The mourning has already begun with next season potentially being the last of Inside the NBA. With the NBA media rights tilting toward NBC, the celebrated crew of Ernie Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith, and Charles Barkley might disband forever. Think of all the fond memories the group has unconditionally provided to millions. It’s all set to wither away. The gloominess increased after Turner acquired rights for college football using funds that could have been directed to re-acquire the NBA. However, fans are still holding on to an intangible hope with TNT’s right to match as well as Barkley’s relieving claim.

“Somebody suggested that to me, to be honest with you, on the internet — ‘So why doesn’t Charles Barkley sign these three, guys four guys total to his production company and sell it?’ I’m like, ‘That’s a great idea,’” Barkley said on the Dan Patrick Show. It established some optimism within the fans. But is it possible for Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal to replicate Inside the NBA, a show run by Warner Bros. Discovery (worth almost $20 billion) single-handedly?

Recently, our NBA enthusiast Vishal Kolar had another conversation with Leonard Armato, ex-agent of Shaq. Together, they discussed the multiple Hypotheticals possible for the crew and whether Barkley can truly keep the show going with his own production company.

Vishal: “What a crazy situation but correct me if I am wrong. Is this a situation where Charles Barkley and Shaq could even just co-produce Inside the NBA themselves? Let’s say bring it under a production company. What if Netflix or another platform hosts it and they have everyone tune-in before or after a game to their live stream right? Could be a Shannon Sharpe, Chad OchoCinco situation where they are streaming their thoughts after the game and it kind of takes a life its own.”

Armato: “I don’t think so. I think Barkley said that was sort of out of nothing. Let me tell you why. Inside the NBA is a big production. It’s an expensive production. And it takes up a lot of time on TNT and gets a lot of advertising support. So you have to pay these guys a whole bunch of money to be on that show. And TNT generates a lot of revenue because of that show. So Shaq, Charles and Kenny, etc need a big platform, a big distributing platform to justify the scale of the compensation, of the production. So I don’t see them doing this little like alternative cast that they would on their own. It just wouldn’t be enough money and enough distribution to attach to. I could see Adam Silver saying ‘NBC, if you want this deal I want you to take you know, this crew as is’. Now, I know that I think it was Ernie who said he was not going to leave TNT. No matter what, he’s going to retire there. But Shaq and Charles and Kenny, that’s a pretty good trio right there. So we will see what happens. It will be really interesting.”

Despite the diverse and rich fortunes of both Barkley and Shaq, it’s nearly impossible to compensate all those needed to keep Inside the NBA running. From just the broadcasters alone, Charles Barkley and Big Diesel were each earning $10 million every year with their new deal. Additionally, the show operates on a large scale in terms of its logistics and technical requirements. As for advertisement support, Inside the NBA was generating millions. According to Fortune, Warner Bros. Discovery could lose over $270 million in ad revenue if the show ceases to exist. That only leaves one possibility to enjoy the unique dynamic and genuine bond of the crew. They would have to switch networks.

As Armato pointed out, Ernie Johnson, having stayed with Turner for over 3o years, will most likely not move. However, even in the previous episode with Armato, he touched on the powers of the NBA commissioner in keeping the Inside the NBA crew minus Johnson together. The real question is, would they want to go on without their mediator? Johnson is someone who completes the crew. He is the peacemaker amidst the chaos and the longest-serving member of the crew. Without him, the essence of the show is lost. Hence, there is a chance the trio of NBA legends deny to do the show without Johnson.

Why matching rights isn’t doing well for TNT?

NBC’s Comcast, the current favorite to acquire the last of the NBA’s media rights, put in a $2.5 billion offer. WBD CEO David Zaslav felt in the worst of cases, they could still match the sum and re-acquire the NBA. But as it has transpired, that isn’t the case. As Armato mentions in the conversation, “he knew he could match any offer. But the interesting thing is that matching rights are not as powerful today as they used to be.”

With NBC, the NBA games they get under media rights will be distributed via their broadcast channel. On the other hand, TNT doesn’t have a broadcast network of its own. Hence, the league is likely to get greater exposure with the NBC deal. That’s one of the reasons Silver has asked Zaslav to pay more than the $2.5 billion offer from NBC to compensate for the loss of exposure and diverse audience base. Further complexities have arrived after reports claimed Warner Bros. Discovery can’t match Amazon’s $1.8 billion bid as per the agreements in their contract.

TNT’s forty-year history with the NBA is hanging by a thread. A 17-time Emmy-winning show, an impeccable crew, and the laughter of millions might just be over in a year. This is all from this segment of our conversation with Armato. Be sure to be on the lookout for more stories from Episode 2 with the super agent.