With Warner Bros. Discovery securing a commitment from Charles Barkley to remain with the company, what exactly can the NBA analyst and his “Inside” colleagues do without NBA games to call? In a guest post, Jessie Karangu examines the possibilities.
There is always that one couple that keeps threatening to break up, but ends up staying together. In the sports media world, that would be Charles Barkley and longtime employer TNT. Barkley has threatened to leave TNT for countless reasons over the years. At one point, it was to become a golf commentator and ambassador for LIV Golf. At an earlier juncture, he was considering running for office. This time around, it is because of TNT parent company Warner Bros. Discovery’s mishandling of NBA negotiations.
Barring an unlikely win in the courts, the conglomerate will lose rights to the NBA after a 40-year relationship. Originally, it was believed Barkley had a clause in his contract under which he could find a new home in case the NBA went to a WBD competitor. CNBC reported this week that he was incorrect. There was speculation about whether Barkley and WBD could come to a dissolution agreement since there would be little for him to do, but those talks are sure to end, or at least pause, after Barkley and WBD announced their renewal of vows.
Barkley said in a statement that he loves his WBD family and that he’s been impressed with leadership’s quest to acquire other sports rights. Since rumors of WBD losing the NBA first surfaced, the company has bought the rights to Mountain West college football, Big East college basketball, College Football Playoff games and the French Open. WBD already has rights to the MLB, NHL, March Madness and U.S. Soccer. The question that now lies is what to do with Barkley after 2025 without the NBA.
We decided to take it upon ourselves to create a game plan for WBD and help divvy out some tasks. In these scenarios, the assumption is that Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson are also staying with WBD. O’Neal has said in that past that he enjoys the laid back atmosphere of TNT compared to ESPN, while Barkley has said multiple times that Johnson is unlikely to ever leave WBD. All three of Barkley’s co-hosts have been quiet about what’s happening, but just like Barkley, they also signed long term extensions with WBD in 2022.
Big East
The Wall Street Journal reported this week that WBD executives are exploring turning “Inside the NBA” into a general sports show discussing some of the other properties to which TNT owns rights. Barkley and crew would most likely also have the ability to air out their takes on pop culture, politics and other trending topics when necessary, akin to what already happens now. After 2024, TNT may not be airing the 66 regular season NBA games that they normally broadcast, but they will still be airing 65 regular season Big East basketball games. Using Big East games as a lead-in to “Inside” puts any potential reboot at a much higher rate of success, as viewers are used to watching the show after basketball games. It also gives “Inside” a much better lead-in to build on than repeats of “Charmed.”
Barkley and Smith would get a head start on covering college basketball before March Madness. Along with O’Neal, they understand the fundamentals of the game and how to analyze them even if the players are a little younger. The first part of the show could be spent analyzing the game viewers just watched, with a college basketball expert like Andy Katz or Jay Wright giving the avid fan their fix of Xs and Os before the show transitions into other topics. TNT Sports also saves money by not having to hire a different studio crew for college basketball games. Big East viewership is nowhere close to that of the NBA, but with added interest due to the “Inside” crew and sports fans’ accustomed behaviors of watching sports in primetime on TNT, those averages could theoretically increase.
The Snoop Dogg model
The California native has proven that corny celebrity segments exploring the art of specific sports can still work if the storytelling is crafted well, the personality involved is fun to watch and the segment is short and sweet. Snoop Dogg’s primetime Olympic segments have not only been a success on television but also on social media. TNT Sports could grab onto that formula and send Shaq, Charles and Kenny to different events, from college campuses to marquee properties like the NHL Winter Classic. The “Inside” stars could also interview tennis players or NASCAR drivers who WBD will have the ability to cover under their new rights agreements. Their job would be to take us into the unique parts of these sports and help the average fan understand the passion behind it in a funny, unique way. These segments would not have to be weekly, but instead could air when there’s more attention on a particular sport — for example, a baseball league championship or Stanley Cup Final.
YouTube
The NBA on TNT has 1.97 million subscribers on YouTube and Bleacher Report already uses the stars for their own videos. WBD should continue this strategy and boost the channel with podcasts (“The Steam Room” already has a home on this YT channel), long-form interviews, live streams and stories that may not necessarily make sense for television.
