The NBA on NBC
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The NBA on NBC was a weekly presentation of National Basketball Association games on the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) from 1990 to 2002. The NBA on NBC succeeded The NBA on CBS. During NBC's partnership with the NBA, the league rose to unprecedented popularity for the sport, with ratings surpassing the days of Magic Johnson and Larry Bird in the mid-eighties.
Overview
Background
The program started on November 9, 1989 when the NBA and NBC reached an agreement on a four-year, $600 million contract. On April 28, 1993, NBC extended their exclusive broadcast rights to the NBA with a four-year, $750 million contract.| Seasons | Contracts Amount |
| 1990-91 to 1993-94 | 1 million/4 years |
| 1994-95 to 1997-98 | 2 million/4 years |
| 1998-99 to 2001-02 | .616 billion/4 years |
| Season | Games |
| 2001-02 | 69 |
| 2000-01 | 69 |
| 1999-2000 | 71 |
| 1998-99 | 58 |
| 1997-98 | 54 |
| 1996-97 | 54 |
| 1995-96 | 54 |
| 1994-95 | 54 |
| 1993-94 | 55 |
| 1992-93 | 55 |
| 1991-92 | 52 |
| 1990-91 | 46 |
NBC's catchy, popular, dramatic, and melodic theme music, Roundball Rock was composed by New Ager John Tesh. The song, which NBC used for every telecast in the league's twelve-year history with the NBA, is today often used by NBA TV for their live game coverage. After briefly considering using the theme for its NBA coverage, ABC decided against it, and has used five theme songs in its first four years of covering the NBA. During the closing credits for NBC's coverage of the NBA Finals, they would regularly play the motivational rock song Winning It All, by The Outfield.[link]
NBC's coverage of the NBA began on Christmas Day each season, with the exception of their inaugural season (which featured a November game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs and their final season (which included two early season games featuring the return of Michael Jordan with the Washington Wizards). NBC aired the NBA All-Star Game every year (with the exception of 1999, when the game was cancelled due to a lockout), usually at 6:00 p.m., Eastern Time. In 2002, NBC aired the game an hour earlier (at 5:00 p.m., Eastern) due to the Winter Olympics later that evening. Starting in 2000, during the NBA Playoffs, NBC would air tripleheaders on Saturdays and Sundays for the first two weeks of the playoffs. Prior to 2000, NBC would air a doubleheader on Saturday, followed by a tripleheader on Sunday.
Regular segments
The pregame program with Ahmad Rashad, Hannah Storm, or Bob Costas was known as NBA Showtime. The video game NBA Showtime: NBA on NBC, by Midway ([MWY]) from San Diego, was named after this pregame show. The halftime show was sponsored by Prudential Financial (Prudential Halftime Show) and NetZero (NetZero at the Half) among others. The NBA on NBC also had a segment during the live games called Miller Genuine Moments, which briefly looked back on a particular historically significant and/or dramatic moment in NBA history.'''Announcers
1990-1997
NBC's first broadcast team was made up of Marv Albert and Mike Fratello. Other broadcasters at the time included Dick Enberg and Steve "Snapper" Jones. Bob Costas had hosting duties for the pregame show, NBA Showtime. In 1992, basketball legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson became a top game analyst (alongside the likes of Enberg, Albert and Fratello) for The NBA on NBC. Johnson's performance was heavily criticized. Among the complaints were his apparently poor diction skills, knack for "stating the obvious", habit of referring back to his playing days, and overall lackluster chemistry with his broadcasting partners. Johnson would ultimately be slowly phased out of The NBA on NBC after helping commentate the 1993 NBA Finals. In 1994, Mike Fratello left the booth (in order to become the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers) and was replaced with Matt Guokas. Albert and Guokas broadcast the 1994 NBA Finals and were joined for the 1995 NBA Finals by Bill Walton. Albert, Guokas and Walton, while not working regular season games together (Walton usually worked games with Steve "Snapper" Jones and play-by-play men Dick Enberg or Greg Gumbel), broadcast the next two Finals (1996 and 1997) together in a three-man booth.1998-2000
