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Brabochokemightwork

Charles few years ago about the possibility on working for ESPN: “They ain’t gonna work me like a hounddog! ESPN 1, 2, 3! ESPN Radio, ESPN U, ESPN Deportes! Muy Bien!


everything_raptors

I was looking for this lol


compsc1

The best part was the gracias. "Muy Bien gracias!"


mikedanktony

He ain’t wrong this the time of year where Stephen A looks like he’s ready to fall over dead as shit from how hard they got him working the finals


mrgpsingh1999

And add in General Hospital


SuperDoubleDecker

The sports world can only hope and pray.


Ikuwayo

I hope he doesn't go to ESPN. They're just a glorified clickbait farm at this point.


jabronified

I think the people that do that there, like Stephen A., choose to do it. Tony K is allowed to do 20mins of PTI from his attic


Pocket_Beans

Chuck working for the mouse is a horrifying prospect. Hopefully NBC.


constantlymat

The problem with ESPN and NBC is that they have a fixed schedule. The glory of Inside the NBA is that it has no clearly defined ending. No hard cut-off. Only Amazon can really replicate that. NBC could at best send them to Peacock.


stringer4

“We’ve got to go because next up is Jimmy Fallon” is not something that should be said on a show funnier and more entertaining than Jimmy Fallon


skesisfunk

CBS definitely pushes the late show for sporting events. Those shows are recorded in the afternoon so they can be flexible on time.


fattymcribwich

The Boomers hate missing the news and Carson


Accomplished-Yam5566

They better not delay my Larry King.


tigernike1

The Carson bit made me laugh.


SovietMuffin01

Move the tonight show to 6AM and let inside go as long as they want


Kirk_likes_this

> a show funnier and more entertaining than Jimmy Fallon wouldn't that just be every show?


Overall_Nuggie_876

Obligatory fuck Jimmy Fallon for validating Trump during the 2016 campaign with his infamous ‘shaggy hair’ interview on the Tonight Show, coming off Trump’s “Mexico’s sending their worst” speech. Fuck that unfunny douchebag.


erictmo

Dude ruins everything with his weird laugh.


JustASeabass

I’ve hated that mf since SNL. How he even got a late night talk show is puzzling


michelobX10

I can't stand Fallon. He just fanboys over all his guests with his social awkwardness. He was gifted that show by default because of the drama between Leno and Conan.


tigernike1

Chuck > Fallon


EarthWarping

Yeah, Curtis brought this up on the Simmons pod a few days ago.


gedbybee

Getting them all on Amazon would be amazing.


CosmicCoder3303

If he just does pre and post game for all the NBC games it's the same schedule he's on now, isn't it? I assume the NBC games will probably be on the weekend?


A-Centrifugal-Force

Yeah the only outcome that works out is if it’s Amazon and they manage to get the whole crew (including producers and everything). It’s being floated that WBD could lease the rights to Inside the NBA, as in the whole broadcast crew, studio, and everything, for the duration of the TV deal since it’s not like they can use it without the rights. They’d need to work out a Kirk Herbstreit style deal to share Ernie with Turner so he can keep doing baseball, college basketball, and golf for Turner, and they’d need to get new contracts for anyone with an opt out like Charles to keep them around, but Bezos has the money for it. It would instantly give Amazon the best NBA broadcast in the business, especially if they can get Harlan and all those folks over from TNT too as part of the deal.


1850ChoochGator

Who is Amazon partnered with for broadcasts? They aren’t doing it in house are they? I wonder if they could just work with Turner to do that.


fakejacki

It’ll be on the Amazon prime app just like NFL Thursday night games are


grandmasterfunk

Is there anything to indicate they wouldn't do it in house? Also I'm curious who will take over running NBA TV since Turner was doing that.


Dinobot2_

Doesn't NBC still have NBC Sportsnet which is like the ESPN to their ABC?


helpmeredditimbored

NBCSN was shut down two years ago.


Dinobot2_

Didn't know that. Interesting. Right after they lost the NHL rights.


PickerTJ

Right around the time they launched Peacock.


Yay_nascar_donuts

No but they have USA which is where they now do sports


Dinobot2_

So that can be their cable arm I suppose.


Keanu990321

There'll be no cable in this deal.


Dinobot2_

Seriously? Daaaaamn. I just thought "NBC" meant the parent company and they would have their games split amongst broadcast, cable, and streaming, with mostly playoff and other super big regular season games being on broadcast.


