Will You Need the ESPN Unlimited App to Get Inside the NBA?

By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man – Follow me on X.

TV Answer Man, ESPN has Inside the NBA this year and I see it will be on the app. Will you need the ESPN+ part of the app to watch it. – Dante, Detroit.

Dante, starting with the 2025/26 season, ESPN will carry the Inside the NBA pre-game, halftime and post-game shows featuring host Ernie Johnson and analysts Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal. The show was previously on TNT but the network lost the rights to NBA basketball so ESPN is picking it up.

ESPN last week announced that Inside the NBA will debut on the network’s regular TV channel on Wednesday, October 22 from 6-7 p.m. ET and 6:30-7 p.m. ET on Thursday, October 23. You will be able to watch it with the pay TV ESPN channel or the ESPN Unlimited app.

The show will precede NBA game doubleheaders on those nights. Inside the NBA will begin one hour before every ESPN NBA broadcast and the post-game show will start immediately after the game’s conclusion.

The ESPN games and Inside the NBA will be available on the regular ESPN channel with one exception. The postgame shows following NBA Saturday Primetime on ABC will start immediately after the game on ABC and continue on the ESPN app. However, for those pay TV subscribers who have free access to the ESPN app, but not the ESPN+ programming, the show will not be on ESPN+ on Saturday nights. You will be able to watch with the limited access to the ESPN app now available to subscribers to services such as Comcast, Dish, and YouTube TV.

Dante, I hope that answers your question. Happy viewing and stay safe!

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