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Former NBA superstar Charles Barkley took some swipes at the "boneheads" he worked with at CNN following his brief hosting stint for the network. Barkley, a longtime NBA analyst for CNN's sister network TNT, was recruited last year alongside CBS News' Gayle King to co-host an experimental weekly primetime show "King Charles," which ended last month. On Thursday's installment of "The Mike Missanelli Podcast," Barkley pushed back at the media's assertions that his show was "canceled" despite the fact that CNN had always billed "King Charles" as a limited series since its launch last November. "You know the type of boneheads I work with?" Barkley began. "First of all, it wasn’t canceled. I talk to Gayle all the time. They haven’t told us we were canceled. That’s how stupid these people are… I was always only gonna do that for a short period of time and then I was gonna go back to the NBA. So, me and Gayle, like– this is how boneheaded these people are, I work with."
Adam Silver: Social media is not a substitute for watching live games
Joining hosts Charles Barkley and Gayle King on CNN’s King Charles this week, Adam Silver explained his view of streamers entering the NBA broadcasting ecosystem in its new rights package. “We’ve got to think about how we’re going to produce and present our games in a way where they are going to be easily accessible,” Silver said, referencing the NFL’s success on streaming platforms such as Prime Video and Peacock. “You must talk to fans all the time who don’t get cable. They feast on social media, and our players are incredibly popular there, but it’s not a substitute for watching live games.”
CNN’s gamble to pair loudmouth basketball commentator Charles Barkley with morning news star Gayle King in prime time has been a disaster in the ratings — even losing out to reruns of old “Friends” and “South Park” episodes. Since its debut in late November, viewership has dropped 20% for “King Charles,” the weekly call-in talk show that airs on the Warner Bros. Discovery-owned news network Wednesdays at 10 p.m. Eastern time.
The reign of King Charles — the CNN show, not the British monarch — began rather quietly Wednesday. The weekly show, hosted by Gayle King and Charles Barkley, drew just 501,00 viewers for its debut, according to same-day Nielsen ratings (it adjusted up a little from 486,000 in fast nationals). It finished a distant third among the biggest cable news channels in total viewers and didn’t really moving the needle from CNN’s recent averages in the hour. In fact, it ranks as the smallest audience of any of CNN’s primetime debuts this year.
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Charles Barkley is hoping CNN won’t sink his meteoric broadcasting career. Coming this fall, Barkley will be hosting a show on the struggling news network alongside Gayle King. “Apparently, with this new talk show, I’m jumping on the Titanic,” Barkley said during an appearance on the NHL on TNT. “Everybody keeps saying ‘abort, abort.’ No, no. I am looking forward to it. Gayle is awesome.”
Charles Barkley will host new weekly show on CNN
CNN will be the home to a new weekly prime-time show featuring Gayle King and Charles Barkley, the news network announced on Saturday. King and Barkley sat down together on TNT’s NBA Tip-Off Saturday to discuss the details of the live show, titled King Charles, which is set to air on Wednesdays.
“I want the show to be nonpolitical,” said Barkley, though he added that the show would touch on politics. “You know (Gayle King) is going to be a straight shooter. I’m going to be a straight shooter,” he added. “I know she’s going to be fair and honest and you know I’m going to do the same thing.”
According to Barkley, “CNN is struggling” and approached him about the possible show. “It would only be one day a week if I decide to do it,” Barkley told Bickley and Marotta. “I said, ‘no, I don’t want to be on TV more, I want to be on TV less!’” Once CNN suggested pairing him with Gayle King, who Barkley knows through their mutual friendship with Oprah Winfrey, the Inside the NBA host became interested. But he remained curious about King’s willingness to take on another job.
Basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley is still in talks with CNN about a potential weekly show, but only for the opportunity to work with Gayle King, he tells DailyMail.com.
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Oprah Winfrey's best friend Gayle King has said she would place a bet on the veteran talk show host buying the embattled LA Clippers basketball team in the near future. The CBS 'This Morning' presenter, 59, who has long been a confidante and business partner of Ms Winfrey, said 'If I was a betting man I'd say yes', when asked if her friend would buy the team. Since current Clippers owner Donald Sterling was banned for life by NBA commissioner Adam Silver for making racist remarks, a number of high profile figures have been linked with the purchase of the club - including Floyd Mayweather, Oscar De La Hoya and Magic Johnson.
Miami Heat superstar Dwyane Wade, making the TV talk show rounds to promote his new book, dropped a huge piece of information about his personal life Wednesday. Appearing on CBS This Morning and fielding questions from co-host Gayle King for about 5 1/2 minutes, Wade was asked by King whether a union with Union was in his future plans. “I wouldn’t be with her if I didn’t see her as a future Mrs. Wade,” Wade told King. “When the time is right, the time is right.”
LeBron James took over The Darby the other night to toast his business manager and childhood friend, Maverick Carter. The Miami Heat star brought in a marching-style band and hamburgers from their hometown of Akron, Ohio, for the 50-person-seated birthday dinner at the supper club attended by Warner Music CEO Lyor Cohen, Jay-Z and Gayle King. “LeBron was very particular about the details,” a source said. “He sees Maverick as a brother.”
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