Charles Barkley revealed earlier this week that he is remaining committed to TNT, even though they are set to lose broadcast rights to the NBA. On Thursday, he made another big announcement about the future of the network’s flagship show.
Barkley said in an appearance on “The Dan Patrick Show” that TNT Sports’ flagship show “Inside the NBA” will continue to be produced. However, he admitted that he did not really know what the show was going to look like without NBA games to air with it.
“TNT flew to Philly last week, and they said, ‘We’re gonna keep doing the show.’ And I’m like, ‘What?’ And they’re like, ‘We’re gonna keep doing the show,'” Barkley said, via Brandon Contes of Awful Announcing. “I don’t have any idea what that means. I think they’re gonna try to figure it out. We won’t have the NBA, so I think they’re gonna try to figure it out. But my number one concern has always been the people at Turner. Even if we do something, a lot of people at Turner are going to keep their jobs. Like I said, Dan, I have zero idea what we’re gonna do.”
Barkley ruled out any sort of nightly show, which does not clear up much. One possibility is that TNT tries to emulate the long-running “Inside the NFL,” which features weekly highlights, analysis, and interviews. Most people watch the show for the takes and the interplay between its on-air personalities. If the current crew remains in place and discusses the NBA on a weekly basis, that could work.
The only real certainty is that Barkley is committed to TNT even once the NBA rights are gone. Beyond that, however, even this solution sounds like it involves a lot of moving parts and details that have not been filled in yet.
