 in Philadelphia
 * Described by Turner Sports president Mark Lazarus as "an obvious media and marketing personality", Barkley was known as one of the most outspoken personalities in the NBA
 * His ability to be entertainingly candid and outspoken was what drove networks like NBC to try and recruit Barkley to join them as an analyst
 * While he talked with NBC Sports about a potential contract, he opted to join Turner because he felt that TNT "wanted [him] more"
 * He debuted on the program March 7, 2000, making a few appearances throughout the season before starting a two-year contract with Turner on a full-time basis
 * Encouraged by Lazarus to give his honest opinion, Barkley's ability to give unfiltered, memorable sound bites helped transform the show into an entertainment spectacle
 * Barkley's antics were described by USA Today as "must-see TV", and multiple newspapers compared his style to John Madden's
 * Senior producer Tim Kieley: "A lot of on-air talent will ask, 'What do you want me to do?' and it's like squeezing blood from a stone. But with Charles, all I have to do is touch the rock, and a river runs out. He's fearless."
 * Executive producer Mike Pearl: "I can't think of a show I've worked on that has the overall chemistry, except maybe with a Phyllis-type character [...] In terms of not knowing where the next curveball is coming from, this group is right up there."
 * A 2001 article by The Sporting News stated that Inside the NBA retained 81% of its lead-in audience
 * USA Today reported in 2001 that despite the year's playoff ratings declining 15% from the previous year, Inside the NBA ratings remained largely the same
 * In a similar 2001 report by Multichannel News, Inside the NBA was able to retain its Nielsen rating of 1.4 from the previous year; a Turner spokesman largely attributed the show's success to "the Charles factor", referencing Barkley's popularity
 * In 2002, Turner added Magic Johnson as a studio analyst to the Inside the NBA lineup

Present day

 * In October 2022, it was announced that Warner Brothers Discovery extended the contracts of Johnson, Barkley, Smith and O'Neal
 * Barkley was reportedly signed to a 10-year extension
 * In May 2023, Kiely retired from TNT

Recurring segments

 * Gone Fishin' – A segment borne from a catchphrase used whenever a team is knocked out of (or fails to make the) playoffs
 * Usually accompanied by humorous doctored photos of players on the team on fishing boats with analyst Kenny Smith
 * According to Smith, the catchphrase stemmed from the 1994 Western Conference semi-finals, where the Phoenix Suns' gorilla mascot taunted the Houston Rockets with a fishing pole, insinuating that the Rockets would soon be eliminated from the playoffs
 * During the segment, the hosts commonly joke about Cancún, a popular vacation destination; this is a reference to a quote made by O'Neal's former Lakers teammate Nick Van Exel, who infamously quipped "1, 2, 3, Cancún!" during the 1998 NBA playoffs
 * Shaqtin' a Fool – a blooper reel segment hosted by O'Neal highlighting humorous mistakes made by players

Barkley's race with Dick Bavetta

 * Barkley was away from the studio, instead filling in for Steve Kerr on color commentary duties on January 4, 2007
 * During the broadcast, he claimed that he could outrun Bavetta
 * Believing that a footrace between the two would make a great spectacle, Kiely contacted Bavetta, who agreed to race Barkley

Reception

 * A 2024 Los Angeles Times article stated the show "has helped define TNT’s identity over the years."
 * In 2011, Rolling Stone named Barkley as one of the best characters on television for his work on Inside the NBA
 * Barkley and Smith were highlighted by The Hollywood Reporter as one of "The 10 Most Powerful Voices in Sports" in 2015, noting that their contributions helped make Inside the NBA one of the highest-rated shows on cable television

Media

 * Inside the NBA has spawned several related shows and media content over the years
 * In September 2002, Turner announced that a live talk show, Listen Up! Charles Barkley with Ernie Johnson, would be airing on October 31 of that year
 * The half-an-hour show would cover a variety of subjects outside of sports, and feature interviews with guest stars such as Bernie Mac

The Inside Story

 * From March 4–7, 2021, a four-part documentary series on Inside the NBA aired, detailing the show's 30-year history
 * Each of the four episodes focuses on one member of the Inside the NBA crew
 * The origins of the documentary stemmed from senior digital producer Audrey Martin, who originally conceived the series as a long-form podcast in which Johnson and Kiely would tell stories about the show

Potential links

 * https://proxy.espn.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/020513
 * https://www.nexttv.com/news/30-years-of-hoops-and-fun-at-tnts-inside-the-nba
 * https://www.theringer.com/nba/2021/5/10/22427902/nba-tnt-candace-parker-dwyane-wade-shaq
 * https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/23/sports/kenny-smith-wasnt-a-star-tnts-inside-the-nba-made-him-one.html
 * https://tucson.com/sports/ua-grad-jeremy-levin-helps-everything-run-smoothly-on-tnts-popular-inside-the-nba/article_1a345e5d-ad17-5190-905c-5b2bfff287a7.html
 * https://www.oklahoman.com/story/sports/nba/thunder/2014/02/13/a-conversation-with-ernie-johnson/60845023007/
 * https://www.onlineathens.com/story/entertainment/2021/03/04/uga-grad-turner-sports-producer-talks-inside-nba-documentary-the-inside-story-ernie-johnson-shaq/6915133002/
 * https://radiomilwaukee.org/story/community-stories/ernie-johnson-on-returning-to-milwaukee-inside-the-nba-and-the-greatness-of-giannis/
 * https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/turners-nba-crew-easily-shifts-up-tempo-style/docview/408793903/se-2