Former NBA player Charles Barkley has been a prominent figure in NBA television coverage. Alongside Shaquille O’Neal and other hosts, Barkley entertained NBA fans worldwide for over two decades on TNT.
He played a vital role in the success of the Inside the NBA show on TNT and received five Sports Emmy Awards for “Outstanding Studio Analyst” for his work on the network. However, TNT recently lost its NBA broadcasting rights as the league signed an agreement with Amazon.
According to reports, TNT’s sports media failed to match Amazon’s offer to the NBA. Barkley was devastated by the news and released a statement expressing his disappointment.
“Clearly, the NBA has wanted to break up with us from the beginning. I’m not sure TNT ever had a chance. 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. The NBA didn’t want to piss them off.”
“It’s a sad day when owners and commissioners choose money over the fans. It just sucks.”
“I just want to thank everyone who has been at Turner for the last 24 years. They are the best people and the most talented, and they deserve better. I also want to thank the NBA and its fans — the best fans in sports. We’re going to give you everything we have next season.” Barkley’s statement.
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Prime Video’s Jay Marine Sets Sights on Charles Barkley
Jay Marine, the global head of sports for Prime Video, has expressed interest in Barkley and other hosts from TNT. In a recent interview with Front Office Sports, Marine praised the TNT Crew and hinted at his future plans to bring on NBA legends for Prime Video.
“Inside the NBA, in our opinion, is the gold standard for studio programming. I’m a huge fan. We’re all big fans. It is so entertaining. Those guys are hilarious. The chemistry is off the charts. In fact, it’s what we really held up as the standard and our inspiration when we were designing our TNF pregame show. … We’ll have to see how all this plays out. We just signed the deal. They’ll have no shortage of options depending on what they want to do.” Marine said to Front Office Sports.
Barkley has always expressed his opinions and been outspoken during the shows. The Hall of Famer recently compared the 1992 Dream squad to the USA men’s basketball squad in an interview.
