
Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame 2023: Ernie Johnson Jr., Sportscasting's Steady Studio Superman By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital
Friday, December 8, 2023 - 2:08 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Leading up to the 2023 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame ceremony on Dec. 12 at the New York Hilton, SVG is profiling the nine inductees in this year's class. For more information, CLICK HERE
The postgame show. Fans may come for the sport itself, but, when done right, the postgame show can be as entertaining. Perhaps, more critically, it serves as a true audience surrogate for the event.
Over the past 30 years, the studio show that has cemented its place as the greatest in its class has been Inside the NBA. Although he would be the last to admit it, much of the program's success reflects its smart, steady, and gifted host, Ernie Johnson Jr.: one of sports broadcasting's great audience surrogates.
EJ is a trailblazer behind the desk, says Craig Barry, EVP/chief content officer, Warner Bros. Discovery Sports, and, as impactful as he has been to this industry, he is an even more impactful human being. His ability to bring that authentic human quality creates a unique emotional bond with his audience. It's a gift, and it's truly special to have that kind of connection.
Milwaukee-born Johnson is the son of former Major League Baseball player Ernie Johnson and moved with his family to Atlanta following his father's retirement from baseball and transition into the broadcast booth for the Atlanta Braves. Junior dreamed of following in his dad's footsteps as a player.
Following a short stint on the University of Georgia baseball team, however, he turned his sights to broadcasting, getting his start as a local news anchor and expecting to follow a trail of on-air talents he admired, such as Dan Rather. He even studied the late, great Johnny Carson.
In 1989, Turner Sports came calling, and, in 1990, Johnson took over hosting duties for the program that would ultimately define his career: Inside the NBA. The weekly postgame show on TNT has reached iconic status over the decades. A winner of 17 Sports Emmy Awards, the show has the unique distinction of having been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. It has also developed a long-standing reputation as one of the more fun and informative studio shows in sports-television history, one whose charm lies in its chaos.
Ernie Johnson Jr. is credited with making Inside the NBA the iconic show it is today.
It's what we hope happens, laughs Johnson. It's not-going-according-to-plan that makes the show go. I think the key for me is always just knowing your role. As the host of that show, I'm just trying to steer the conversation to have at my disposal the things that I think are going to generate conversation. That all goes to the preparation.
Inside the NBA's charm comes from a cast loaded with some of the biggest personalities in the history of basketball: Shaquille O'Neal, Kenny Smith, and Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer Charles Barkley. However, it's Ernie's steady hand and respect for his partners that give the chaos a sense of reason.
I think Ernie has been our moral compass, says Tim Kiely, veteran former lead producer of Inside the NBA. When we have tough decisions to make, we all can go to Ernie and ask, What do you think?' His judgment and his ability to pull apart an argument and look at it from three or four different angles and make sure we are covering everything is part of his brilliance.
Says Johnson, When you have the kind of relationship that Kenny, Shaq, Charles, and I have, where we've been together for so long, I know how Charles is going to react [to a topic], and, when he reacts that way, I know Kenny's going to broadside him in the intersection. A lot of that is just knowing each other for so long; knowing just from a look and knowing from past experience how somebody's going to react and knowing that will create a really cool moment. It's very cool just to be right in the middle of what is often a chaotic show. Every one of our shows is somewhere between a walk on the beach and a train wreck.
Inside the NBA: (from left) Shaquille O'Neal, Ernie Johnson Jr., Kenny Smith, and Charles Barkely
Notes Barkley, He's the perfect teammate. That's why he's a Hall of Famer. He can work with any teammate and make them successful.
Johnson's impact and influence extend far beyond basketball. Over the years, he has occupied the host's chair on Turner Sports/Warner Bros. Discovery Sports' coverage of the NFL (1990-97), Wimbledon (2000-02), two Winter Olympics (Albertville 1992, Lillehammer 1994), a FIFA World Cup (1990), Major League Baseball (2007-present), and the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament (2011-present).
The thing I admire about [Ernie] is his ability to go from sport to sport, Barkley points out. He does it seamlessly. That tells me he's well-prepared. That's what makes him The Godfather. The one word I would use to describe Ernie Johnson is professional.
He has also been afforded opportunities to handle play-by-play duties for Turner Sports properties, including TNT's coverage of the PGA TOUR and, in a life-coming-full-circle moment) calling Major League Baseball Postseason games (2010, 2012-18).
That was a real tie to my dad, says Johnson. That was a spiritual experience for me. It really was. There was this tie to doing what my dad had done and what I had grown up tagging along with him to the ballpark to do. He and I did games together for the Braves for parts of three or four seasons when my schedule would allow, and, with as many cool people as I've gotten to work with in my life, nothing topped working with my dad in the
North America Stories
05/06/2026
Berklee Study Reveals Video Has Become Essential to Music Careers Survey findings show social platforms have become the primary source of music for video cont...
04/06/2026
Sony Electronics is introducing the SRG-AS10, a 4K 60p-compatible PTZ auto-frami...
