by Cedric ‘BIG CED’ Thornton
May 24, 2024
‘” have my own production company, I would love to do that if if we lose it [NBA rights],” Barkley said
With TNT possibly losing the rights to broadcast NBA games after next season, basketball fans are bracing for the end of the beloved Inside the NBA.
One of the show’s stars, Charles Barkley, doesn’t want the show to end either. He is toying with the idea of bringing the show’s talent, host Ernie Johnson and analysts Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal, under his production company to keep Inside the NBA going under a different name.
Barkley hates that the long-running studio show might be ending because TNT’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, reportedly has not matched the bid placed by other networks vying to air NBA games.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Barkley appeared on The Dan Patrick Show to discuss his feelings on TNT losing NBA coverage and his desire to keep Inside the NBA alive.
“I have my own production company; I would love to do that if if we lose it [NBA rights],” Barkley told Patrick. “But I have definitely had— actually somebody suggested that to me, to be honest with you, on the internet—‘So, why doesn’t Charles Barkley sign these three, guys four guys total to his production company and sell it?’ I’m like, ‘That’s a great idea.’”
He also expressed concern about the staff that works on the show being out of a job if TNT loses its NBA rights.
“Morale sucks, plain and simple. You know, I just feel so bad for the people I work with, Dan,” Barkley said. “These people I work with, they’ve screwed this thing up clearly. And we don’t have zero idea what’s going to happen. I don’t feel good. I’m not gonna lie, especially when they came out yesterday and said we bought college football. I was like, ‘Well damn, they could have used that money to buy the NBA.’”
It’s been speculated that NBC has outbid TNT to secure the rights to broadcast NBA games after the 2024-25 NBA season.