TV-quality content on YouTube is more financially lucrative than ever. Shannon Sharpe recently hinted that his interview with Katt Williams might have generated at least $6 million. Pat McAfee’s daily show simulcasts on both ESPN and YouTube and generates enough revenue for it to make sense airing on both platforms. Even though we don’t have specific figures, ESPN is probably not in the business of squandering money in the fragmented media world of 2024. The economics of YouTube are changing even for traditional broadcasters and WBD could be on the frontier of it. According to Puck, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan and WBD CEO David Zaslav already share a friendly relationship. Parent company Google broached the prospect of a joint bid with WBD for NBA rights, and the companies are partners who already work together on Bleacher Report’s respective platforms.
Game shows/specials
Once an athlete, always an athlete. WBD has developed game show formats around athletes such as Dwyane Wade and John Cena. Shaq is also currently the co-host of the game show “Lucky 13” on ABC. Is there a unique pilot WBD could order that would be hosted by the “Inside” crew and include them as potential participants?
WBD has also been very active in owning sports properties, having created “ELeague” for gamers and hosting the annual golf event “The Match.” Could WBD parlay “The Match” into a celebrity golf league featuring NBA athletes, golfers, the “Inside” crew, celebrities and athletes from other sports? A celebrity basketball league? Flag football? 3×3 basketball? Poker? Some type of competition during the offseason that centers around the “Inside” crew and athletes currently in the game in their respective sports could help the crew continue to cement their roles as the sports uncles of television.
Alt-casts
Out of all the suggestions given here, this is the one that is most likely to happen the soonest. Expect the foursome to provide an alt-cast during big games and matchups. It brings the casual fan into a sport they may not typically watch and creates social media moments that help brand equity even when an alt-cast’s ratings aren’t as high as the game broadcast’s ratings. The NHL Winter Classic, Stanley Cup Final, League Championship Series and College Football Playoff would be the four areas that make the most sense. The “Inside” crew has previously called the NBA All-Star Game on TBS while the main game broadcast aired on TNT. If TNT falls upon a major college basketball story with the Big East like Caitlin Clark, expect the guys to help hype up the action.
Reality TV
Shaq has already participated in a doc for sister station HBO while Barkley filmed a docuseries on race for TNT. Johnson has opened his doors for ESPN to tell his family’s story of triumph and courage while Smith has participated in a family reality show for TBS. All four of the guys have opened up about their own relationship and “Inside” in a documentary about the show that’s now available on Max. Will any of the guys allow cameras into their personal spaces again? Smith is currently helping the NBL discover young stars who don’t want to play American college basketball find a home in Australia. Does that quest turn into a show? Furthermore, could the crew occasionally broadcast NBL games in the morning for truTV? That would probably be a hard sell.
Potential — but unlikely — NBA involvement
This is the most out of left field suggestion in this game plan but it is something to think about. If “Inside” transforms into a sports talk show, WBD is going to need to figure out a way to grab NBA highlight rights. Litigation between the two parties could make this more difficult, but lacking these rights would be damaging not only for an “Inside” reboot, but also for Bleacher Report — which has built its brand off of basketball fans and will most likely continue to cover the league even without TNT’s broadcast rights.
While Barkley will work “exclusively” for WBD per this week’s announcement, would any of the “Inside” crew be allowed to contribute a segment or two to one of the new NBA rights holders? Barkley and NBC have a solid bond between his appearance at the ACC Golf Championship in Lake Tahoe every year, his hosting stints on “Saturday Night Live,” and his appearances on various NBC Sports shows — including most recently an interview with Maria Taylor during her Late Night Olympics broadcast. Would he be allowed to go on NBC for a segment or two with their future NBA studio crew to give his takes? TNT Sports and ESPN have built a rapport recently with Disney and WBD’s impending bundles and their CFP partnership. Could TNT lend “Inside” to ESPN for a couple of one-offs during the playoffs and the Finals? An alt-cast or two during the regular season and playoffs as well? Any arrangement like this would still need league approval.