1997 was the last time Marv Albert would call the NBA Finals for NBC during the decade. An embarrassing sex scandal forced NBC to fire Albert before the start of the 1997-1998 season. To replace Albert, NBC tapped studio host Bob Costas for play-by-play. Matt Guokas did not return to his post as main color commentator, and was replaced by NBA legend Isiah Thomas. Costas was replaced on the pregame show by Hannah Storm. Midway through the season, Costas and Thomas were joined by recently fired Detroit Pistons coach Doug Collins. Collins, considered one of the best color commentators in the business, served to take some weight off Thomas, who was considered very uncomfortable (with his sometimes clumsy, monotone vocal delivery) in the role of lead analyst. The three worked the big games that season including the legendary 1998 NBA Finals (which set an all-time ratings record for the NBA). For the 1998-99 season, Thomas was moved to the studio while, Costas and Collins made up the lead team. The 1998-1999 season, which was marred by a lengthy lockout (which resulted in the regular season being shortened to 50 games) included the badly-rated 1999 NBA Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and the New York Knicks. In the 1999-2000 season, Marv Albert was brought back, making a triumphant return which included calling that year's lead Christmas Day game.
| Year | Play-by-Play | Color |
| [2002] | Marv Albert | Bill Walton & Steve Jones |
| [2001] | Marv Albert | Doug Collins |
| [2000] | Bob Costas | Doug Collins |
| [1999] | Bob Costas | Doug Collins |
| [1998] | Bob Costas | Doug Collins & Isiah Thomas |
| [1997] | Marv Albert | Matt Guokas & Bill Walton |
| [1996] | Marv Albert | Matt Guokas & Bill Walton |
| [1995] | Marv Albert | Matt Guokas & Bill Walton |
| [1994] | Marv Albert | Matt Guokas |
| [1993] | Marv Albert | Mike Fratello & Magic Johnson |
| [1992] | Marv Albert | Mike Fratello & Magic Johnson |
| [1991] | Marv Albert | Mike Fratello |
2000-2001
The 2000-2001 season brought to an end Bob Costas' direct role with The NBA on NBC (although Costas would return to host NBC's coverage for the 2002 NBA Finals). Costas deferred to Marv Albert, allowing Albert to once again be the lead broadcaster for the NBA, and stayed on only to deliver interviews and special features. On the studio front, Hannah Storm left her spot as a studio host due to maternity leave and was replaced with Ahmad Rashad, while Isiah Thomas left NBC to become coach of the Indiana Pacers. Joining Ahmad Rashad were former Phoenix Suns player Kevin Johnson and former NBA coach P. J. Carlesimo. Marv Albert joined Doug Collins as the number one broadcast team, and the two broadcast the 2001 NBA Finals, which had the highest ratings since 1998. After the season, Collins was hired away from NBC by the Washington Wizards, which forced the network to move the long-time secondary color duo of Steve "Snapper" Jones and Bill Walton to the lead broadcast team with Albert.During the 2001 NBA Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Philadelphia 76ers, NBC decided to cross-promote with their then-hot quiz show The Weakest Link. During halftime of Games 2 and 3, two 10 minute editions of The Weakest Link aired. The contestants were Bob Costas, Bill Walton, and Steve "Snapper" Jones along with Charlotte Hornets guard Baron Davis and Los Angeles Sparks center Lisa Leslie.
