The NBA recently announced plans to sign a new TV rights contract with Amazon as part of their media rights negotiations. This means that TNT will be the network losing their rights to broadcast games, which they've held since 1989. Charles Barkley, co-star of the award-winning Inside The NBA, shared a statement regarding the NBA's media rights negotiations with TNT. He made his disappointment in how things went very clear.
"Clearly, the NBA has wanted to break up with us from the beginning. 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," said Barkley in his statement, shared by Bleacher Report. "It's a sad day when owners and commissioners choose money over the fans," he added. Barkley has often stressed that the worst aspect of Warner Bros. Discovery (TNT's parent company) losing its NBA rights is that it immediately puts many people out of work. He, like many fans, believes it's unfair for people to suffer because of two multi-billion dollar businesses fighting each other.
Charles Barkley Statement On TNT Losing NBA Rights
Earlier Friday, TNT announced that they planned to take legal action against the NBA. They referred to the NBA's rejection of their offer "unjustified," adding that they believe keeping NBA coverage on TNT is in the best interest of fans. Charles Barkley told The Athletic that he hoped TNT decided not to pursue a lawsuit. "If you have to sue somebody to stay in a relationship, do you think that is a healthy relationship?" Barkley also previously announced that he intended to retire from television at the end of the 2024-25 season. He has been on the air since 2000, joining TNT after retiring from a Hall of Fame basketball career. However, he sounded less committed to those original comments when his money came into question.
Barkley, who is in the third year of a 10-year contract worth $210 million, could become a free agent if Warner Bros. Discovery fails to honor the full terms of his deal. "TNT Sports has to come to me ASAP and they have to guarantee my whole thing or they can offer me a pay cut, which there is no chance of that happening and I'll be [a] free agent," Barkley told The Athletic. "My thing was, 'Wait, y'all f*cked up, I didn't f*ck up, why do I have to take a pay cut?'" If TNT loses rights to the NBA, Inside the NBA will cease to exist in its current form. It would be a bleak ending to one of the most beloved sports shows of all time.