NBA legend Charles Barkley voiced sharp criticism of the league’s new media rights agreements during the Bruce, Barkley & Basketball Golf Classic earlier this week, suggesting the league is prioritizing revenue over fan accessibility.
The NBA is set to begin their new 11-year media rights deals with The Walt Disney Company, Comcast Corporation and Amazon under commissioner Adam Silver reportedly worth a collective $77 billion over the term. The added exposure for the league moving games to Prime Video and NBC/Peacock is what concerns Barkley the most.
“One of my biggest concerns is we have sh*t on the fans so much moving the games to NBC and Amazon,” Barkley said to reporters, referencing the NBA’s newly restructured broadcasting arrangements. “Fans are gonna have a hard time finding the games because we’re all gonna be on different nights now. But they just took the most money, they didn’t care about the fans, which it is what it is.”
Barkley’s comments come as the NBA’s multi-year media deals, which officially begin this season. They have drawn attention for their complexity and potential impact on the average viewer. Under the agreements, a broader range of national games will be split among Amazon Prime, ABC/ESPN, and NBC platforms.
To address the concern, the NBA announced today the launch of a Tap to Watch will serve as a direct pathway for fans to tune into games through the NBA’s own digital channels — including the NBA App, NBA.com, and team websites — as well as through national broadcast partners ABC/ESPN, NBC/Peacock, and Prime Video. Nearly all local broadcasts will also be integrated into the system.
Barkley however still believes the focus for the league is not on the fans.
“The money is ridiculous,” Barkley said, acknowledging the financial success of the deals. “I get it. But what about the fans who’ve been supporting the game for decades?”
Barkley’s program Inside the NBA will be airing this season on Disney platforms (ESPN/ABC) throughout the season. Under a sublicensing agreement with ESPN through which TNT Sports will continue to produce the show. According to Tim Corrigan, ESPN’s senior vice president of sports production, despite moving under the network umbrella, the plan is for Inside the NBA to remain filmed from its longtime Atlanta studio with the original cast, music, graphics producer, director, and support staff.
The Hall of Famer, known as much for his candid opinions as his on-court achievements, expressed concern that the changes could alienate longtime followers who are less familiar with streaming services or who rely on traditional cable packages. He also emphasized that the league’s pursuit of maximum financial gain should not come at the expense of accessibility.
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