Shaquille O’Neal Appears Hopeful About TNT Matching Amazon’s $1.8 Billion Media Bid

After months of disappointment for Inside the NBA fans, there’s finally a glimmer of hope that they can hold on to. The iconic show is on the verge of going off air after the 2024-25 NBA season. However, recently, Shaquille O’Neal posted an update on his Instagram account that suggests that TNT might still be in the race for NBA TV rights alongside Amazon. As per the update, TNT’s parent company WBD is set to match Amazon’s $1.8 billion bid.

Shaq’s update on IG read, “TNT will match Amazon’s $1.8B NBA media package bid. NBA now must decide which network to move forward with.”

Previously, it looked like TNT would not be able to match Amazon’s bid. So the NBA on TNT broadcast was set to go off air as their current contract is set to expire next year. However, they announced on Monday that they will invoke matching clause, placing a bid for parts of the broadcasting rights.

Shaq doesn't want Inside the NBA to discontinue 🤞🏻 pic.twitter.com/kcw4DTnqlM

— Ballerz Worldwide (@ballaznba) July 23, 2024

The idea of the show going off air has created a huge uproar on social media, which includes fans and celebrities pleading the involved authorities to figure out a way to keep the show going. While many feared that this will be the end of Inside the NBA, it seems like the fans still have something to look forward to.

As of now, it’s not clear what will be included in the part bid that TNT has proposed. Regardless, it’s news that’ll be welcomed by NBA fans.

As per a report by The Washington Post, a source close to the negotiation proceedings believes that the TNT’s parent company is willing to fight tooth and nail to keep the show running on their network. However, the current situation becomes a bit trickier considering Charles Barkley has already made up his mind about leaving the show.

Charles Barkley is calling it quits

Moving the goal post on his retirement is not a new subject for Sir Charles. His previous target to retire from work and enjoy his life was 60, but then he signed a decade long contract with TNT. At the age of 61, the Chuckster is still a working professional.

But he believes that it’s time to call it quits and enjoy the next phase of his life. The complications that came up with TNT potentially losing NBA TV rights made him less interested in continuing in this field of work.

He has previously made it clear that if Inside the NBA goes off air, he will not join another network and that’ll be pretty much the end of his TV career. Since he has had that thought for a while now, it’ll be interesting to see what Chuck thinks of his career now that TNT is back in the race of bagging NBA rights.