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Charles Barkley Reveals Timeline for Inside the NBA After Moving to ESPN

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By JH Kubicek | Last updated Jun 2, 2025 4:06 PM ET

Despite winning the NBA MVP with the Phoenix Suns and making All-Star teams for the Philadelphia 76ers and Houston Rockets, Charles Barkley is now best known for his time as one of the hosts of TNT's hit studio show, Inside the NBA.

TNT, after the Eastern Conference Finals, lost the rights to broadcast NBA games, but since Inside the NBA is incredibly successful and popular, they retained the rights to produce the show, although it will air on ESPN and NBC next season.

Starting in the 2025-26 season, ESPN, ABC, NBC, and Amazon will have broadcasting rights, and the panel of Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Shaquille O'Neal, and Barkley will have to work with Disney, the parent company of ESPN.

Barkley Offers Broadcasting Timeline

Johnson, Smith, O'Neal, and Barkley started working together as a foursome in 2011, with the addition of Shaq to the team. They have won numerous Emmy awards and are a fan favorite, and there are concerns that ESPN will not be able to capture the magic that TNT did, despite Turner still holding production rights.

Barkley suggested on The Dan Patrick Show that he might force his way out of his contract.

"I'm going to be a good soldier for Kenny, Ernie, and Shaq, and the people I work with, because I love the people I work with, especially behind the scenes," he said. "But the best I can do is two years. And the other five years, they got no chance to happen."

Barkley has seven years remaining on his contract, but will give ESPN only two seasons to get things right. After that, he could re-work his deal to only include NCAA coverage, which is still under TNT's umbrella, and Johnson could return to covering golf, college football, or MLB.

While Inside the NBA is a staple of the league's coverage, shifting media rights and deals have altered the landscape of sports entertainment, and Barkley, if he wants, doesn't have to change with the times.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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