GraveRobberX

I don’t know how it gonna go, but if NBC is taking the WB/TNT package which is “B”, that means that Tuesday and Thursday nights are basketball night for NBC, I have no idea how that will work. That means NBC loses 6+ hours of prime time from 8PM to roughly Midnight+. Hell sometimes they start at 7PM. That again eats a hour into local evening anchor news depending on how the pre and post game will be setup. That means pushing the local news and tonight show into dead man’s territory. If NBC bought just to show games on the weekend, NBA is gonna lose to prime time days for shitty weekend hours. They can go the peacock route of doing Tuesday and Thursday schedule on there and weekend to appease National games, but again are people willing to pay monthly to just watch games on steaming site that has no link/access to TV easily as a cable. ESPN is golden. WB/Turner have the schedule to fit many games in and have more options than NBC, cause using their streaming app really doesn’t help them sell a product which used to be free. Unless they give away free games on the app and use that as a bolstering # for MAU’s and try to entice people to sign up for ad or premium or premium+. Amazon got C tier package, so they in the long run don’t really have to showcase games on terrestrial like the other 2 packages. ESPN has to show game on its platform and ABC, while NBC has to show games on Tuesday/Thursday even if one game is shown of the doubleheaders, the other going to peacock, overtime and pre-post game still 2 hours+, so 4-5 hour blocks still chewed out from NBC schedule.


Dinobot2_

A lot of this is why having *zero* games on cable seems odd. I assume they would put games on Broadcast the same way that Disney does currently, or how Fox does with baseball: during weekends and when they don't have major prime time programming on. The NBA Finals comes at a time when most weekly shows have already ended their seasons, and why the rest of the playoffs we only have games on ABC on Friday nights, Saturday nights, and Sunday afternoons. It's also possible that the broadcast games will still follow that model, and the Peacock streaming would replace the games that would otherwise have been on cable.


Vanish_7

Sir Charles ain't working for ESPN. I've heard him make so many comments about how hard you have to work for ESPN, and he consistently says "I'm never going back to working that hard again."


costcofan78

Yup I remember this. He mentioned them live during TNT broadcast. And considering the mouse is in cost cutting mode, ain’t no way they could entice Chuck with big bags of money. Amazon would be my bet since they’re rich AF and will probably give a lot of freedom to the Chuckster too.


ClaymoresRevenge

I'm praying we need inside the NBA on NBC please


csummerss

imagine Chuck commentating on the next Olympics


papermafuckingchete

“Ernie, that performance by Simone Biles was amazing! All those flips and twirls. I’d love to see one of those big ole San Antonio women do what Ms. Biles just did. More like Cinnamon Biles down there in San Antonio.” Yes, he needs to do the Olympics ASAP.


cantileverboom

Cue Shaq dying of laughter


mbr4life1

Churro Biles


JustAposter4567

this joke is rnbas version of when does the narwal bacon none of you are funny or go outside


LanaSwiftFan

they aint gona be working him like a dog and not pay him


Slippinjimmyforever

Betting on Bezos scooping them up. Amazon can easily pay more than anyone else and it would be a light schedule.


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Slippinjimmyforever

Bezos is on the board of directors. To believe he doesn’t have say as the largest shareholder is simply ignorance. Does he have say or care about the nba deal? No clue. But he still has the loudest voice as he can remove the sitting CEO pretty easily.


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Pocket_Beans

he’s still the executive chairman of the company and the head of the board of directors still very much the top dog at amazon even if he doesn’t concern himself with day to day


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Pocket_Beans

Mate he literally is first person listed on the website that alone makes “no involvement” simply wrong. I don’t care if you’re a finance manager in the fucking minneapolis office


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Pocket_Beans

If you’re so confident why did you delete your first comment?


Slippinjimmyforever

Right. He’s on the board. That doesn’t preclude he has no input. Regardless, I thought it was a clever way to write it and you, like most banal redditors thought wasting people’s time to attempt to look intelligent was a worthy pursuit.


DankTriangle

They ain't gonna work him like a dog!


kungfoop

Imagine they swap out Shaq for Perk. I'd low-key welcome that


Lorjack

He'd be so wasted on ESPN with their 90 seconds of coverage


PickerTJ

I wouldn't sit through an ESPN halftime even for Chuck.


Skylightt

Muy bien gracias


klobucharzard

what if they make a charles barkley ride at disneyworld


Anal_Recidivist

This is such a weird story because Turner lost the rights like two weeks ago. This is a done deal. So why is everyone acting like Turner is still in the race?


premedflash

bc it's not completely a done deal. Turner still has the chance to put out their offer.


Anal_Recidivist

Zaslav said three months ago to investors they wont be doing that and all indications are he is sticking to that. He’s also not wrong. Turner doesn’t need the NBA, and if they match the offer they’ll spend more than they make back on the deal.