2001-2002
The 2001-2002 season featured several anomalies, as NBC started their coverage on the first Saturday of the season, the first time they'd done that since 1991. The reason for this was NBA legend Michael Jordan's return to playing, this time for the Washington Wizards. NBC covered an early December game featuring Jordan's Wizards as well, which marked the first time an over-the-air network aired more than one pre-Christmas NBA game since CBS in the 1980s. Also, the return of Hannah Storm from maternity leave meant that she and Ahmad Rashad would alternate studio hosting duties for most of the season. That year, NBC's studio team consisted of Storm or Rashad with former Philadelphia 76ers owner Pat Croce, the returning Mike Fratello, and charismatic former player Jayson Williams. The tandem stayed together through the 2002 NBA All-Star Game. During the week between the All-Star Game and NBC's next scheduled telecast, Williams was arrested after shooting and killing his limo driver. He was promptly dropped from NBC, which also did not return Croce or Fratello to studio coverage. Instead, the network brought in Tom Tolbert who had only recently been added to the network as a third-string analyst paired with Mike Breen. Tolbert stayed on as the lone studio analyst through the end of the season, and won acclaim by several in the media, including USA Today's Rudy Martzke.Two days before NBC was to begin its playoff coverage, both Marv Albert and Mike Fratello, returning from working a Philadelphia 76ers-Indiana Pacers game on TNT, were seriously injured in a limo accident. That week, NBC juggled its announcing teams, which resulted in Bob Costas and Paul Sunderland working some early round playoff games. Fratello would return to TNT after several days, and Albert returned to NBC for Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals between the Dallas Mavericks and Sacramento Kings. The season would also turn out to be NBC's last with the NBA. The league, in January 2002 announced a six-year agreement with The Walt Disney Company and AOL-Time Warner, which gave over-the-air broadcast rights to ABC. That year, NBC's playoff ratings were much higher than previous years, including a record-high ratings for the 2002 Western Conference Finals. Unfortunately, those high ratings did not translate to the Finals, which scored their lowest ratings in over two decades.
NBA on NBC Broadcasters
- Marv Albert (lead play-by-play man from 1990-1997 and 2001-2002)
- Mike Breen (play-by-play man)
- Quinn Buckner (studio analyst)
- P. J. Carlesimo (studio analyst, color man)
- Doug Collins (color man)
- Bob Costas (studio host from 1990-1997 and lead play-by-play man 1998-2000)
- Don Criqui (play-by-play man)
- Pat Croce (studio analyst)
- Sean Elliott (color man)
- Dick Enberg (play-by-play man)
- Julius Erving (studio analyst)
- Cotton Fitzsimmons (color man)
- Mike Fratello (color man, studio analyst)
- Jim Gray (sideline reporter)
- Greg Gumbel (play-by-play man)
- Matt Guokas (color man)
- Tom Hammond (play-by-play man)
- Dan Hicks (play-by-play man)
- Kevin Johnson (studio analyst)
- Lewis Johnson (sideline reporter)
- Magic Johnson (color man)
- Steve "Snapper" Jones (color man)
- Andrea Joyce (sideline reporter)
- Bob Neal (play-by-play man)
- Ahmad Rashad (sideline reporter, studio host)
- Pat Riley (studio analyst)
- John Salley (studio analyst)
- Hannah Storm (sideline reporter, studio host)
- Paul Sunderland[link] (play-by-play man)
- Isiah Thomas (color man, studio analyst)
- Tom Tolbert (color man, studio analyst)
- Peter Vecsey (studio analyst)
- Bill Walton (studio analyst, color man)
- Jayson Williams (studio analyst)
- Chris Wragge (sideline reporter)
Voice Over Artists
Jim Fagan is still today NBC Sports' announcer. He is the one who announced things like "This is The NBA on NBC." and "Welcome to NetZero at the Half." during the Roundball Rock, and was the main voice-over announcer on the Madison Square Garden Network, the New York regional television channel, between 2002 and 2005.One of the voice-overs for commercials of The NBA on NBC was Mitch Phillips, whose voice also appears on TV commercials of Wyeth's Caltrate and of Toyota's Toyotathon promotion, and on other car commercials.
