Charles Barkley Sounds Alarm Bells for NBA Fans as $77 Billion TV Rights Deal is About to Start

Hall of Famer Charles Barkley is concerned the NBA's new media rights deal might end up becoming too expensive for the casual fan.

Charles Barkley Sounds Alarm Bells for NBA Fans as $77 Billion TV Rights Deal is About to Start

Charles Barkley worried for NBA fans (Image via FirstSportz)

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Charles Barkley and his Inside the NBA crew are set to resume their show on ESPN. This was the only way to continue the show after parent company Warner Bros. Discovery decided not to bid to continue their exclusive NBA rights.

The network decided it was best if they did not have to spend billions every year and would rather focus on spending that money on other sports and programs.

The NBA was looking to make the most of its next media rights deal, and ultimately signed on the dotted line of a new $77 billion deal with NBC, ESPN, and Amazon Prime Video.

The deal, which will give the league more than $7 billion a year, will help teams invest in player development, facilities, and additional infrastructure etc.

However, Barkley believes the league, due to its greediness, is about to force its fans into spending a lot of money just to watch games. That, as he detailed while on The Ringer with Bill Simmons, could end up alienating fans.

I think the NBA’s got a big problem. Sometimes the game is going to be on Peacock. It’s not going to be on NBC. I don’t think they give a s**t about the fans. I think this is going to come back to bite them.

Charles Barkley said

The Hall of Famer then added that the scary part is that this new media rights deal is going to continue for the next 11 years. He thinks that by the end of it, most of the fans would have stopped watching the games, as it would become too expensive.

Mark Cuban agrees fans are going to get priced out of NBA games

The concern for fans being priced out of the NBA is serious. President Donald Trump mentioned that sports had become prohibitively expensive for the average fan and wants to fix it. Dallas Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban revealed how fans are getting priced out.

The fact that private equity is buying into so many teams is a problem. The first 20 years, I was an owner, I and other owners would push for fan experience, make it affordable, now it’s all about valuations. If you are trying to just jack up ticket prices, jack up merchandise sales, that’s not necessarily best for fans. Fans are getting priced out, and that’s an issue.

Mark Cuban said

The billionaire, while on The Arena, added that the league needed to do whatever it takes to safeguard its fans. Otherwise, the game could get too expensive over time, and fans might start walking away from it.

NBA fans might shift to other forms of sports for entertainment

The NBA already struggles with the constant comparisons with past eras. Fans keep talking about how the over-reliance on 3-point shots has diluted the fun from the game.

Adam Silver hopes Cooper Flagg and the new generation keeps the NBA entertaining
Adam Silver hopes Cooper Flagg and the new generation keeps the NBA entertaining (Image via BasketNews/X)

To make matters worse, Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, and other veteran players, along with the media’s old guard, Skip Bayless, Stephen A. Smith, and their peers, join in to criticize the current game.

That gives fans even more impetus to continue making fun of today’s game, which will invariably start to impact the narratives associated with the league.

Commissioner Adam Silver has been vocal about the negative discourses in the media, knowing how it is different in other sports. That could be a problem if it is not addressed.

Along with increasing prices, a fan has to spend to get their value from an NBA game; it could all combine to snowball into a major problem. Other leagues, such as the NFL, NHL, and even the league’s sister concern, the WNBA, give better value for a fan’s money.

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