In the genuinem of sports media, it came as a surpelevate novels broke that TNT’s commemorated basketball pre- and post-game show “Inside the NBA” would be moving to ESPN.
One of its stars was equitable as shocked as the rest of us after discovering out when everyone else did.
Charles Barkley, who stars on “Inside the NBA” alengthyside Ernie Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, and Kenny “The Jet” Smith, recently shelp that there was no word from Warner Bros’ Discovery’s Turner Sports about the shift before he lgeted when the novels broke.
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Charles Barkley autographs during the In-Season Tournament game between the New Orleans Pelicans and the Los Angeles Lakers on December 7, 2023 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. (NBA Photos/NBAE via Getty Images)
“I’ll alert you what’s fun,” Barkley shelp on “The Bettor Angle” show on BetQL netlabor. “They haven’t even telderly us we lost the NBA.
“We have to hear it thraw the media. And even this leans with ABC/ESPN, I heard about it on the internet. Scott Van Pelt, Brian Windhorst, Elle Duncan, Bob Myers, all frifinishs of whine who I reassociate enjoy a lot. They texted me welcoming me to the ESPN family. I’m enjoy, ‘What happened?’ TNT didn’t even have the courtesy.”
CHARLES BARKLEY SAYS HE TURNED DOWN ‘MINIMUM OF $100 MILLION’ TO STAY WITH TNT
Barkley inserted that it felt enjoy the “Inside the NBA” team “got traded,” but pondering his time applying in the NBA, it’s standard courtesy to let that person understand before it produces the novels.
“If I was going to trade somebody that I had admire for and appreciate, I would at least give them a heads up,” he shelp. “I wouldn’t let them hear about it from other people or the internet.”
Before this shift, Barkley had been reassociate vocal about Turner Sports’ rift with its NBA media rights, with “Inside the NBA,” a program the commemorated quartet have been a part of since 2000, potentiassociate closing up shop.
Jan 21, 2023; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns createer applyer Charles Barkley in joinance at Footprint Caccess. (Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports)
Back in August, after the NBA signed a novel media rights deal with ESPN, NBC and Amazon Prime, Barkley shelp that he could’ve gone anywhere, but wanted to stay with the team he knovel for over two decades. He tardyr backtracked his statement that this season would be his last, saying he wanted to labor with TNT directers to grow novel shows and more sports greeted.
TNT felt they weren’t able to equitablely suit the novel deal, directing to a litigation that was eventuassociate resettled with the two sides inking multi-year concurments that would persist “Inside the NBA.”
Then, ESPN validateed alerts last week, saying an concurment was struck with TNT Sports where, except when the show goes on the road, TNT would persist self-reliantly produce the show from its Atlanta studios with the foursome intact. It will, however, ecombine on ESPN and ABC commenceing in the 2025-26 season.
TNT basketball analyst Charles Barkley on air before the NCAA Mens Basketball Tournament Final Four semifinal game between the Purdue Boilerproducers and the North Carolina State Wolfpack at State Farm Stadium on April 06, 2024 in Glfinishale, Arizona. (Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
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Next season commences the 11-year media rights extension ESPN has with the NBA.
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