Ratings
During its twelve-year run, The NBA on NBC experienced ratings highs and lows for the NBA. In the 1990s, the NBA Finals ratings were stellar, with the exception of 1994 and 1999 (ironically, two years which involved the large television market of New York City). In 1998, the NBA set a record for Finals ratings, with an 18.7 for the second Chicago Bulls-Utah Jazz series, the last championship run by Michael Jordan's Bulls The very next year (after a lockout which erased part of the season), the ratings for the Finals plummeted, and the NBA's ratings have been lower ever since. In 2002, NBC set a record for highest rated Western Conference Final, including a 14.2 for Game 7 of the series between the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings.See also
- National Basketball Association Nielsen ratings
Criticisms
Several NBA observers accused NBC and the NBA of fixing games for or being too obsessed with certain teams. While these accusations were inaccurate, NBC benefited from having 11 of the 12 Finals it televised involve the popular Chicago Bulls or the large-market Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks.Many believed that some NBA on NBC broadcasters, namely Ahmad Rashad and Jim Gray, "kissed up" to certain players or teams. Rashad was frequently ridiculed for his not too secret close friendship with superstar Michael Jordan. To put things in the proper perspective, some observers felt that Rashad came across on camera as more or less shameless Jordan cheerleader and/or would be gravy train rider than a credible journalist. Rashad would soon receive the tag "Little Mike" (a play off from the famous advertising campaign featuring Penny Hardaway and a Chris Rock voiced puppet) from radio personality Jim Rome.
The network was also criticized for never including a constant corner screen score/time bug during their run of televising NBA (and other sports) games, even though all other networks used them on every other sports broadcast.
The End of The NBA on NBC
When NBC Sports' contract with the NBA expired in 2002, the corresponding rights were passed to The NBA on ABC, a program which came back to TV after 28 years, on Christmas Day 2002, with a doubleheader. NBC made a four-year, $1.3 billion bid in the spring of 2002 to renew its NBA coverage, but the league instead made six-year deals worth $4.6 billion with ESPN, ABC, and TNT. It should be noted that in the last four years of the final contract, NBC lost $300 million. NBC only offered $325 million a year compared to ESPN's $400 million. ESPN gets $1.70 a month from its 86 million cable subscribers, an income source NBC does not possess.Whereas NBC normally televised 33 regular games a year, ABC on the other hand, would televise only 15 regular season games a year. According to Commissioner David Stern, the reduced number of network telecasts was at the NBA's own request since the NBA believed that they would get a higher audience for a single game (in contrast to NBC's tripleheaders). In response to the impending loss of NBA coverage, NBC Entertainment president Jeff Zucker said
- "We lost football two years ago, and we stayed a strong No. 1. We lost baseball, and we stayed a strong No. 1. Now we're about to lose basketball, and I believe we'll stay a strong No. 1. The fact is, it's had no an impact on our prime time strength."
- Without professional hoops on Sundays, he said, "NBC can now program all of Sunday nights without going around basketball. I think that's a huge advantage for us. We haven't been able for the last several years to put a program at 8 o'clock (such as "American Dreams") because we've had the NBA."
- "The definition of winning has become distorted. If winning the rights to a property brings with it hundreds of millions of dollars in losses, what have you won? When faced with the prospect of heavy financial losses, we have consistently walked away and have done so again. ... We wish the NBA all the best. We have really enjoyed working with them for more than a decade to build the NBA brand."[link]
Future
After NBC signed a contract with the PGA Tour, which involved the network significantly increasing the amount of golf it televised, it became increasingly unlikely that the NBA would return to NBC for the foreseeable future. In addition, NBA Commissioner David Stern is attempting to renew the league's TV deal with The Walt Disney Company and Time Warner to keep games on ABC, ESPN and TNT into the next decade.[link]Memorable moments
The O.J. Chase
- One of the most memorable moments in the history of The NBA on NBC had nothing to do with the NBA. On June 17, 1994, during Game 5 of the NBA Finals between the Houston Rockets and New York Knicks, most NBC affiliates (with the noted exception being WNBC-TV out of New York) split the coverage of the game between NFL Hall of Famer (turned NBC football commentator) O.J. Simpson's low speed freeway chase with the LAPD. A visibly confused and distraught Bob Costas (who worked with Simpson during The NFL on NBC) said during the telecast from Madison Square Garden that the Simpson situation was "not just tragic but now surreal." Because of the chase, Game 5 of the Finals registered an abnormally low (for the time) 8.0 rating.
