Our long, national sports media nightmare may soon be over. Charles Barkley is finally set to get some answers from ESPN.
After nearly a year of listening to [Barkley complain about not knowing](https://awfulannouncing.com/espn/charles-barkley-disconcerted-inside-nba-transition.html) how _Inside the NBA’s_ deal with ESPN is going to work, ESPN is ready to offer an explainer. Barkley recently joined _The Smylie Show_ with Smylie Kaufman to discuss the Ryder Cup. And during the interview, Kaufman asked about _Inside the NBA_, prompting Barkley to criticize the deal with ESPN again, specifically regarding a lack of communication from ESPN and TNT on how the deal would work. However, Barkley did offer the caveat that ESPN will communicate later this month.
“There’s been a lack of communications from everybody because I don’t think nobody knows what’s going to happen to be honest,” Barkley said. “The best part of our show is that 45 minutes to an hour, we get to go crazy after the game. That’s the best part of our show. Our question, which we haven’t gotten an answer for is, do we have to go right to _SportsCenter_? Or when we’re on ABC, do we have to go right to local? Those are two important questions that we’re actually getting together in about two weeks and going to finally sit down with ESPN face to face and say, ‘Hey, can you tell us how this thing is gonna work?’”
“We’re gonna get together, I think it’s the 24th (September), they sent out a mass email saying, ‘Hey, can you guys be in Atlanta? ESPN is going to come down and wants to explain everything.’”
ESPN has insisted it won’t interfere with _Inside the NBA_, planning to give them ample postgame time while also letting TNT Sports maintain editorial control of the show. However, even if ESPN leaves _Inside the NBA_ alone, the show will still be different. It will have a less consistent schedule, air at a different time, and for a different duration.
On TNT, there were nights _when Inside the NBA_ would run two hours of postgame coverage, not signing off until 2 a.m. ET. And some of the show’s best content often came in those early morning hours, when Barkley and Shaq start to worry even less about who might be watching. ESPN could refrain from interfering with _Inside the NBA_ but still remove some of the show’s best content, as the show is likely to air at 2 a.m. ET this season.
Last month, reports stated ESPN was [planning to allot just a 30-minute window](https://awfulannouncing.com/espn/charles-barkley-inside-the-nba-licensing-deal-tnt-sucks.html) for _Inside the NBA_ postgame. That window, however, was more of a placeholder and still subject to change. ESPN also has the option to move the show over to one of its other platforms. Obviously, Barkley, Shaq, Ernie Johnson, and Kenny Smith aren’t going to be on ABC for two hours after an NBA game. But they could move to ESPN or even ESPN’s new direct-to-consumer app for a more robust postgame show than ABC can offer.
Whatever ESPN’s decision is, hopefully, they will relay it to Barkley and the rest of the _Inside_ crew during their scheduled meeting later this month. And perhaps ESPN can convince Barkley to stop criticizing the deal.