“I don’t want to die on TV,” Charles Barkley said about his wish to retire. Barkley initially planned to retire at 60 to avoid the grind of full-time work. So, a less hectic schedule works out for the basketball legend. But there’s another condition, he doesn’t want to leave the company he has worked with for nearly two decades. As a result, he turned down a $100 million deal, including offers from NBC, a key player in the NBA’s $76 billion media rights agreement. Considering the current scenario with Turner and ESPN, will Chuck regret this big decision?

As the NBA signed its biggest deal, TNT failed to acquire NBA broadcasting rights. Now, Inside the NBA, the show featuring Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal has fallen into jeopardy. After Turner’s legal battle with the NBA, the network secured a deal, moving the show to ESPN. While Chuck has yet to confirm his deal with ESPN, he has already refused deals with NBC. 

“I’m informing NBC that I will not accept their offer. I’m gonna cancel future meetings with Amazon. … My heart is always and will be at Turner Sports,” Barkley said on The Steam Room podcast. Speaking of where Chuck’s loyalty lies, the TNT as well as ESPN have faced a sudden drop in the viewership ratings. As per Sports Media Watch, the NBA viewership across ABC, ESPN, and TNT has dropped by 19% as compared to last year. With a drop in ratings across these giants, networks are scrambling to retain viewers

Can NBC solve the problem?

As the league enters the second half of the season, the viewership across ESPN and TNT has dropped to 1.76 million viewers per game. And this is a 5% decline as compared to the second half of the last season. This decline comes as the NBA prepares to enter the first year of its new media rights deal. While it looks gloomy, there’s some hope just like Silver mentioned. The 5 percent decline could be because of the 11% drop across TNT’s platforms. ESPN saw a massive hike in rating during Christmas as five of the games were also broadcasted on ABC. 

The league is all set to kick off the 11-year deal which will bring Amazon Prime Video, NBC, and more as new rights holders. And this shift could likely bring a positive change in the ratings. With a larger free-TV audience than TNT, NBC could help improve ratings. Peacock streaming, along with NBC’s return to the NBA, is likely to boost viewership.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver also expressed his views on the ratings and highlighted, “We’re almost at the inflection point where people are watching more programming on streaming than they are in traditional television.” Commissioner Silver also believes that the new deal with NBC and more will help increase the ratings.

“And it’s a reason why for our new television deals, which will enter into next year, every game is going to be available on a streaming service. And as we move to streaming service, putting aside how the actual game is played on the floor, it’s going to allow us from a production standpoint to do all kinds of things that you can’t do through traditional television.” he emphasized. 

With NBC’s expansive reach and streaming strategy, it could be the future of NBA broadcasting. But for Barkley, does that even matter? At 61, he isn’t chasing bigger audiences, he’s prioritizing his comfort.

Will it have any impact on Charles Barkley?

The Phoenix Suns legend’s priority at the age of 61 is less workload. Though he considered NBC and Amazon, he has since stopped exploring other options. “I’m hoping this thing comes together and I can stay with TNT and ESPN, but as I’ve said it’s all going to be dictated on my work only. I’m not going to work more as I get older. And I’m going to sit down with ESPN and TNT more because I just need to know if I’m going to continue working. That’s my only decision going forward, how much I’m going to work,” Chuck clarified on his podcast.

Speaking of the workload, NBC is likely to do more than one show a week and this probably won’t fit in Chuck’s schedule. With the new deal, ESPN is too likely to benefit from ratings. Chuck won’t probably regret his decision as long as he is satisfied with the workload. Moreover, the NBA has seen impressive growth in digital engagement. The league’s social media content has generated 83.5 billion views this year. As per Videocites, it has been a 41% increase from last year.

There was pressure on the NBA to improve the 2025 NBA All-Star. After last year’s disappointing performance, the league decided to introduce a new format in hopes of elevating the ratings. The league had also initially planned a 3-point contest featuring Klay Thompson and Caitlin Clark just like the last year’s event featuring Stephen Curry and Sabrina Ionescu. However, the WNBA star refused.

Mac McClung’s Slam Dunk Contest performance was the highlight of the event but it didn’t seem to help the viewership. As per FOS media, the event garnered only 4.7 million viewers across TNT platforms. However, as Silver promised, the league has continued to put more focus on boosting the TV viewership. While there is a drop through traditional broadcasts, the NBA remains highly popular. And so, given the entire situation, it is unlikely for Chuck to regret his decision.

Charles Barkley isn’t losing sleep over turning down NBC, and why would he? He’s made it clear. His priority isn’t chasing bigger audiences or following the NBA’s broadcast shake-up. It’s about working on his own terms. While NBC’s reach might help the league’s ratings, Barkley’s staying where he’s comfortable.

Whether ESPN’s move pays off or not, one thing’s for sure – Chuck will call it quits when he decides, not when the TV networks do