Charles Barkley Walks Back Retirement Decision as Warner Bros. Discovery Fights to Retain NBA Games
TNT may be on the verge of losing the NBA, but it is holding onto its most famous broadcaster.
Former NBA great Charles Barkley, who co-hosts TNT’s NBA coverage and Inside the NBA postgame show, has walked back his June decision to retire from broadcasting at the end of the 2024-25 NBA season.
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Barkley’s reversal comes weeks after TNT parent Warner Bros. Discovery sued the NBA to hold onto some pro hoops games beyond the coming season.
“I love my TNT Sports family,” Barkley said in a statement cited by our sister site Variety. “We have the most amazing people, and they are the best at what they do. I’m looking forward to continuing to work with them both on the shows we currently have and new ones we develop together in the future.”
Regarding that likely NBA-less future, “I have to say … I’ve been impressed by the leadership team who is fighting hard and have been aggressive in adding new properties to TNT Sports, which I am very excited about,” Barkley added. “I’m going to give my all as we keep them entertained for years to come.”
The NBA recently hammered out an 11-year deal, multi-billion dollar media rights deal that sends a trio of game packages to Disney, NBC and Amazon — and thus is poised to end the league’s relationship with Turner Sports and TNT, which began in 1988.
Disney is paying a reported $2.6 billion per year for the league’s “A” package to air on ESPN and ABC, which includes the NBA Finals, playoff games (with a conference final), weekly primetime games and more.
NBC reportedly will pay $2.5 billion for the “B” package, which includes playoff games, two primetime windows per week (on Tuesdays and Sundays) as well as a Sunday Night Basketball program following the NFL season.
Last but not least, Amazon, which has made inroads with the NFL by streaming weekly Thursday Night Football games, will pay $1.8 billion for an NBA package that includes the league’s new in-season tournament, playoff games and international rights.
In the wake of that bombshell, three-way deal, Warner Bros. Discovery filed suit, alleging that its contractual right to match any rival offer (namely, Amazon’s) was not honored. An NBA spokesperson responded, “Warner Bros. Discovery’s claims are without merit and our lawyers will address them.”
Barkley joined Turner Sports in 2000 following his retirement from the NBA, serving as analyst and commentator on TNT’s popular Inside the NBA studio show alongside Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal. In the years since, Barkley has become one of the top basketball commentators on TV, winning four Sports Emmys for outstanding studio analyst.
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