04/06/2026
This recent grad from Spring, TX, led creative-video output for the Aggies' men's basketball team last season and has been producing video and creating ...
04/06/2026
For the first time at a women's golf major, every player in the field will r...
04/06/2026
Three Panasonic PT-RQ45 40,000-lumen 3-Chip DLP projectors made their first live...
04/06/2026
Bitmovin and Akamai have announced a collaboration with NRJ Group, a French mult...
04/06/2026
Telestream will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth N7952), demonstrating media work...
04/06/2026
Sony has announced the development of RIALTO 65, a 65mm format image sensor block for the VENICE 2 digital cinema camera, targeting release in the first half of...
04/06/2026
KOKUSAI DENKI Electric America will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth N8025, June ...
04/06/2026
Bell Media's TSN and RDS are the exclusive Canadian broadcasters of FIFA Wor...
04/06/2026
The Challenge: Receiving Heavy Media Files From Road Games Quickly and ReliablyT...
04/06/2026
MASV, a managed file transfer platform used in broadcast and live sports product...
04/06/2026
NESN has announced the appointment of Fahad Haider as Vice President of Operations and Engineering. Haider returns to NESN, where he previously served as Vice P...
04/06/2026
David J. Halberstam, who spent almost 50 years in sports as a broadcaster and an executive, died June 2 after a years-long battle with brain cancer.
Over his l...
04/06/2026
Although collegiate production programs are tasked with delivering high-quality ...
04/06/2026
California studio, two production trucks, global distribution system are combine...
04/06/2026
New global program empowers and supports storytellers through scriptwriting course and access to industry experts
TikTok and Sundance Institute today announce...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Bitmovin, a leading provider of video streaming infrastructure, and Akamai, the cybersecurity and cloud computing company that powers and protects business onli...
04/06/2026
American Underground (AU), the Startup Hub of the South and a community of mor...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
NVIDIA and Microsoft Reinvent Windows PCs for the Age of Personal AI
Brie Clayton June 3, 2026
0 Comments
RTX Spark - a 1-Petaflop Superchip, the Full...
04/06/2026
Inside the Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man Grade
Brie Clayton June 3, 2026
0 Comments
Simone Grattarola discusses shaping the look in DaVinci Resolve...
04/06/2026
Cine Gear Expo Announces 2026 Awards of Excellence Recipients
Brie Clayton June 3, 2026
0 Comments
Ed Lachman ASC, Caleb Deschanel ASC, and M. David M...
04/06/2026
St. Vincents Live with Orchestra Tour to Feature Berklee Alum Ruby Plume Berklee alumni St. Vincent and Ruby Plume will appear on the same bill across seven d...
04/06/2026
Home to cutting-edge sovereign AI infrastructure and robotics innovators, as well as one of the world's most passionate gaming communities, South Korea is o...
04/06/2026
Back to All News
All the Truth in My Lies Coming to Netflix on August 28
Entertainment
04 June 2026
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
Download the imag...
04/06/2026
Back to All News
Larry Tanz, VP of Content, EMEA, Delivers a Keynote Speech at ...
04/06/2026
Back to All News
Turn Your Living Room into a Stadium With the New FIFA World ...
04/06/2026
Keeping conversations real on LinkedIn Published on Jun 4, 2026 Categories: Product News
LinkedIn Corporate Communications
Share
LinkedIn
Facebook ...
04/06/2026
June's forecast with GeForce NOW: 100% chance of gaming.
GeForce NOW is lining up new adventures for the month, from big-name blockbusters to quirky indies...
03/06/2026
SES and Viva, Mexico's ultra low-cost airline, have launched multi-orbit satellite inflight connectivity on Viva's Airbus aircraft. A total of 60 A320s ...
03/06/2026
The College Football Playoff, ESPN, and TNT Sports have announced kick times and...
03/06/2026
RED Digital Cinema will exhibit at Cine Gear Expo 2026 (Booth 33, June 5-6, Universal Studios Lot), hosting three panels and hands-on product demonstrations.
P...
03/06/2026
Roku has announced the Soccer Zone, a dedicated hub for FIFA World Cup 2026 content available across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Argent...
03/06/2026
Liverpool FC and Wasabi Technologies have announced a multi-year extension of their partnership, with Wasabi continuing as the club's official cloud storage...
03/06/2026
Grass Valley has announced that Australian News Channel (ANC), operator of Sky News Australia, has deployed Grass Valley AMPP as part of the relocation of its n...
03/06/2026
The Riedel Group has announced the appointment of Gudrun Scharler as CEO of Riedel Networks. She succeeds Michael Martens, who has led Riedel Networks since 201...
03/06/2026
Clear-Com has announced the deployment of its intercom solutions at Itaka Arena ...
03/06/2026
Scott Coker has announced six senior executive appointments for his new global MMA promotion, which launched earlier this year with $60 million in financing. Ad...
03/06/2026
Telemundo, the exclusive Spanish-language home of the FIFA World Cup 2026, has announced its digital and social media programming for the tournament, running Ju...
03/06/2026
The Bundesliga has announced the launch of Captain, an AI assistant built into t...