With the growing popularity of streaming a lot has been changing in the world of linear television. However, professional sports rights are still an incredibly lucrative, but also an incredibly expensive opportunity. There has been a major change in the way television rights to the NBA are being handled, which will likely lead to the end of TNT’s long-running Inside the NBA series. Co-host Charles Barkley says he doesn’t mind the show ending personally, but it will have a much bigger impact on a lot more people.
TNT has been home to the NBA for decades and has been running Inside the NBA since 1989 but starting after next season that’s expected to change. ESPN and Amazon have negotiated the main deals for NBA rights, and while there’s still a possibility that TNT could end up with some NBA games (NBC is also negotiating for that chunk of the rights) it likely won’t be enough to justify having an NBA centered series like Inside the NBA. Speaking with SiriusXM, Barkley says it doesn’t personally matter to him; being unemployed just means more time to play golf. He said…
It just sucks right now for the people I work with. Man, it just sucks right now. There’s nothing I can say – I’m worried about all the people I work with. I just turned 61. I’ve got enough money. I don’t even look at it as getting fired, Frank. I say, ‘Damn, I get to play more golf?!’ People [ask me,] ‘What I am thinking right now?’ I’m like, ‘Please hurry, and get this Western Conference Finals over, because I can play golf every day for the next four months. … I love doing nothing.
Charles Barkley signed a massive contract extension to be on Inside the NBA a couple of years ago, but he had been talking about retirement before that, so he's good either way. He's 61 years old, and between his NBA career and his nice hosting deal, he certainly has the money to enjoy retirement, even if he's lost a shocking amount gambling over the years.
But Barkley does feel bad that Inside the NBA is likely ending because while he has enough money, he knows that’s not the case for all the various people who work behind the scenes to make the show happen. Canceling any TV show means a lot of people lose jobs, and that will be the case here as well. It takes a lot of people to make Inside the NBA happen. Barkley continued…
But I really feel bad, man, because probably 200 people are going to lose their job at Turner, if we lose the NBA.
It’s likely that if Inside the NBA does leave TNT the show, or one just like it, could start up at ESPN. While that does seem likely, Barkley suggested that Ernie Johnson, who has hosted the show since 1990 is unlikely to switch networks, and while some members of the crew could certainly get hired on by the new network, many would not.
Fans have been celebrating Inside the NBA and its best moments, like the time Shaq got blasted into a Christmas tree. It will be truly the end of an era if those moments are coming to an end. The show has had some hilarious moments over the years, including The NBA rights deals are in their final stages, so we'll likely have an official decision on the fate of Inside the NBA soon