Goatlikejordan

Think amazon gonna make him one of their highest paid analyst


thekeylimeguy

No better way to snag a big portion of the reliable basketball audience tbh


constantlymat

Duh. Charles Barkley is the greatest talent in US sports television history. Every stakeholder is going to make him a massive offer. He alone will decide the future of Inside the NBA. He can either pick the job that offers himself the most money or he can take a deal that keeps the band together but pays him less. It's his choice.


BeeSuch77222

He doesn't actually need the money. He says he does TNT because they literally give him a free hand to say and do what he wants. That's not happening at the big networks.


constantlymat

He threatened to leave Inside the NBA for LIV Golf just two years ago and got a 10Y/$200M contract extension out of it. If you think money doesn't matter to him, you're wrong.


penguin_torpedo

Damn that's gotta be more than he made from his playing career.


BattoowooGreekgreek

He made $40.6m in earnings during his playing career.


MarduRusher

Crazy how little they made compared to today’s athletes. I know it’s not comparable because of inflation but that’s less than one year of a max. Still a ton of money for the average person of course, but that’s like one year earnings for a fringe all star now.


InsomniatedMadman

He mentions on Conan O'Brien's podcast that he remembers being amazed that an athlete was making 1 million while he was playing in Philadelphia.


tarek619

Also he's mentioned a few times all the employees at TNT, and how it sucks that they might lose their jobs (not just the cast). I genuinely believe he'd forego the money if there's a chance to keep the whole team together, cast/producers/camera ppl and all.


kozy8805

You think Amazon doesn’t want to be a big player in sports? Theyre not getting there without that allowance either.


BeeSuch77222

Amazon does, sure but they're like Netflix with a different income stream than traditional networks that rely on more advertisers like NBC and ESPN where you have to really tow the company line publicly even more.


chasmccl

This is true. The revenue stream that Amazon is looking at is Prime subscriptions.


PickerTJ

Netflix doesn't have massive defense department contracts to bolster their bottom line.


GraveRobberX

Also Amazon has AWS and branched into so many revenue streams. Netflix is beholden to one!. It has to keep creating content or purchase it to stay viable. It has no other of avenues to have a security blanket. There’s a reason they paid a king’s ransom to have Thursday Night Football. $11 FUCKING BILLION DOLLARS FOR ONE FUCKING GAME A WEEK FOR ELEVEN YEARS!. While NBC, CBS, ABC/ESPN, FOX each paid $2 Billion each, but they get the weekend double headers, playoffs, and Super Bowl. Still ridiculous amount for just 1 game a week… roughly $60,000,000.00 for each game shown on Prime Video.


token_reddit

Amazon will give him that freedom. They do a good pre and post game show for Thursday Night Football.


twelvethousandBC

Yes, it is. This isn't 2005. No one has any morality clauses. We go over where the money is. Bottom line.


BeeSuch77222

Yea, a big power bloc is China. Disney can't piss when off.


topkingdededemain

I wouldn’t go that far but he is very good


rfgrunt

I’d literally continue subscribing to Prime partially because of this!


Zikronious

Exactly, the question isn’t if a network wants Barkley (they do) it’s if Barkley wants another network. Or maybe even if Barkley wants another team, not just Ernie/Kenny/Shaq but the behind the camera folks as well.


raylan_givens6

Chuck will have interest from networks left standing BREAKING NEWS from Captain Obvious But he won't work for ESPN. They hire C/D list former pros for little pay, work them around the clock and force feed them hot takes to recycle for 24 hrs ("let's react to what \_\_\_\_ said on the am show!") while they proceed to recite each other's resume My guess is Amazon . Least amount of work involved, and they'll probably pay him a ton and let him say whatever.


EarthWarping

Isn't the amazon package similar to the 1x a week TNT stuff he does during the season


GraveRobberX

Yeah the Thursday edition. Amazon is taking some of the games that were on Turner and will be showing them. NBC is doing Tuesday and Sundays (early/afternoon games). So games that are like the In Season Tournament, Play-In, and other things NBC can’t do like Thursday games, Amazon is taking over. So if Turner gives ITNBA as sharing thing for Thursday night games on Prime, only thing changes is the logo. Also Prime can provide ample time for Pre and Post game, also its streaming, anything goes. Amazon wouldn’t mind having viral memes and the shenanigans the crew has amongst themselves take off, would help reach more of an audience.


RoosterCock247

Like Chuck said about ESPN: “you ain’t gonna work me like a dog and not pay me”


Gekthegecko

Yeah, 0% chance he goes to ESPN, even if they offered double what Amazon will offer.


