Turner Sports Content Chief on Strategy, Pandemic Shifts

It’s been 31 years since Turner Sports debuted Inside the NBA, its TNT basketball studio show. Every Thursday during the NBA season, Turner Sports' lead broadcaster Ernie Johnson Jr. is joined by NBA legends-turned-analysts Kenny "The Jet" Smith, Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal. The show plays at the intersection of pro basketball and pop culture—plus a lot of comedy. The panel provides analysis from that night’s NBA games, but viewers will also get almost as many jokes from the big table. Now, Inside the NBA will be the focus of a new four-part docuseries about the show’s history and impact, The Inside Story. It debuts tonight on TNT, following the Miami Heat-New Orleans Pelicans game. The final installment airs Sunday following the NBA All-Star Game. Turner Sports evp and chief content officer Craig Barry, who joined the company shortly after Inside the NBA premiered, was the creative force behind The Inside Story. He spoke with Adweek about the new docuseries, the challenges of producing live sports during a pandemic and how Turner Sports has changed under new owner AT&T. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Adweek: Tell me about The Inside Story and why you feel Inside the NBA continues to resonate after all these years? Craig Barry: The documentary is really a peek behind the curtain. We did not know when we first started this project how long this documentary was going to be. We thought maybe we would do it an hour, maybe it would be two hours, and then it ultimately ended up as four hours. We were sifting through 30 years of video, and we interviewed hundreds of people, from employees to obviously the four of them [Johnson, O'Neal, Smith, Barkley] and the employees and celebrities and press and all types of people who had something to say about the show. As we were unfolding the chronology, it took on a life of its own. One of the key elements of Inside the NBA is the chemistry, and how that chemistry has evolved. Ernie, Kenny, Charles and Shaq all came in at separate times. The show had to shift and evolve around each of these players, and the narrative of that became interesting. How has Turner's general approach to sports changed under AT&T as the parent company. What about with Jeff Zucker leading sports after [Turner president] David Levy left in 2019? I think AT&T supports sports and, specifically, the news and sports division. I think they feel it's a really important part of the portfolio. As far as Jeff, he’s an amazing content leader. He understands creativity, really understands the editorial and has great instincts there. The dynamic has been one of a lot of collaboration with Jeff—him wanting to understand what we were doing and why we were doing what we were doing; him being involved in the process and offering suggestions and guidance. It has been an evolution. I'm not saying David didn't do that, but it’s just different. It’s definitely been a shift—but a welcome shift—and I think that the beneficiary of that shift has been our shows and ultimately our fans. Sports-Starved Advertisers Flock to Turner Sports’ The Match Golf Sequel We’re seeing media companies putting more entertainment content on their streaming services while leaving sports on the linear networks to keep people subscribing. Are you trying to expand what sports content you’re offering on the linear networks? I'm going to leave that question for our programming experts and the strategic business development. What I would say is that there has been no lack of support for sports or for acquisitions. The Match [live golf tournament with Phil Mickelson vs. Tiger Woods] is kind of [owned and operated] for us. We are constantly looking at new properties. I would say that there's a lot of motivation to continue growing the sports portfolio. Is there any thought of experimenting with offering sports on HBO Max? Those conversations are being had. I defer back to again to the strategic development group and the programming group, who are working through those various opportunities. I think that when they're ready—and it feels right for the business—those discussions will start to accelerate. Did Turner Sports ever consider making a bid for the next NFL packages? All I would say is I think it's fair to say that we look at everything. How has the pandemic impacted how you produce Turner Sports programming? It has had a significant impact. I would say the pandemic, as well as social justice. From a narrative and an editorial standpoint, we have to be more thoughtful and mindful about the stories that we're telling and the narrative that we're driving. The times have changed and priorities for the fan and for the nation has changed. I think we need to be topical and relevant and sensitive to that. From a production standpoint, we've had to find new efficiencies and ways to put things on the air that we haven't had to do in the past. Something I would always say is “disruption breeds innovation and creativity,” and there's been some lessons learned that we'll definitely take into the future. There are other things that are clear that don't work as well. I would say having announcers in the building is something that is 100% necessary. There’s no substitute for reading that court and then, ultimately, bringing it to the fans. It’s hard to do that from a monitor. I'm really proud of what we've been able to accomplish: from the bubble to The Match to the start of the NBA regular season through and now to the All-Star Game and into March Madness. How will this year’s coverage of NCAA March Madness be different in a Covid-19 world? March Madness will be in a bubble. Operating in a bubble, when done correctly, is efficient. It’s as close to doing the games traditionally as we can get. The announcers are in the building, the production teams are on site. We're very limited in access to the teams and players, but from a production standpoint, the infrastructure is cohesive enough that—with the exception of having the fans in the building and the concentration of games this year, and with the shift in the schedule a little bit—I'm not sure the product will differ that much. It's a testament to the incredible amount of work between the NCAA, CBS and Turner. We always say the fan comes first and the fan experience is at the forefront. So, we've focused on that again. Turner Sports Sells Out Regular Season NBA Ad Inventory Ahead of Restart

Programming & Performance

Turner Sports Content Chief on Pandemic Broadcasting and AT&T’s Streaming Strategy

The company is airing a new docuseries about its Inside the NBA studio show

A.J. Katz

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A.J. Katz