King reason Barkley mulling CNN show
CHARLES Barkley is only considering a CNN show because he could have his own TV news version of a superteam.
“They are trying to pair Gayle King and me,” Barkley told The Post. “We don’t have anything set in stone. I’m only considering it because of my respect for Gayle.”
A potential Barkley-King show would not be a daily show for a variety of reasons — not the least of which is that Barkley is not going to do that.
“That is never going to happen,” Barkley said.
Puck, a digital media platform, previously reported CNN’s interest in King, who is under contract to CBS, and Barkley, but not with the two on the same program. The idea that Barkley might do a daily program also had been implied.
Barkley, who just turned 60, had previously spoken about retiring at this point in his career. Instead, he signed a 10-year contract with Warner Brothers Discovery, the parent company of TNT and TBS, that is believed to be in the range of Tony Romo’s $180 million CBS deal. If WBD Sports doesn’t keep the NBA when its contract expires after the 2024-25 season, Barkley likely would be able to become a TV free agent and would assuredly be wanted by new partners of the league.
Nevertheless, Barkley has a loyalty to WBD, which also owns CNN.
“I just want to help the company because obviously it is a s--t show right now,” Barkley said. “Anything I can do to help.”
Chris Licht, the CEO of CNN, is reportedly casting a large net to try to revive the network. Barkley, arguably the greatest sports studio analyst of all time, has often opined on other subjects through the years.
Though Barkley’s genuine and honest personality is one of the reasons for his success, not being overexposed also has helped make his opinions stand out as the media environment increasingly becomes crowded.
The weekly “Inside the NBA” is led by Barkley’s personality, but the magic happens because of how Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith work off of it, with host Ernie Johnson running the point.
As for King, she is a favorite of Licht from their time together at CBS in the 2010s. King already has a job each weekday on “CBS Mornings.”
Barkley’s friendship with King was developed through Oprah Winfrey after Barkley appeared on Winfrey’s show.
If the partnership with King were to come to fruition, it likely would not be until the fall, at the earliest. Right now, Barkley is preparing for the NCAA Tournament, which will be followed by the NBA playoffs.
Barkley would need King to commit before he would go forward with a weekly news assignment.
“It would be an honor and a privilege to work with Gayle,” Barkley said.