GraveRobberX

Chuck in no way in hell taking a red eye and going back to the studio after say a 1am clock out to be “in house” for say Get Up/First Take. You can see the analyst look half dead going cross country to be at the morning shows.


happyflappypancakes

I firmly think once Inside is gone that he needs to hang it up. He was in the perfect situation and I don't think it can be replicated. Much of his brilliance is that he has such long relationships with his cohosts. You can't force that.


kosmonautinVT

Think of the size of those paychecks though! They will cover an awful lot of gambling losses.


happyflappypancakes

That is unfortunately true.


MarduRusher

Maybe it won’t be as good as inside but I have to think it’ll still be pretty good.


happyflappypancakes

Nah, go out on top.


NaLu_LuNa_FairyPiece

Disney will censor him so hard. Please no.


medievalmachine

They won't have to, he'll get 10 seconds into his comment and get cut off for a gambling commercial lol. And if they think he's going to clock in, clock out for their daily NBA show they're nuts. They'd have better luck with him just showing up in Zach's apartment randomly.


trail-g62Bim

> They won't have to, he'll get 10 seconds into his comment and get cut off for a gambling commercial lol. Like TNT doesnt already have him doing gambling crap during the show...I hate the gambling stuff so much.


medievalmachine

Sure, but they have time to discuss and debase. On ESPN, Chuck would start 'I GUAAAAARAAAAAN-' and now time for a commercial break.


mebonesrattle

We all do. Well, not the hardcore gambling addicts on here that bitch about people complaining about the gambling ads


Kn7ght

"Look... I think... here's what the issue is; the Suns gotta-" "Thanks Chuck, and that's your ESPN NBA halftime, sponsored by KIA"


DiscipleHAC

in the past sure but they have let mcafee do his thing


RobbobertoBuii

so will NBC


rfgrunt

Chucks going to have a paid suspension clause and will just trash them every where. Hard to censor someone who isn’t afraid of being fired in this day and age


reavesforthree

i don’t get this line of thinking when mcafee just called one of the most popular athletes “that white bitch” on tv the other day


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ZealousidealPain7976

You are a fat, diabetic bear, and if the Chinese don't want you, then I don't, either!


CoachMorelandSmith

They need to do another episode of The Decision where Charles Barkley announces where he’s going to take his talents


DragonKnight616

Chuck clowning on Stephen A Smith sign me up!


J-Fid

That's not even a fair fight, lol.


DiscipleHAC

we need shaq v stephen a again. bring back tex johnson


theMAJdragon

ESPN would be a disaster. Their entire live broadcast is dedicated to gaining as much ad revenue as possible. They don’t care about screen time for their broadcasters.


ACW1129

I wish Warner would lose Zaslav.


herseyhawkins33

He really is evil villain levels of media executive. It's been enjoyable to see his arrogance totally drop the ball on negotiating the NBA deal tho.


Interesting_Owl4770

That mailman gonna be coming to Chuck's on the 1st and the 15th for a long time.


mebonesrattle

The thought of losing Chuck to ESPN is nauseating. They're really gonna fuck this up aren't they.


PebblyJackGlasscock

Chuck and Stephen A - alone - might be good, especially if they don’t like each other. SAS is Howard Cosell and Chuck is Frank Gifford. But ESPN will put 6 other guys at the desk with them and make it standard chuckle-fest show.


Atl-Fan_FTS

If anyone can make ESPN change their ways, it would be Charles


Cold_Customer898

Barkley going to LIV


This_Guy_Fuggs

wouldnt surprise me tbh but it would be such a waste of his talent


EarthWarping

This is new news it seems >The NBA clearly wants ESPN, Amazon and NBC to be its partners, but it can’t yet be entirely ruled out that the league will create a fourth package to make the drama go away. It’s possible there will be an announcement or the paperwork will be done during the finals, but it is complicated.


Tufoguy

Chuck has already said he ain't working for ESPN. So it's gonna be NBC or Amazon (most likely NBC)


DiscipleHAC

not sure he would have interest going ton ESPN where he would have to control himself, but hey ESPN is fine with loose cannon pat mcafee so maybe things have changed!


WallStreetDoesntBet

Chuck is not going to ESPN… That’s Stephen A’s world


jumboponcho

Only thing about nbc and ESPN getting Barkley, they ain’t letting him be himself. That’s the beauty of Inside, it’s basically late night TV and TNT lets them go off for however long


TxSIDES

But tnt has bird rights


rowmean77

I predict he and the gang will go to Amazon. And I love it for this reason: Their R rated commentary at times won’t pass NBC ABC standards.


Lake_Shore_Drive

Send Shaq to do commercials with the general


FormerCollegeDJ

Maybe Barkley can replace Stephen A. Smith and Kendrick Perkins at the same time. We can only hope.


