ESPN Eyeing Charles Barkley Should He Hit Broadcasting Free Agency

Posted by Admin September 11, 2024 NBA

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Earlier this summer, Disney, NBC, and Amazon won the media rights to broadcast the NBA, winning the bid for an 11-year agreement. The reported new agreement is set to start during the 2025-26 season.

Warner Bros. Discovery currently has a lawsuit in place to win the rights back.

But while the NBA deals with their media rights being battled for in court, it seems that one of the biggest personalities in the sport may be courted by a media giant. If former NBA star forward and current TNT “Inside the NBA” studio member Charles Barkley were to enter free agency, ESPN would likely show massive interest in landing him.

ESPN’s chief of content, Burke Magnus, recently said that he would be interested in going after Barkley should he become available.

“Yeah,” Magnus said at the “Tuned In” conference. “That would be a perfect world. … I would be lying if I said we weren’t interested in Charles. The entire industry is interested.”

Barkley would be one of the biggest names on the open market for all media enterprises, given the entertainment value that he provides. The former All-Star has turned himself into one of the more watched media analysts out there in recent years.

GLENDALE, ARIZONA – APRIL 08: Basketball analyst Charles Barkley on air before the National Championship game between the Purdue Boilermakers and the Connecticut Huskies at State Farm Stadium on April 08, 2024 in Glendale, Arizona….

Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images

Barkley, who has been with TNT since 2000, said that his priority is to stay with TNT. But if they were to lose media rights to the NBA, he would face a tough decision on what to do.

“I love my TNT Sports family,” Barkley, 61, said in a statement in August. “My #1 priority has been and always will be our people and keeping everyone together for as long as possible.

“We have the most amazing people, and they are the best at what they do,” his statement continued. “I’m looking forward to continuing to work with them both on the shows we currently have and new ones we develop together in the future. This is the only place for me.”

It seems that it could be a long shot for Barkley to end up as a free agent. And even if he did, the biggest question would be whether Barkley would reciprocate the interest. After all, it takes two to tango.

But this is certainly interesting and could see Barkley continuing his career as a massive NBA personality past this season.

More news: Charles Barkley Calls Out NBA Over New Media Rights Deal