Charles Barkley is one of the NBA's all-time legends and a refreshing voice while serving as a longtime and award-winning analyst for TNT. But for whatever reason, his show on CNN just didn't work.
So the network has canceled King Charles, also featuring Gayle King, after just six months. The program ran Wednesday nights at 10 p.m.
"Barkley and King averaged just 412,000 viewers last week. By comparison, Fox News' Gutfeld and MSNBC's The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell drew 2.2 million and 1.5 million, respectively, head-to-head," wrote Bobby Burack of Outkick. "All in, King Charles averaged 459,000 total viewers and 106,000 in the 25-54 demographic over the 14 episodes it aired — an average concerning even for the new standards at CNN."
Like Turner Sports, CNN is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Barkley is a massive hit on the NBA scene, and with good reason. Like or dislike his takes, they get people talking. And that's good analysis. It's only when people ignore you that it's bad.
But Barkley has been typecast as a basketball analyst, and any entertainer will tell you, it's generally tough to leave such a role for something else. It can be done, but it's a challenge. Barkley and CNN seem to have found that out with King Charles.
On the bright side, Barkley signed a 10-year contract with TNT's Inside The NBA in October 2022. He will remain a legend there and is widely considered one of the best analysts in pro hoops history.
"I'm not worried about money at this stage of my life," Barkley said at the time. "Listen, if I don't have enough money by now, I'm a big idiot. I played 16 years in the NBA and this is my 22nd year on Turner. If I don't have enough money by now, I'm just an idiot."
Ah, yes. Now that is the Barkley with staying power.
