With Warner Bros. Discovery failing to renew the rights to broadcast NBA games, TNT faces a dilemma about the future of its highly popular, Emmy-winning show Inside The NBA, which stars Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith, and Ernie Johnson.
TNT has already confirmed that Charles Barkley will remain with the network. Reports suggest that TNT is considering transforming Inside The NBA into a SportsCenter-like show called Inside Sports.
“Though rival networks are exploring whether Barkley could join their NBA shows once TNT loses its package, Barkley has a long-term contract at Warner,” reported the Wall Street Journal.
“The company is considering turning the show into Inside Sports, allowing Barkley to talk about the other sports the company airs, including baseball, hockey, college basketball, and college football, according to a person familiar with the matter.”
Given Barkley’s immense popularity in sports media, it’s not surprising that TNT is exploring ways to keep him at the forefront, especially with other networks showing interest in acquiring him.
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With TNT and Warner Bros. Discovery losing their NBA broadcasting rights, the 2024/2025 season will mark the end of professional basketball coverage on the network, thus concluding Inside The NBA’s iconic run.
“Clearly the NBA has wanted to break up with us from the beginning,” Barkley said in a statement regarding TNT’s loss of NBA rights. “I’m not sure TNT ever had a chance. TNT matched the money, but the league knows 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.”
Inside The NBA, which premiered in 1989, has won 19 Sports Emmy Awards and become a staple of basketball broadcasting.
Starting with the 2025/26 season, NBA games will be broadcast on ESPN/ABC, Prime Video, and NBC.
As TNT looks to transition, the potential new show Inside Sports aims to leverage the star power of Barkley and his co-hosts to cover a broader range of sports, ensuring their continued relevance in the sports media landscape.
