TNT has issued its first statement in response to Charles Barkley’s major announcement.
Barkley said on NBATV Friday night that he plans to retire from television following the 2024-25 season. TNT’s statement seems to hedge on this a bit, however, stating that the network looks forward to “further discussion of our future plans with him.”
Column coming but in meantime, here is TNT's statement on Barkley:
TNT Sports statement:
“Charles is a Hall of Famer and broadcasting icon who is and will always be a beloved member of the TNT Sports family. We’re looking forward to another fantastic NBA on TNT season and…
— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) June 15, 2024
“Charles is a Hall of Famer and broadcasting icon who is and will always be a beloved member of the TNT Sports family. We’re looking forward to another fantastic NBA on TNT season and further discussion of our future plans with him,” the statement said.
TNT certainly seems to be leaving the door open for the potential of Barkley continuing on past next season. The big elephant in the room is the status of the league’s television rights negotiations, as it has been reported that TNT may lose the rights to the NBA after next year. That could mean the end of “Inside the NBA,” at least in its current iteration.
TNT may be leaving the door open to a surprise last-minute deal to retain the rights to NBA broadcasts. If they can pull that off, they may try to convince Barkley to stay on, but that remains to be seen.
