Within the midst of the chaos surrounding Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) and its NBA tv rights negotiations, Ernie Johnson is stepping away from baseball in the intervening time.
“I’d prefer to thank the management at TNT Sports activities for permitting me the time away to maintain a household matter through the baseball season,” Johnson, a longtime TNT host, stated in an announcement from Warner Bros. “I look ahead to returning to the studio for the beginning of the NBA season.”
Johnson shall be changed by MLB Community’s Greg Amsinger as TBS’ studio host, which begins with the community’s nationwide protection of the Mets-Yankees Subway Collection showdown Tuesday night time.
Pedro Martinez, Jimmy Rollins and Curtis Granderson spherical out the studio group, and TBS may have postseason protection this fall.
As Johnson revealed his baseball plans, his and TBS’ future with the NBA is murkier.
On Monday, WBD introduced they had been matching a proposal to retain their NBA rights.
“We now have reviewed the gives and matched one in all them,” TNT’s assertion learn.
“We’re happy with how we now have delivered for basketball followers by offering best-in-class protection all through our four-decade partnership with the NBA. In an effort to proceed our long-standing partnership, throughout each unique and non-exclusive negotiation intervals, we acted in good religion to current robust bids that had been truthful to each events.”
Nonetheless, as The Put up’s Ryan Glasspiegel identified, this might end in a authorized armageddon.
The expectation laid out by Glasspiegel is that TNT would look to match Amazon’s aspect of the settlement, believing they’ll compete in each streaming and broadcast.
A authorized battle between the 2 corporations can be a catastrophe if TNT got here up quick, because the beloved “Contained in the NBA” crew of Johnson, Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley, and Shaquille O’Neill could possibly be left and not using a job at TNT and in limbo, ready for the courts to determine the scenario.
Turner has even began a social marketing campaign championing to maintain the beloved group collectively.
Johnson, 67 and based mostly in Atlanta, has been a TNT host since 1990 and is unlikely to leap ship to Amazon or anyplace else.
In the meantime, Barkley stated he would retire after this coming NBA season.
