Inside the NBA is one of the most beloved shows on television.
The sports studio show — featuring Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, and Kenny Smith — has won nineteen Sports Emmy Awards and become the gold standard to which all other shows aspire to.
However, fans feared for the future of the show amid the NBA‘s 11-year, $77 billion agreements with ESPN, NBC and Amazon Prime Video that left TNT Sports very much on the outside looking in.
Thankfully, Warner Bros. Discovery — TNT’s parent company — and Disney reached an agreement to license the basketball show to Disney for broadcast on ESPN and ABC.
Inside The NBA will air on ESPN and ABC from next season, but the future of Barkley in particular has been cast into doubt.
As ESPN, NBC and Amazon were looking to buy out the NBA broadcast rights from TNT, ‘Sir Charles’ took meetings with other networks to decide his TV fate.
Despite receiving an offer from NBC to work with the network and having a meeting with Amazon scheduled, Barkley has officially announced that he will continue his role at Turner Sports.
“I want to talk about my future because there’s been a lot of stuff going about my future and I want to make everything perfectly clear,” Barkley said while appearing on Ernie Johnson’s Steam Room podcast.
“I’m informing NBC that I will not accept their offer. I’m going to cancel future meetings with Amazon … My heart is always and will be at Turner Sports.”
“I’m hoping that this thing comes together and I can stay with TNT and ESPN but as I’ve said, it’s all going to be dictated on my workload.
“I’m not going to work more as I get older. I’m going to sit down with ESPN and TNT more because I just need to know if I’m going to continue working, how much I’m going to work.”
The TNT behemoth, which debuted in 1989 as a simple analysis program, has evolved down the years to become an entertainment extravaganza.
It’s a mix of highlights, skits, interviews and hijinks, notable for its verbal sparring sessions between Shaq and Sir Charles.
The analysts, who regularly weigh in on topical — and often controversial — issues, are also unafraid to roast active players, from Shaqtin’ a Fool Hall of Famer JaVale McGee to Anthony ‘Street Clothes’ Davis.
Barkley joined the Inside the NBA crew in 2000, and signed a 10-year deal with TNT in 2022 that pays him “upward of $100 million.”
“I love my TNT Sports family. My (number one) 1 priority has been and always will be our people and keeping everyone together for as long as possible. We have the most amazing people, and they are the best at what they do. I’m looking forward to continuing to work with them both on the shows we currently have and new ones we develop together in the future. This is the only place for me,” Barkley said in a statement after signing the contract extension.
“I have to say … I’ve been impressed by the leadership team who is fighting hard and have been aggressive in adding new properties to TNT Sports, which I am very excited about. I appreciate them and all of my colleagues for their continued support, and most importantly our fans. I’m going to give my all as we keep them entertained for years to come.”
With that said, the 61-year-old Barkley has consistently reiterated his plans to wind down his TV work as he gets older, and it seems like he’s sticking with TNT until the end.
He even announced his retirement last June during the NBA Finals, only to reverse his decision two months later.
The 1993 MVP clearly wants a gig that gives him the best work-life balance.
However, the latest announcement casts serious doubts over not only his own future, but the future of ‘Inside the NBA’ as fans know it.