\"The Shot\"
- One of the most replayed plays from The NBA on NBC is from the 1998 NBA Finals Game 6 at the Delta Center. Michael Jordan stole the basketball from Karl Malone's dribble and handled the ball all the way to the other half of the court. After pushing off of Utah Jazz shooting guard Bryon Russell Jordan took "The Shot"--the lead-changing, game-winning two-point field goal with 5.2 seconds in the fourth period and with Karl Malone watching the ball float over his head.
Reggie Miller
- Indiana Pacers player Reggie Miller authored several memorable plays on NBC:
- *He scored twenty-five points in the fourth quarter of Game 5 of the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals.
- *He scored eight points in nine seconds (including a three-pointer, immediately followed by a steal and another three-pointer) to stun the New York Knicks in Game 1 of the 1995 Eastern Conference Semi-Finals.
- *He hit a game-winning three pointer in Game 4 of the 1998 Eastern Conference Finals.
- *Hit the game winning three-pointer in Game 1 of the Pacers-Philadelphia 76ers first round series in 2001.
Classic plays and games
- The NBA Finals
- * Michael Jordan's miracle lay-up in Game 2 of the 1991 NBA Finals, where he switched hands in mid-air.
- * Jordan's legendary first half performance in Game 1 of the 1992 NBA Finals, including a record six three-pointers.
- * The Bulls' comeback from 16 points down in Game 6 of the 1992 Finals, which prevented a Game 7 and gave Chicago their second straight NBA title.
- * The 1993 NBA Finals, which included the Bulls taking a 2-0 lead on the road, followed by a triple-overtime Game 3, won by the Phoenix Suns, a 55-point performance by Michael Jordan in a Game 4 Bulls' win, a Suns' victory in Game 5 and then a game-winning three-pointer by the Bulls' John Paxson to give Chicago the series in Game 6.
- * Game 7 of the 1994 NBA Finals, the only NBA Finals Game 7 that NBC would ever air; the Rockets won the first of their two titles.
- * Game 1 of the 1995 NBA Finals, an overtime game between the Houston Rockets and Orlando Magic that ended on a game-winning tip-in by Hakeem Olajuwon at the buzzer.
- * The Bulls' title-clinching Game 6 of the 1996 NBA Finals, which is best remembered for the reaction of Michael Jordan, who was on the United Center floor clutching the basketball and crying after the win.
- * Game 1 of the 1997 NBA Finals, where Jazz legend Karl Malone missed two free throws in a tied game with only seconds remaining, allowing for Michael Jordan to come back and drain the game winning jump shot at the buzzer.
- * Game 5 of the 1997 Finals, which saw Michael Jordan--battling the effects of the flu--score 38 points, including a clutch three pointer late in the game, to lead the Bulls to a 3-2 lead in the series.
- * Game 6 of the 1997 Finals, when Jordan, being double teamed with seconds left in the game, passed the ball to the wide open Steve Kerr, who hit the go-ahead jumpshot that would help the Bulls win their fifth NBA title.
- * Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals, that featured the aforementioned moment, "The Shot".
- The Conference Finals
- * Game 6 of the 1991 Western Conference Finals, between the Portland Trailblazers and Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers, at the tail end of their 1980s dominance, were leading the series 3 games to 2. With seconds to go in the game, Magic Johnson rebounded a Portland miss and threw the ball the length of the court, preventing Portland from getting it back as time expired. The moment included one of the indelible moments of the NBA on NBC, as Johnson leapt triumphantly into the air to celebrate the win.
