The latest news on the TNT “Inside the NBA” crew, a new role for Max Kellerman, an official extension for Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon, and more sports media news.
Shaq: “Inside” crew to film “special show” once or twice a week
When asked by Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson about potential downtime in their new “Inside the NBA” schedule on ESPN, TNT analyst Shaquille O’Neal said Monday that he and the rest of the “Inside” crew — Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith — will be taping “a special show that we’re going to be shooting once or twice a week, so you’ll definitely be seeing us.”
Since losing rights to the NBA, TNT has been developing a new general sports program that would feature the “Inside” cast, referred to informally as “Inside Sports.” Barkley said earlier this year that the crew taped a pilot for the show, telling “Pardon My Take” in July that the cast walked out of the taping thinking it was “the stupidest **** we’ve ever done” and that management agreed. It is not clear if another pilot has been taped since.
There has been no previous indication of how often the show would run. While O’Neal regularly worked two nights a week for TNT as part of its Tuesday and Thursday studio shows, that was not the case for Johnson, Barkley and Smith — who usually only worked one day a week during the regular season.
As previously noted, “Inside” is not set to air every week in its new ESPN era. When ESPN announced its licensing deal for “Inside” last year, the network said the show will air during the opening and final weeks of the season, before and after ABC games (including Christmas), and during the playoffs.
Kellerman returning to TV on Omaha-produced boxing show
Former ESPN personality Max Kellerman will co-host a new Ring Magazine boxing series that will be produced by Omaha Productions and stream on DAZN, it was announced Tuesday. Titled “Inside the Ring,” the show is set to debut Wednesday in advance of Saturday’s Canelo Alvarez-Terence Crawford fight, before settling into a regular weekly rotation of Monday premieres starting next week.
Kellerman, who has been off the air since being laid off by ESPN two years ago, has long been a prominent boxing analyst in addition to his multiple stints on sports talk shows. Though he is perhaps best known as the original host of “Around the Horn” and a panelist on “First Take,” Kellerman spent years on ESPN’s “Friday Night Fights” and HBO’s “World Championship Boxing” series.
His most recent television role was as host of the short-lived “This Just In” for ESPN.
In addition to Kellerman, the show will be co-hosted by Ring insider Mike Coppinger.
ESPN officially extends Kornheiser, Wilbon
ESPN officially announced Tuesday that it has reached contract extensions with “Pardon the Interruption” hosts Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon that will extend their tenure beyond the show’s 25th anniversary next year. John Ourand of Puck reported Monday night that the deals are for three years, taking the pair up to 2028.
Kornheiser and Wilbon will continue in their current roles hosting “PTI” and a daily “SportsCenter” segment, with Wilbon also continuing to contribute to ESPN’s NBA coverage. In addition to the hosts, ESPN also reached an extension with Rydholm Projects, Inc., to continue producing the show.
While there was never any serious indication that ESPN planned to end the show, the extension comes just months after the network canceled its long-time “Happy Hour” lead-in “Around the Horn,” and as ESPN shifts away from the colorful sports talk that dominated its afternoon lineup for years.
There was some discussion that ESPN might try to expand “PTI” to an hour to fill the vacancy left by “Around the Horn” — and in fact ESPN aired a rare hour-long edition just last week — but the show will continue to air for a half-hour at 5:30 PM ET.
Plus: Ray Hudson, Paramount+ multiview, Athlos-Scripps, Seth Walder
- Saying it was “the most difficult decision” he ever made in his professional life, longtime soccer play-by-play voice Ray Hudson told Richard Deitsch of The Athletic this week that he has retired from broadcasting. Hudson, who also broke the news on his SiriusXM FC radio show, called his final matches earlier this year, when he worked the Barcelona-Inter Milan Champions League semifinal for CBS Sports.
- Paramount+ will debut a multiview option for UEFA Champions League, Europa League and Conference League competitions this season, it was announced Tuesday. Multiview has become an increasingly common feature in sports streaming apps, from Fubo to YouTube TV to the ESPN app.
- Scripps has reached a deal to carry the new “Athlos” women’s track and field league on its ION broadcast network, Sports Business Journal reported Tuesday. The deal gets underway with an October 10 event in New York. Athlos is the one of multiple major track and field league to launch this year, a list that includes the ill-fated Grand Slam Track.
- ESPN said Tuesday that it has reached a multi-year contract extension with NFL analyst Seth Walder, who will continue to write for ESPN.com and appear on some ESPN studio programs, particularly ESPN BET Live.
