The NBA regular season is just 47 days away, and Charles Barkley is already at it—complaining to every media outlet he can find. This is a new year and a new era for the league, as it kicks off its new 11-year media rights agreements with NBC, Amazon, and the Walt Disney Company. How the networks will present the game—especially the award-winning Inside the NBA—remains a mystery.
The program will air on Disney platforms (ESPN/ABC) throughout the season under a sublicensing agreement with ESPN, through which TNT Sports will continue to produce the show. That means the fearless foursome of Barkley, Kenny Smith, Shaquille O’Neal, and Ernie Johnson will be on your television screens for the season to come.
Listening to Barkley’s latest appearance on The Bill Simmons Podcast was confusing. The 62-year-old Hall of Famer sounded both like an upset employee and a lethargic talent—all in one interview. His game analysis is still sharp and insightful, but his off-season commentary is tarnishing his public image.
The program Inside the NBA is a staple for basketball fans around the country. For over thirty years, the program has welcomed fans in for unfiltered commentary from unfiltered greats of the game. The dynamic continues to be must-see television, as the content harkens back to generational conversations at the barbershop—the old guard not allowing the new soldiers to rule the day over the legends of the past.
It’s like debating whether Metallica is more impactful than Led Zeppelin, or if LeBron is better than Jordan.
The Future of Inside the NBA
When Warner Bros. Discovery lost the U.S. broadcast rights, the show’s future was uncertain. But thanks to negotiations and ESPN’s recognition of the property’s value, Inside the NBA will continue. Staff won’t be cut, and personalities won’t be sidelined.
What has made the off-season so intriguing is the access that Charles Barkley is allowing—appearing on multiple podcasts and radio programs to spout off about his disappointment in how things were handled with TNT Sports and his confusion about how things will be handled with ESPN. He’s even gone as far as criticizing the people who are paying him at TNT Sports because they haven’t communicated anything with over a month and a half to go before the season starts.
I understand the need for information from those in sports media, knowing that Barkley provides content with no filter. However, now he’s beginning to talk out of both sides of his mouth.
For months now, Barkley has shared how he’s unsure how ESPN will handle the time allotted for Inside the NBA to discuss games before the network heads to Scott Van Pelt and SportsCenter. A valid concern for a talent that seemingly has never had time constraints on a network that could cut into a late-night movie or rerun of a sitcom, no matter how long Inside the NBA ran.
ESPN is different. SportsCenter is a staple, and there will be a learning curve for Barkley and others.
Which Is It Charles?
What confused me was when Barkley joined Simmons on his podcast and talked about how he turned down working for NBC Sports due to working too much. In the interview, Barkley noted he would be upping his workload from two days per week to three days per week at NBC when the NFL season concluded.
There were also provisions in the agreement with Barkley (according to Barkley) that would require appearances on NBCUniversal programming, including the Kentucky Derby, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the U.S. Open, and The Today Show.
It’s understandable that Barkley might feel overwhelmed with added commitments. But was any of that non-negotiable? Hard to believe for a network courting one of the NBA’s biggest personalities.
Barkley then noted he was in with NBC for only working two days a week, but once he saw more, the deal was off. So, he was upset the network wanted him to work more than two days a week.
With ESPN, Barkley has not been shy about his concerns with working less than he has in the past with TNT Sports. Sure, it’s only two days a week, but he’s complaining about doing less than he did on TNT. Two days a week—but still uncertain about his airtime—is apparently too much to stomach.
The basketball Hall of Famer seems to be talking out of both sides of his mouth. He’s upset about less time on Inside the NBA but was unwilling to take on more work at NBC than he did at TNT.
Which is it, Charles?
A Massive Year for the NBA
This is an important year for the presentation of the NBA, with their new media deals kicking into action. Commissioner Adam Silver will be under a microscope if viewership dips at any point this season compared to the previous season with the new agreements in place.
Now you have Barkley coming out and saying the league “doesn’t give a s**t about the fans” on a worldwide and well known podcast.
Barkley has always been an outspoken critic of the league and its players. Silver cannot afford to have its most popular analyst on television throwing shade and shooting shots at the networks that house the Inside the NBA program or their new partners.
Maybe it’s time for Barkley to swap the studio for the golf course. At least there, he can control his own workload—and avoid confusing the rest of us in the process.
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John Mamola is Barrett Media’s sports editor and daily sports columnist. He brings over two decades of experience (Chicago, Tampa/St Petersburg) in the broadcast industry with expertise in brand management, sales, promotions, producing, imaging, hosting, talent coaching, talent development, web development, social media strategy and design, video production, creative writing, partnership building, communication/networking with a long track record of growth and success. He is a five-time recognized top 20 program director in a major market via Barrett Medi’s Top 20 series and has been honored internally multiple times as station/brand of the year (Tampa, FL) and employee of the month (Tampa, FL) by iHeartMedia. Connect with John by email at John@BarrettMedia.com.
Sounds like the same Charles that we know and love. I first met him when he played in Philly, what you see and hear is the real deal. He’s a genuine guy with honest opinions and he’s not afraid to express them. It’s refreshing and very rare (although radio and TV managers claim that “authenticity” is what works – until the criticism hits too close).
We could use more Charles in the media.