Charles Barkley RIPS his TNT bosses as 'Inside the NBA' faces uncertain future

Charles Barkley has ripped into his bosses at TNT as the network's popular basketball show 'Inside the NBA' faces an uncertain future following reports that ESPN, NBC and Amazon are formalizing multi-billion dollar deals with the league.

Appearing on The Dan Patrick Show on Thursday, barely 24 hours after it was widely announced that Barkley and his co-hosts, Ernie Johnson, Kenny 'The Jet' Smith, and Shaquille O'Neal, are set to end their 13-year association on-air after the 2024-25 NBA season, 'Chuck' opened up his thoughts on the whole situation. 

'Inside the NBA' technically started in 1984 but O'Neal joined the show in 2011.

'Morale sucks, plain and simple,' the 61-year-old Barkley said. 'I just feel so bad for the people I work with Dan. These people have families. I just really feel bad for them right now...

'These people I work with, they've screwed this thing up clearly and we have zero idea about what's going to happen. I don't feel good, I'm not going to lie, especially when it came out yesterday and said [TNT] bought college football.' 

On Wednesday, Warner Bros Discovery's TNT signed a deal with ESPN for rights to broadcast the College Football Playoff, starting this fall. Walt Disney, ESPN's parent company, said TNT will present two-round games for two years and include two quarter-final through 2028 season.

Earlier this month, CEO David Zaslav said the company 'was hopeful' it would reach an agreement with the NBA to keep the league on Max and TNT, after previously starting that Warner Bros 'didn't have to have the NBA.' 

NBA rights are considered central to Warner Bros Discovery's efforts to drive growth in its streaming business and retain cable customers. 

Comcast's NBCUniversal is planning to pay an average of about $2.5billion a year to broadcast a package of NBA games, the Wall Street Journal had reported last month.

But the network could face competition from Barkley's production company, as the former NBA star said he's 'talked to the guys' about possibly moving the show to his platform. 

'I would love to do that if we lose it,' Barkley said of the program's future, adding that 'someone on the internet' recommended the idea. 

Moreover, Walt Disney, Warner Bros Discovery and Fox Corp are set to launch their sports-streaming service Venu Sports this fall, in a bid to attract younger audience.