Could Charles Barkley and Stephen A. Smith co-anchor a show after the NBA/ESPN deal? Insiders weigh in on Alt-Casts

On November 26, 2024By Pranco

After cancellation reports swirled Within the NBATNT’s long-running talk show received good news in early November. The Warner Bros. Discovery network has reached a historic deal to air the show on ESPN beginning in the 2025-2026 TV season. It’s an exciting development, but it also raises some questions. One of them is whether or not you like it Charles Barkel or Ernie Johnson could end up co-anchoring with Stephen A. Smith or Kendrick Perkins. Now insiders are dropping claims about alt-casts.

How will Alt-Casts reportedly be handled after the ESPN-TNT deal?

For those unfamiliar with the aforementioned term: alternative broadcasts or ‘alt-casts’ or programs that aim to provide unique coverage of certain events. This specific situation would obviously relate to reporting on athletic competitions. In the wake of ESPN and WBD’s deal for Within the NBAit appears the latter is now having “early discussions” about using the show’s cast for other programs. As noted by Front office sportssuch a move would align with the company’s content strategy.

So if TNT’s host quartet were used in such ways, that would theoretically mean Charles Barkley could mix it up with Stephen A. Smith on a show like NBA Countdown. With that same thought, the network could even produce original content that could put Shaquille O’Neal on a panel with Kendrick Perkins or Kenny Smith with Chiney Ogwumike. The possibilities would theoretically be endless in that regard.

As interesting as all that may sound, there’s still the question of whether alt-casts are even possible as far as the Within the NBA talent concerns. Well, based on what another source had to say, we might want to slow down on speculating about cross-pollination among panelists.

Why can it be difficult to produce Alt-Casts?

A source outside of ESPN also told FOS that it may not actually be possible to create alt-casts that utilize the Inside alumni. That’s because such productions would apparently conflict with the deal that Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery had closed. Under that agreement, Ernie Johnson and co. remain employees of TNT and would continue to act only as part of content related to the network/WBD.

Nevertheless, there may be a possibility that a solution or adjustment can be made, especially if a legitimate interest is involved. FOS also notes that the ever-vocal Charles Barkley could even help move that initiative forward if he sees fit. However, that’s all purely speculation at this point. It is also worth noting that since then InsideThe future is now determined Barkley is “back to kissing ass” at TNT after months of wanted to say things about the fate of the show.

The deal that has been concluded is for eleven years and will be used by ESPN Within the NBA for a variety of purposes, including coverage of the NBA Finals, Christmas Day games and more. It has also been determined that the show will continue to be produced by TNT Sports and broadcast from its studio in Atlanta. All four panelists will likely remain in the group, even if they have been claimed Shaq is frustrated as he is still due to renew his contract amid the outpouring of “congratulations” on the deal.

It was unclear whether Within the NBA would switch to another network if TNT loses the broadcast rights to the basketball league of the same name, and as a fan I’m happy that it will continue to exist for a while. Personally, I don’t have a great need for talent to transfer to other programs. After all, Charles Barkley and Shaq’s antics are wild enough without Stephen A. Smith or any other ESPN talent in the mix.