Posted in: NBA, Sports, TNT, TV | Tagged: Charles Barkley, nba, tnt sports, warner bros discovery

Charles Barkley Announces Unretirement, Rejoins "My TNT Sports Family"

It looks like Charles Barkley put the breaks on his retirement, and now it's a lovefest between him and Warner Bros. Discovery/TNT Sports.

While Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) CEO David Zaslav and his leadership team go the legal route to get a piece of Amazon's deal with the NBA, at least they won't have to worry about losing NBA Legend & TNT's Inside The NBA co-host Charles Barkley. Less than two months after announcing his television retirement, Barkley and TNT Sports have "reaffirmed his commitment" to the media company and "will exclusively contribute to TNT Sports for many years to come." The news comes as WBD is taking legal action against the professional sports league, claiming that the NBA is legally bound by the terms of the existing contract to accept WBD's matching offer for Amazon's deal. If that fails, the media company would say goodbye to the NBA beginning with the 2025-2026 season and to one of the best coverage shows in all of professional sports – TNT's Inside The NBA with Barkley, Ernie Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal, and Kenny Smith. Near the end of July, the NBA announced new broadcasting rights deals with NBCUniversal, ABC/ESPN, and Amazon Prime Video

"I love my TNT Sports family. 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," Barkley shared in a statement, reaffirming his commitment to the company. "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. I have to say … I've been impressed by the leadership team who is fighting hard and have been aggressive in adding new properties to TNT Sports, which I am very excited about. I appreciate them and all of my colleagues for their continued support and, most importantly, our fans. I'm going to give my all as we keep them entertained for years to come."

"Charles is one of the best and most beloved sportscasters in the history of television. I know I speak for all the members of the TNT Sports family when I say we are incredibly thrilled to share this mutual commitment to continue showcasing Charles' one-of-a-kind talents and entertain fans well into the future," shared TNT Sports CEO Luis Silberwasser. "We continue to add to the breadth and depth of our sports portfolio – including new properties in the College Football Playoffs, Roland-Garros, NASCAR, BIG EAST college basketball, Mountain West football, among others – and it's fantastic to have Charles for this journey as we develop new content ideas and shows for our fans."

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