TNT Sports is ALREADY eyeing replacements for Charles Barkley, 60, months after the popular Inside The NBA co-host signed a reported $100m, 10-year deal: ‘We have people in mind’

Charles Barkley isn’t expected to leave TNT Sports anytime soon, but the network is admittedly looking for a replacement for when the popular co-host of Inside The NBA retires.

“We want him to be here, but we also want him to be happy and living his life, and when he feels like he’s had enough, it’s time to move on,” said Craig Barry, the Executive Vice President and Chief Content Officer for TNT Sports’ parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery Sports. “We have people in mind who we think would be interesting.”

Barkley, 60, recently signed a 10-year, $100 million deal in August to continue analyzing NBA games on TNT, but told Sports Illustrated shortly afterward that he does not expect to finalize the contract: “There is There’s no way I’m going to work when I’m seventy. Zero.’

Along with Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson, Barkley is a beloved co-host of TNT Sports’ Inside the NBA studio show, which serves as pre-game, halftime and post-game accompaniment to the TV shows of the network. national television matches.

Only now that TNT Sports has acquired the NBA rights for Britain and Ireland will the celebrated quartet be seen on the other side of the Atlantic, where the league continues to cultivate a growing audience.

Barry declined to comment when Mail Sport asked whether the candidates included current analysts or players.

However, TNT Sports has previously used controversial Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green in an on-air role, and New York Post sports media columnist Andreas Marchand previously called the suspended 33-year-old Barkley’s “heir apparent.”

Whoever gets the job, Barry knows that Barkley’s replacement will inevitably be a departure from ‘Sir’ Charles.

Craig Barry, Executive Vice President and Chief Content Officer of TNT Sports’ parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery Sports

“It won’t be Charles, it won’t be Shaq, it won’t be Kenny, it won’t be Ernie, and it certainly won’t be them together,” Barry said. “But we wouldn’t be doing our job if we didn’t have ideas about ways we thought we could keep a show – if not this show – interesting and progressive.”

Meanwhile, TNT Sports is currently negotiating a new US media deal with the NBA. The current $24 billion ESPN/TNT Sports deal expires at the end of the 2024-2025 season.

And by helping the league connect with British and Irish audiences, TNT Sports hopes to illustrate its overall value to the NBA, both domestically and internationally.

“We’re in the middle of those negotiations,” Barry said. “I guess I would say we’re in the global sports business. And when those opportunities come together and create a bigger opportunity for the company, I think that’s really interesting for us.

“I honestly think our bosses also see this as a joint opportunity,” Barry added.