Gilbert Arenas blasts Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal amid Inside the NBA shutdown rumors

But, former NBA All-Star and “Gil’s Arena”  podcast host Gilbert Arenas isn’t moved by the rumors of Inside The NBA being canceled. In the latest edition of his podcast, Arenas suggests the show’s possible demise is due to a lack of original content creation, mainly reacting to other ex-NBA podcasters like himself.

“This is why they all should have been known they were going to get packed up at some point. When athletes start podcasting and then the show itself starts using the people’s podcast and content to respond on their platforms means they’re behind the eight-ball on it. Because at some point it’s like why do we need the secondhand, let’s just go straight to the creators of it. So they’re getting beat to the information all over the board and they’re just in reaction mode. And that’s usually what’s been happening.”

Gilbert Arena’s remarks regarding athlete-led podcasts becoming content leaders in sports are somewhat valid. However, his speculation on the potential conclusion of “Inside The NBA” misses the mark. The show remains popular with fans showing continued enthusiasm for its content. Any potential discontinuation would likely stem from Warner Brothers Discovery and TNT Sports losing NBA rights. Even in such a scenario, Turner might find a way to sustain the show’s presence, even without NBA games as a backdrop.

Warner Brothers Discovery is currently engaged in intense negotiations with NBCUniversal over NBA broadcasting rights, with NBC seemingly holding the advantage. NBCUniversal is making a competitive bid of $2.5 billion per year to secure a package of games. The league recently ended its exclusive negotiation period with its current media partners, Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery, on April 22. Subsequently, the league has outlined plans to continue with Disney, introduce Amazon as a new partner, and allocate its remaining package to either Warner Bros. Discovery or NBCUniversal, as reported by sources familiar with the situation.

Under the current rights deal, Warner Bros. Discovery had been paying $1.2 billion per year to air NBA games. The new package will be significantly higher than the previous package and will include fewer games as the NBA looks to bring in Amazon as a third media rights partner. Warner Brothers Discovery has the option to match NBCUniversal’s offer, yet the NBA seems to be considering NBCUniversal as a partner because of its increased capabilities.

NBCUniversal has a broadcast channel in NBC, which Warner Brothers Discovery lacks as they only own cable channels such as TNT and TruTV. NBC also has several local affiliates that already have local media rights for several NBA games during the regular season and could prove to be an asset for the NBA as they sort through how they’ll handle NBA League Pass and the local broadcast of games in the future.

Warner Brothers Discovery and NBCUniversal both offer streaming services – Max and Peacock, respectively. Peacock excels as a sports content hub with live WWE events, college sports, Olympic competitions, and exclusive NFL games, including the Peacock-exclusive Dolphins vs. Chiefs AFC Divisional Round matchup in January. The cross-promotional opportunities, including visibility on NBC’s tentpole programming such as Sunday Night Football and their Olympics coverage, could prove to help the NBA scale and further expand its reach.

Things are not confirmed yet regarding the NBA & NBCUniversal’s renewed partnership, but “Inside The NBA” continues to generate popular shows that attract fans. Gilbert Arenas is incorrect in his claim.