- * Game 4 of the 1995 Eastern Conference Finals between the Orlando Magic and the Indiana Pacers. In a back and forth last minute of the game, the Magic and Pacers traded clutch jumpshots (including a three-pointers by Orlando's Anfernee Hardaway and Indiana's Reggie Miller), before Pacers center Rik Smits hit the game winning shot at the buzzer with under a second left.
- * Games 4 and 6 of the 1997 Western Conference Finals, which both ended on game winning three pointers. In Game 4, Houston Rockets forward Eddie Johnson hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to help houston tie their series against the Utah Jazz. In Game 6, Jazz guard John Stockton retaliated by hitting a game-winning and series-ending three pointer at the buzzer, sending the Jazz to their first NBA Finals.
- * Game 3 of the 1999 Eastern Conference Finals, between the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers. With the Knicks trailing by three points, forward Larry Johnson hit a three-pointer from the corner and was fouled by Antonio Davis, resulting in a game winning four-point play.
- * Game 7 of the 2000 Western Conference Finals, in which the Los Angeles Lakers came back from a 17-point deficit at the start of the fourth quarter. The game, which the Lakers won en route to their first NBA championship since the 1980s, still holds the largest comeback in a Game 7 in NBA history.
- * Games 4 and 7 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals, which included a 24-point comeback, punctuated by a Robert Horry game winning three for the Lakers in Game 4, and an overtime victory in Game 7, where the Lakers eliminated the Sacramento Kings.
- * Game 3 of the 2002 Eastern Conference Finals, in which the Boston Celtics pulled off the greatest fourth-quarter comeback in NBA playoff history. With the score 74-53 after three quarters, the Celtics, led by Paul Pierce, overcame a 21-point deficit by outscoring the New Jersey Nets 41-16 in the final period.
- * Game 6 of both Conference Finals in 2002 were played on the same night (Friday May 31), giving NBC a unique doubleheader on a weeknight. In the first game played in Boston, a strong second half propelled the Nets to their first Conference title, defeating the Celtics 96-88. In the second game played in Los Angeles, the Lakers pulled out a 106-102 victory over the Kings, forcing Game 7 two days later.
See also
- The NBA on ABC
- The NBA on CBS
- The NBA on TNT
- List of NBA Eastern Conference Final broadcasters
- List of NBA Western Conference Final broadcasters
- List of NBA Finals broadcasters
References
- [ESPN.com - NBA - PLAYOFFS2002 - The day Tesh's music might die]
- [jordan_m_2pt_061498c]. AVI video from NBA.com: Bryon Russell slips and allows Jordan to make the game-winning two-point field goal in the dwining seconds of the 1998 NBA Finals. Bob Costas: "Jordan. Open. Chicago with the lead!"
- [nba-low.mov] QuickTime MOV video: voice-over Mitch Phillips on commercial spots for The NBA on NBC.
- [NBCSports.com]
- [NBA Showtime: NBA on NBC]
- [NBA Showtime: NBA on NBC - Game Revolution Review Page]
- [NBA finalizes TV deals: Goodbye NBC]
- [Inquiry into Sports Programming Migration]
- [NBA on NBC - Short cut.]
- [TV Theme - NBC, NBA 02.wav]
- [TV Theme - NBC, NBA.wav]
- [InsideHoops - NBA TV Contracts]
- [NBA on NBA Open - Short Version (from YouTube)]
- [NBA on NBC Open - Extended Version (from YouTube)]
- [NBA on NBC memories]
- [1997 NBA FINALS GAME ONE NBA ON NBC OPENING]
- [1997 NBA FINALS GAME ONE NBA ON NBC JORDAN FINAL SHOT ENDING]
- [1996 NBA Finals: Game 6 (Opening + Starting Lineups)]
- [Jump The Shark - NBA on NBC]
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