Charles Barkley doesn’t believe TNT will win the lawsuit against the NBA regarding the rejection of their TV rights counter-offer.
The NBA legend expressed skepticism about the success of the lawsuit during an appearance on “Podcast P with Paul George,” Presented by Wave Sports + Entertainment.
The NBA recently announced new media deals with Disney, NBCUniversal, and Amazon, set to begin in the 2025-26 season.
These agreements ensure that ABC/ESPN, NBC/Peacock, and Prime Video will broadcast NBA games through the 2035-36 season.
Warner Bros. Discovery (TNT) had submitted a counter-offer, but the NBA rejected it, citing that the proposal did not match the Amazon Prime Video offer. This prompted TNT to file a lawsuit, arguing that the league should have accepted their counter-offer.
Barkley questioned the grounds of the lawsuit, stating, “So I don’t think Adam [Silver] would leave himself open to lose a lawsuit. He was a lawyer and I think he’s too smart.
“So your question is correct– we have filed a lawsuit, but I think the NBA is like, yes, too late, we don’t care. You guys sued to get the Amazon package, but when we signed the original deal six, eight years ago, y’all had to match NBC or ESPN, which is like another 500 million a year and I think our people were like, we’re going to try to match the cheapest one and Adam’s like, yeah, that sh*t’s not going to work. Y’all could match, but y’all had to match the bigger number.”
He added, “I don’t think Adam is dumb enough where he would open himself up to lose that lawsuit. So I’m not even sure why. First of all, I’m not even sure why we sued.”
The new TV rights deals will directly affect Barkley, who co-hosts “Inside the NBA” on TNT. The show is expected to end after the 2024-25 season as the new media agreements take effect.
