- Barkley is not expected to leave TNT Sports soon after signing a new contract
- Craig Barry, managing director of TNT Sports, declined to reveal potential candidates
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Charles Barkley isn’t expected to leave TNT Sports any time soon, but the network is admittedly looking for a replacement in the event the popular Inside The NBA co-host retires from television.
“We want him to be here, but we also want him to be happy and living his life, and when he feels like he’s had enough, it’s time to move on,” said Craig Barry, executive vice president and chief Content Officer for TNT Sports’ parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery Sports. “We have people in mind that we think are interesting.”
Barkley, 60, recently signed a reported 10-year, $100 million deal in August to continue analyzing NBA games on TNT, but told Sports Illustrated shortly afterward that he doesn’t expect to accept the deal finish: “There is no chance in hell.” “I will work when I am 70. Zero.”
Along with Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson, Barkley is a popular co-host of TNT Sports’ studio show “Inside the NBA,” which serves as the network’s pregame, halftime and postgame coverage for nationally televised games.
Only now, with TNT Sports gaining the NBA rights to the UK and Ireland, will the acclaimed quartet be seen on the other side of the Atlantic, where the league continues to cultivate a growing audience.
Charles Barkley is not expected to leave TNT Sports soon after signing a new contract
Barry declined to answer when Mail Sport asked whether the candidates included current analysts or players.
However, TNT Sports has previously used controversial Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green in an on-air role, and New York Post sports media columnist Andrew Marchand previously called the suspended 33-year-old Barkley’s “heir.”
Whoever gets the job, Barry knows that Barkley’s successor will inevitably mark a departure from “Sir” Charles.
Craig Barry, executive vice president and chief content officer of TNT Sports’ parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery Sports
“It won’t be Charles, it won’t be Shaq, it won’t be Kenny, it won’t be Ernie and they certainly won’t be together,” Barry said. “But we wouldn’t be doing our job if we didn’t have ideas about how we thought we could keep a show — if not this show — interesting and progressive.”
Meanwhile, TNT Sports is currently negotiating a new US media deal with the NBA. The current $24 billion contract between ESPN and TNT Sports expires at the end of the 2024-25 season.
And by helping the league connect with British and Irish audiences, TNT Sports hopes to demonstrate its overall value to the NBA at home and abroad.
“We’re in the middle of negotiations,” Barry said. “I guess I would say we’re in the global sports business.” And whenever those opportunities come together and create a bigger opportunity for the company, I think that’s really interesting for us.
“I think, quite honestly, our bosses also see this as a shared opportunity,” Barry added.