NBA

Charles Barkley Turns Down NBC & Amazon, Heart Remains At Turner Sports

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Charles Barkley holds a mic on his podcast.

Charles Barkley wants to remain at Turner Sports. The beloved NBA analyst revealed he turned down a deal with NBC and plans to cancel all future meetings with Amazon. Barkley wants to work for TNT and ESPN next season, but it’s not guaranteed.

Charles Barkley Turns Down NBC & Amazon

Barkley’s future as an NBA analyst has been one of the most fascinating developments with the NBA’s new media rights deal kicking off during the 2025-2026 season.

After Turner Sports lost NBA rights, Barkley was an analyst without a home. In November 2024, Disney acquired the rights to TNT’s Inside the NBA, the most popular studio show in basketball. Inside the NBA will now air on ESPN and ABC starting next season.

Barkley is the most coveted member of Inside the NBA, which also features host Ernie Johnson and analysts Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny “The Jet Smith.”

Barkley has been considering retirement throughout these negotiations. Last month, Barkley told Dan Patrick that he was speaking with NBC and Amazon about potentially joining their NBA coverage next season.

On the most recent episode of The Steam Room podcast, Barkley spoke to Johnson about his broadcasting future. Barkley wants to stay at Turner Sports and will not pursue opportunities with NBC and Amazon.

“I want to talk about my future, because there’s been a lot of stuff going on here about my future and I want to make everything perfectly clear,” Barkley said. “I’m informing NBC that I will not accept their offer. I’m going to cancel my future meetings with Amazon. I want to thank NBC, especially Mark Lazarus and Greg Hughes for offering me a contract … but my heart has always and will be at Turner Sports.

Charles Barkley Wants To Stay With Turner, But It’s Not Guranteed

If Barkley works next season, it will only be for TNT and ESPN. However, no deal has been ironed out. For Barkley, he needs to iron out his future “workload” before committing to a full season.

“The only thing I’m waiting on right now between TNT and ESPN, I met with ESPN, those guys were amazing, Barkley said. “I’m hoping that this thing comes together and I can stay at TNT and ESPN. But like I said, it’s all gonna be dictated by my workload. I’m not gonna work more as I get older. I’m gonna sit down with ESPN and TNT more cause I just need to know, if I’m gonna continue working, how much I’m gonna work.”

Barkley mentioned how he will rely on his friends in the media for advice on what to do. Those friends include Michael Wilbon, Tony Kornheiser, Bryant Gumbel, and Ahmad Rashad.

Barkley will continue to work the rest of the 2024-2025 NBA season for TNT.