CHARLES Barkley recently joined NBA star Paul George’s podcast and revealed whether he believed the popular basketball show Inside The NBA could be replicated.
Inside The NBA is hosted by Ernie Johnson, a broadcaster for TNT Sports, and features former basketball stars Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith and Barkley.
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However, Warner Bros.’ nine-year contract Discovery is expected to end after the 2024-2025 NBA season, according to Atlético which will mean the end of Inside The NBA.
The NBA announced it has signed 11-year deals to stream games on Amazon Prime Video, Disney and NBC.
Inside The NBA has been enjoyed by basketball fans across the country since 1989 on TNT Sports, owned by Warner Bros.
Barkley believes that networks like ESPN would not be able to recreate the popularity and success of the show the star has been a part of since 2000.
“I don’t know if anyone’s ever given it a chance, to be honest with you,” Barkley he said
“ESPN, which I love, never gives anyone a chance to have chemistry.
“They’re all throwing things at the wall, ‘Like, let’s put this group together,’ and they’ll do that for six months to a year.
“And then they say, ‘It didn’t work.’ Well, you didn’t give it a chance to work.”
Fans took to social media and agreed with Barkley’s opinion on the matter.
“Turner’s culture can’t be much different than ESPN,” one fan speculated.
“Additionally, their output consists of 4-minute commercials and 1-minute analysis during games,” a second wrote to X.
“They are also more focused on political issues instead of just having fun like you guys do,” criticized a third.
“Too many executives holding too many meetings to be too scripted and perfect,” said a fourth.
Despite Inside The NBA ending after next season, Barkley has promised to commit to the 10-year deal he signed in 2022 with Warner Bros Discovery.
What does the new TV deal mean for the NBA?
By US Sun Assistant Sports Editor Damian Burchardt.
The new television rights deal promises to be a big win for NBA players.
The league is expected to more than double revenue from its media partners, pocketing around $6.9 billion per year, which will inevitably lead to a huge salary cap increase in 2025-26.
This will cause the value of players’ contracts to skyrocket.
Projected numbers suggest we could see the first $100 million per year deal being signed soon.
Boston Celtics All-Star Jayson Tatum is currently set to earn the highest single-season salary in NBA history, bringing in $71.5 million in 2029-30.
If TNT Sports successfully fulfills one of its bids to maintain its decades-long partnership with the league, basketball fans will also be on the winning side.
The network’s flagship Inside the NBA is a unique sports entertainment program, as evidenced by ESPN’s continued failure to present its own version of the show in recent years.
The NBA wouldn’t be the same without Kenny and Ernie trying to make sense of Shaq and Chuck’s endless fights every Tuesday night.
He expressed his excitement about remaining with the company after previously saying he would retire after the 2024-2025 NBA season.
“I love my TNT Sports family. My No. 1 priority has and always will be our people and keeping everyone together for as long as possible,” Barkley said.
“I look forward to continuing to work with them both on the programs we currently have and the new ones we will develop together in the future.”
Meanwhile, Warner Bros. Discovery still has big plans for Barkley, even with TNT losing its NBA rights.
Puck News sports correspondent John Ourand was a guest on the SI Media podcast with Jimmy Traina.
And he said WBD believes Barkley “is still a bona fide television star” who could contribute more to its sports coverage, or even news coverage in the future.
“He’s great on television. And they have other sports there.
“They have March Madness, Barkley has been part of their hockey coverage here and there, and they just want to do more in sports, and he could go from just doing NBA to being a sports commentator, maybe.”
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