Just weeks after claiming he would retire after the upcoming NBA season, TNT Sports star Charles Barkley went back on that plan Tuesday by announcing he would stay with Warner Bros. Discovery. Now, the network’s future plans for Barkley are coming into focus as the Wall Street Journal reports TNT could rebrand the legendary Inside the NBA studio show to a broader show covering all of sports.
Joe Flint and Amol Sharma of the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that TNT could rebrand Inside the NBA as Inside Sports , which would allow Barkley and the rest of the cast to discuss all sports. Despite likely losing the NBA, TNT and TBS will continue to broadcast college basketball, college football, baseball, hockey and tennis under the WBD umbrella.
Barkley previously has contributed to TNT’s golf and hockey broadcasts, but as a Basketball Hall of Famer and NBA 75 member, is primarily associated with basketball. Still, several reports indicate Barkley does not have an opt-out clause in his contract with TNT, making it harder for him to continue covering basketball at another network.
Instead, it appears the plan (for now) is for Barkley to remain at TNT and broaden his scope . Previously, Puck’s John Ourand reported WBD still has hopes that Barkley can became a voice in political talk through CNN.
Inside Sports would have lots of highlights to work with given WBD’s expansive sports rights (with the major exception of the NFL), and could maintain chemistry between Barkley, Ernie Johnson ( who was never expected to leave TNT ), Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith. Perhaps the NBA will cut a deal with TNT to give it highlight rights as part of a settlement after WBD sued the league last week.
Still, separating Barkley from his league will be a risk.
[ Wall Street Journal ]
The post Report: TNT could rebrand ‘Inside the NBA’ as sports variety show appeared first on Awful Announcing .
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