Inside the NBA could survive beyond the TNT rights, ending with Chuck and Shaq taking on a new role on the revamped show

Fan favorite Inside the NBA could survive despite TNT Sports losing its rights package.

There have been fears about the future of the beloved show beyond next season’s finale, with Warner Bros. Discovery not getting a piece of the league’s new TV deal.

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Host Charles Barkley stated he would retire after the next NBA season.

But he has since changed his mind and promised to remain with the network.

It was claimed that Inside the NBA could survive by evolving into a show that covered more sports.

Joe Flint and Amol Sharma from Wall Street Journal is reporting that TNT could rebrand its offering as Inside Sports.

TNT and TBS will still broadcast college basketball and football, as well as baseball, hockey and tennis.

Barkley’s reputation is as a basketball analyst, but he has contributed to golf and hockey coverage.

It would be a risky move, but it offers a potential lifeline for Chuck, Ernie Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith.

The NBA announced that NBC and Amazon Prime Video would join ESPN as broadcast partners as part of a landmark 11-year, $77 billion TV deal.

NBC snatched up TNT’s package of games to put the league back on the airwaves for the first time since 2002.

The Warner Bros.-owned network Discovery attempted to hijack Amazon’s $1.8 billion deal by using its corresponding rights included in the current contract.

However, the NBA said on Wednesday that the proposal “did not match the terms of the Amazon Prime Video offer.”

Barkley stated that the league “wanted to break up with us from the beginning” in a bitter reaction to the news.

“I’m not sure TNT ever had a chance,” the Inside the NBA analyst wrote in a statement via Bleacher report.

“TNT matched the money, but the league knows that Amazon and these tech companies are the only ones willing to pay for the rights when they double in the future.”

“The NBA didn’t want to piss them off.

“It’s a sad day when owners and commissioners choose money over fans.

“I just want to thank everyone who has been at Turner over the last 24 years.

“They are the best people and the most talented and they deserve better.

“I also want to thank the NBA and its fans – the best fans in sports.

“We’re going to give him everything we’ve got next season.”

WBD issued a strong declaration after seeing its corresponding offer rejected, saying the league “grossly misinterpreted our contractual rights in relation to the 2025-26 season and beyond” while promising to “take appropriate action.”

The media giant also immediately began evaluating legal options to keep the NBA on TNT, US Sun was told.

“They are making a big mistake — and a legal mistake, in our opinion,” said a TNT source close to the negotiations with the NBA.