ESPN and Amazon are interested in pursuing Charles Barkley and the rest of the cast of "Inside The NBA" as TNT is set to lose NBA rights after the 24-25 season, sources tell Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports. Barkley could command offers of more than $20 million per year.
TNT announced long-term contract extensions for Barkley, Shaquille O'Neal, Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson in October 2022.
ESPN has struggled to find success with "NBA Countdown" across scores of hosts and analysts. ESPN had similar issues with "Monday Night Football" until they imported Joe Buck and Troy Aikman from Fox.