After it was first revealed that Inside the NBA is heading to ESPN as a part of a licensing agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery, many had some version of the same initial reaction: It’s only a matter of time until Stephen A. Smith winds up on the storied studio show.
But according to Burke Magnus, that’s not necessarily the case. Speaking with Sports Illustrated‘s Jimmy Traina, the ESPN content president said that there are “no plans” to shoehorn the network’s biggest star onto basketball’s biggest show next season.
Perhaps the biggest reason why? It’s not ESPN’s decision to make.
“We have no plans to do that,” Magnus said during an interview on SI Media with Jimmy Traina. “And that’s because, frankly, the construct of the deal really doesn’t — that’s not how it was conceived. What is conceived is that Turner, as they have always done with this show, with this cast, with the people involved behind the scenes, are going to continue to do what they’ve always done. And we’re going to distribute it on the ESPN platform.
“Frankly, that’s exactly what we want. We don’t want to change it. We don’t want to interject new talent into it. We don’t want to really do anything to it.”
Magnus likened ESPN’s agreement to air Inside the NBA — which came via the league’s settlement with Warner Bros. Discovery — to the network’s licensing deal with The Pat McAfee Show. And although PMS‘ year-plus-long tenure with the Worldwide Leader has had its hiccups, the ESPN executive pointed to it as proof of the network’s ability to remain hands off.
“I thought the McAfee experience would have gotten us by this with fans, we would have a little bit of benefit of the doubt that of course we’re not going to change the show,” Magnus said. “Why would we take something that’s so successful and so iconic, bring it over and then be like, ‘Hey, we know better. We’re going to change it.'”
There is one glaring difference in the two situations, however, as unlike with McAfee, Smith has as strong relationship with Charles Barkley and the rest of the Inside the NBA crew. And while ESPN may not have any plans to force Smith onto the Inside the NBA set, if last season’s In-Season Tournament was any indication, some crossover is likely inevitable.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.