Charles Barkley has once again given the NBA a piece of his mind, this time tearing into the league’s massive new media rights deal. Beginning with the 2025–26 season, the NBA will officially move into an 11-year, $75 billion arrangement with Disney (ESPN/ABC), NBC/Peacock, and Amazon Prime Video.
While the numbers look historic on paper, Barkley believes the league has made things unnecessarily complicated for fans and he’s not holding back.
Speaking on Bill Simmons’ podcast, Barkley laid out what he sees as a looming problem: the chaos of juggling multiple streaming services just to catch an NBA game.
Charles Barkley: “I think the NBA’s got a big problem. How are regular fans gonna like, okay, it’s Tuesday. Especially when they start putting games on. Well, like, you know, sometimes the game’s gonna be on Peacock. And like, it’s not gonna be on NBC. I think that’s a huge dilemma for the NBA.”
Bill Simmons: “Guess what? They don’t care. They got so much money, they’re gonna wipe their tears with cash.”
Charles Barkley: “Bill, I’m so glad you said that. I think it’s a big deal. Because they just took all the money from all three networks. I don’t think they give a f**k about the fans. And I think this is gonna come back to bite them, to be honest with you. And then the thing that’s scary, this deal is for 11 years.”
“So now people complain all they want to. For the next 11 years, they don’t give a s**t about the fans. They’re like, y’all, if y’all find the game’s fine, just make sure the check clears.”
For decades, fans knew they could tune into TNT for Tuesday and Thursday games, or ESPN for Wednesdays and Fridays. With the new deal, that simplicity is gone.
Sunday games will be split between ABC and NBC/Peacock, Monday games will stream exclusively on Peacock, Tuesdays will also fall to NBC/Peacock, Wednesdays to ESPN, Thursdays on Amazon Prime, and Fridays and Saturdays split between Prime, ESPN, and ABC.
It’s a dizzying schedule that requires fans to subscribe to three platforms at minimum, on top of potentially keeping NBA League Pass.
Bill Simmons summed it up bluntly, telling Barkley the NBA has “so much money, they’re gonna wipe their tears with cash.” That response highlights the central tension: while the deal guarantees the league and its players even larger paydays, it risks alienating the very people who make the NBA’s global popularity possible.
The shift also marks the end of an era. TNT, home of Inside the NBA for over two decades, lost its rights under this new package. The fate of the beloved studio show remains unclear, further fueling fan frustration.
Barkley’s critique touches on more than nostalgia, it’s about accessibility. As he and others have pointed out, the average fan now faces higher costs. Estimates suggest that following just one team for an entire season could cost over $1,300 annually in subscriptions.
That kind of price tag may be sustainable for diehards but could alienate casual viewers, potentially damaging the league’s long-term reach.
The NBA is banking on star power and competitive games to keep fans engaged, but Barkley believes the league has underestimated how frustrating fragmented scheduling will be. His words echo a wider fan sentiment: while the NBA’s owners and players cash in, regular fans are left paying more for less convenience.
As Barkley sees it, the NBA has prioritized money over loyalty. Whether or not he’s right, one thing is certain: the next 11 years will test how far fans are willing to go to keep up with their favorite game.