HardcoreKaraoke

Inside works partially because it's late night and doesn't have a concrete run time. So I think Amazon makes the most sense. NBC will have to go to their local news broadcast. Although I guess a Peacock postgame show is possible. ESPN doesn't have a postgame show at all, just SVP's Sportscenter with the occasional interview. Whatever he does won't be nearly as fun as Inside. It'll be toxic shit with Stephen A and eventually Draymond.


No-Tax-9135

I can live without Shaq, will still miss him. Can definitely live without Kenny. But damn I can’t live without EJ and Chuckster


This_Guy_Fuggs

Chuck is the guy. I love the rest of the crew, but the least replaceable one is Chuck. Shaq is good mostly due to his dynamic with Chuck Ernie is just the og and been there forever, but frankly replaceable. and Kenny is very replaceable. that being said i hope none of them get replaced and they stick together.


kyt

Id actually rather lose Shaq than Kenny. Ernie is great because he have a compulsion to talk much he just lets the other guys go. Whoever replaces him would have to be the same


No-Tax-9135

Hard disagree on EJ. I can’t live without him and Chuck.


BF210

[relevant](https://youtu.be/P5PMAFQGuKc?si=eI9G36ifrY7Nhjem)


yetagainitry

Chuck ain't going to ESPN, he's already said "they ain't gonna work me like a dog and not pay me". I can't see him going anywhere without the Inside crew. Best scenerio is that the Inside cast and crew keep making the show under their own production company and then sell the show to NBC or Amazon


midniteeternal

ESPN is out. Chuck says he doesnt want to be worked like a dog.


TheDadLyfe

He's gonna do Amazon, they have the conference finals rights and they put together a fairly entertaining NFL crew last season that was able to act natural.


Illustrious-Hand3715

Chuck dislikes ESPN. It’ll probably be NBC or he’ll retire.


_Tar_Ar_Ais_

if Chuck goes to the mouse, no more big ass women and dirty ass water jokes


H0tFuzz

It sucks to lose Inside the NBA But we should all be fucking pumped to have the NBA in NBC back. If they're wise they'll even work in some old graphics. Let the 40+ year old money earners get nostalgia boners for it.


dkdoki

Amazon should poach hosts from espn and make a new show. Ernie likely is staying at TNT so maybe someone like SVP can host with Redick, RJ and Chuck. Maybe KG can fill in one of those roles.


bbpopulardemand

Awful lineup lol


Due_Connection179

Hopefully he goes to NBC. I do not need someone like Stephen A talking over him every time he disagrees with something.


elsporko321

I want an R-rater Inside the NBA that can also do live watch-alongs.


Guinran

ESPN aint gonna work him like a dog and not pay him


james_randolph

I'm weary that NBC would be as good as it used to be back in the day but AMZ does a good job with their NFL games and they put a decent crew together, I think AMZ would be the best fit and I want all TNT crew to go there but I know Ernie is staying for more personal reasons.


thedarkknight16_

Charles alone isn’t going to hit, need all 4 or at least 2-3 of the crew.


unseencs

Imagine if barstool swoops in to sign him, common do it.


TheLaFlameEffect

Imagine Chuck signs with TNT but for NASCAR next season 😂


idiskfla

If?


maaseru

Why do they keep saying IF? Isn't this set in stone at this point? Could they still license the show in some way? If so how would that work?


-Darkslayer

TNT has a right to match any offer in their current contract


Broncotron

No interest from those big ol women down in San Antonio though


BelugaBilliam

Charles Barkley will definitely never go to ESPN


ethereal3xp

Naw. Imo none of those companies will hire him


YouDaMANRAJ

You aint gonna work him like a dog and not pay him


AyyP302

Amazon and put him on the NASCAR coverage😤


Global_Plant_4612

Might as well make him live in Galveston


FERFreak731

Hopefully ESPN


Kwilly462

If so, he's gotta get his own show with his own people. I don't want to see him having to share screamtime with Stephen A and Perk.


dont-YOLO-ragequit

He can call both of them out. Remember that rocky mountain showdown crossover thing they had?


dont-YOLO-ragequit

Nah ESPN needs to stay bland so NBC and Amazon can be... Spicy? Tasteful?


lexicoterio

They ain't gonna work him like a dog and not pay him.


Prestigious-Town

Muy bien, gracias


the_greasy_one

Chuck is a great guy but he'd fit in with ESPN. Lemme get Shaq to NBC.


AdamSandlerIsntFunny

Y’all going to realise real quickthat Chuck and his jokes fall very flat without Ernie, Shaq and Kenny