ESPN viewers were less than impressed with the network’s halftime offering during Game 2 of the NBA Finals.
The Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics met once again at TD Garden on Sunday, with the hometown team leading the series 2-0.
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However, at halftime, everything was still on the line, with the Celtics only holding a narrow 54-51 lead.
Unfortunately, it appears the excitement on the court wasn’t equal, with fans of X, formerly known as Twitter, quick to criticize ESPN’s Kia Halftime Show.
The show was led once again by Malika Andrews, Stephen A. Smith, Josh Hart, Michael Wilbon and Bob Myers.
Presented live from the stands at TD Garden, the team had approximately just two minutes of broadcast time to discuss the first half – an improvement on their Game 1 offering.
The remainder of the half was broken up by commercial breaks, “The Assist of the Game”, “Halftime Highlights”, “Microphone On”, statistics and commentary from Doris Burke, JJ Redick and Mike Breen.
This lack of general commentary in a tight first half left many fans frustrated.
“The worst halftime show in all of sports,” said one fan.
“I would be more likely to watch the finals if it was on TNT. As it is, just watch it in passing because the ABC/ESPN coverage is so atrocious,” commented a second.
“I’m glad this is getting attention. Followed by 3-4 minutes of commercials in each segment. It’s ridiculous,” replied another.
And it appears many were equally dissatisfied with ESPN’s postgame coverage.
“No disrespect to this ESPN postgame crew. Wilson is my favorite sports personality of all time. But this postgame show sucks,” said one viewer.
“I need inside the NBA back!”
And this was far from the only tweet calling for the return of the beloved TNT show.
Inside The NBA has been a staple of NBA coverage for 35 years, but it faces an uncertain future.
With the league reportedly approaching a massive $76 billion TV deal with ESPN, Amazon and NBC – leaving TNT without NBA rights – it’s still unclear whether or not Inside The NBA will find a way to survive.
Inside the future of the NBA?
The operation of the NBA on TNT Sports is in great doubt due to the NBA’s broadcast agreements.
The Emmy-winning sports show is a fan favorite thanks to the likes of Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley.
But TNT’s broadcast deal with the NBA ends after next season and NBC appears poised to take over those rights in a $2.6 billion deal.
If TNT loses its NBA package, it will raise serious questions about the popular Inside the NBA.
One solution could be to recreate the show on another network, which would snatch the rights from the NBA.
Otherwise, the program led by Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson will come to an end after next season.
This lack of clarity led Barkley to speak out publicly, calling on his employers for transparency.
“That’s the only thing that really bothered me about the TNT experience,” he said on Mad Dog Sports Radio’s Beadle & Decker.
“Like, hey man, tell us something.”
The matter has proven to be such a hot topic that even league commissioner Adam Silver recently weighed in, apologizing to TNT employees for the resulting uncertainty.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
