Charles Barkley Releases Statement Reacting to NBA's Media Rights Announcement

Basketball Hall of Famer and TNT Inside The NBA analyst Charles Barkley released a statement Friday in which he expressed his belief that the NBA never gave TNT a fair opportunity to retain its NBA broadcasting rights.

Barkley wrote that since the NBA knows Amazon "and these tech companies" will be the only ones able to afford rights fees in the future, the league "didn't want to piss them off" by accepting TNT's attempt to match Amazon's offer.

The 1993 NBA MVP and 11-time All-Star went on to add: "It's a sad day when owners and commissioners choose money over the fans."

Per ESPN, the NBA signed an 11-year media rights contract with Disney, NBC and Prime Video this week, which will end its lengthy partnership with TNT at the end of the 2024-25 season.

TNT's parent company Warner Bros. Discovery—which is also Bleacher Report's parent company—attempted to match Amazon's offer of $1.8 billion per year, but the NBA declined since it did not consider WBD's offer to be a "true match."

In the wake of the NBA's choice, Turner Sports released a statement in which it expressed its belief that the NBA is breaching its contract by not accepting the matching offer:

"We have matched the Amazon offer, as we have a contractual right to do, and do not believe the NBA can reject it. In doing so, they are rejecting the many fans who continue to show their unwavering support for our best-in-class coverage, delivered through the full combined reach of WBD's video-first distribution platforms. ... We will take appropriate action."

The NBA also released a statement on the matter, saying: "Warner Bros. Discovery's most recent proposal did not match the terms of Amazon Prime Video's offer and, therefore, we have entered into a long-term arrangement with Amazon."

NBA games began airing on TNT in 1989, making it one of the longest-standing relationships between a professional sports league and a cable network.

It can be argued that the biggest highlight of the NBA on TNT has been Inside The NBA, which provides analysis before, during and after the games.

Hosted by Ernie Johnson, Inside The NBA also features commentary and hijinks from former NBA stars Barkley, Shaquille O'Neal and Kenny Smith.

The quartet has long had excellent chemistry and regularly go viral thanks to some of the hilarious moments they tend to create together.

Last month, Barkley said he would retire from broadcasting if the NBA were to leave TNT, meaning the 2024-25 campaign is poised to be his final season as an NBA analyst.

Given the popularity of Inside The NBA, Prime Video, NBC and ABC/ESPN will have huge shoes to fill when it comes to their halftime, pre- and post-game analysis.