Jul. 26—Former 76ers great Charles Barkley is speaking out about the NBA's decision to end its long relationship with TNT.
"Clearly, the NBA has wanted to break up with us from the beginning. I'm not sure TNT ever had a chance," Barkley said in a statement Friday.
On Wednesday, the NBA announced new 11-year TV rights deals with ESPN, NBC, and Amazon that will begin with the 2025-26 season. TNT's parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, attempted to match the streaming-only deal signed by Amazon, reportedly worth about $1.8 billion a year, but the NBA rejected the offer.
"Warner Bros. Discovery's most recent proposal did not match the terms of Amazon Prime Video's offer and, therefore, we have entered into a long-term arrangement with Amazon," the league said in a statement.
"TNT matched the money, but the league knows Amazon and these tech companies are the only ones willing to pay for the rights when they double in the future," Barkley said.
"It's a sad day when owners and commissioners choose money over the fans," Barkley added. "It just sucks."
TNT and Warner Bros. Discovery filed a lawsuit against the NBA
WBD is taking the NBA to court over what it sees as its contractual right to match Amazon's offer. On Friday, Warner Bros. Discovery and Turner Broadcasting Systems, Inc. filed a lawsuit against the league in New York County Supreme Court, though the suit was filed under seal and out of public view by the company's law firm, Weil, Gotshal, and Manges, which is based in New York City.
"Given the NBA's unjustified rejection of our matching of a third-party offer, we have taken legal action to enforce our rights," TNT said in a statement Friday. "We strongly believe this is not just our contractual right, but also in the best interest of fans who want to keep watching our industry-leading NBA content with the choice and flexibility we offer them through our widely distributed WBD video-first distribution platforms — including TNT and Max."
Among the reasons cited by the NBA for declining WBD's offer include airing games on TNT rather than exclusively streaming them on Max, which doesn't have the reach of Amazon's Prime Video. Amazon also reportedly agreed to pay its first three years of the deal now, while WBD provided a line of credit because of their debt problems.
Regardless, unless the NBA and WBD can agree on a settlement — perhaps letting the company continue to operate NBA TV and keep Inside the NBA going — the situation will ultimately be settled in a courtroom.
What will happen to Inside the NBA?
TNT will air games next season, but the future of the network's beloved studio show, Inside the NBA — featuring Barkley alongside cohosts Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, and Shaquille O'Neal — is unclear after that.
Despite having signed a 10-year deal with TNT in 2020, Barkley has said he intends to retire from TV after next season. Johnson, who is taking a leave of absence from TNT for the rest of the MLB season to take care of "a family matter," isn't expected to leave the network if ESPN or Amazon were interested in keeping Inside the NBA going.
That doesn't mean Barkley — who said he met privately with ESPN, Amazon, and NBC in the past three months — won't change his mind about retiring, as he has in the past.
"Everything's on the table," Barkley said Friday in an interview on the Dan Patrick Show. "I'd be stupid not to take their call. But the beauty of this situation is I don't have to make any decision for a year."
NBA games coming to NBC and Amazon
While ESPN will continue broadcasting NBA games, including the NBA Finals, NBC and Amazon also will now get their own package of basketball games. Here's a brief roundup of what NBA fans will be getting beginning in the 2025-26 season:
1.
ESPN and ABC will continue to air the NBA Finals and the league's annual Christmas games, as well as its Wednesday-night doubleheaders. In addition, ABC still will air games in prime time on some Saturday nights. ESPN and ABC also will air a conference final in 10 seasons of the 11-year deal.
2.
NBC will broadcast a Sunday Night Basketball game of the week following the end of the NFL playoffs. It also will stream about 50 regular-season games on Peaco*ck and broadcast a regional doubleheader on Tuesday nights. NBC also will air six conference finals, the NBA's All-Star weekend, and John Tesh's "Roundball Rock" basketball theme will be coming back.
1.
Amazon will stream games on Prime Video on Friday nights and some Saturday afternoons. It will also stream the Thursday-night doubleheaders that used to air on TNT once its Thursday Night Football schedule of NFL games ends in December. Amazon also will take over running NBA League Pass, the league's out-of-market package, and stream six conference finals. It will also stream the quarterfinal, semifinal, and championship games of the NBA Cup.
Sixers games will still air on NBC Sports Philadelphia
While the NBA is changing up its partners for the league's nationally televised games, fans here in Philly still will be able to tune into most Sixers games on NBC Sports Philadelphia.
The network has a long-term deal to broadcast a set number of Sixers games that isn't set to expire until about the end of the decade. Other regional sports networks also will continue to negotiate their local broadcast rights separately.
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