NBA on NBC

US television program

For the video game of the same name, see NBA Showtime: NBA on NBC.

NBA on NBC

NBA on NBC logo used from 2000 to 2002

Genre| NBA game telecasts
Presented by| See below
Theme music composer| John Tesh
Opening theme| "Roundball Rock"
Country of origin| United States
Original language| English
No. of seasons| 20
Production
Production locations|

* Various NBA arenas (game telecasts)
* NBC Studios, New York City (1990–2002, studio segments, pre-game and post-game shows)
NBC Sports Headquarters, Stamford, Connecticut (2025–future, studio segments, pre-game and post-game shows)

Camera setup| Multi-camera
Running time| 150 minutes or until game ends
Production company| NBC Sports
Original release
Network|

* NBC (1954–1962, 1990–2002, 2025–future)
* Peacock (2025–future)
* USA Network (2025–future, overflow only)

Release| October 30, 1954 (1954-10-30) –
April 7, 1962 (1962-04-07)
Release| November 3, 1990 (1990-11-03) –
June 12, 2002 (2002-06-12)
Release| October 2025 (2025-10)
Related

* NBA on CBS
* NBA on ABC
* NBA on Prime Video

Television broadcasts of the National Basketball Association (NBA) games produced by NBC Sports has aired on NBC under the NBA on NBC branding throughout three incarnations in its history.

The NBA was first televised by NBC from 1954 to 1962. In 1990, the NBA returned to NBC under a multi-year contract which coincided with the dynastic run of Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls; the league rose to unprecedented popularity, with ratings surpassing the days of Magic Johnson and Larry Bird in the mid-1980s. NBC's coverage ended after the 2001–02 season after a 12-year run, when NBC was outbid for the broadcast television contract by Disney (via ABC and ESPN).

In July 2024, it was announced that NBCUniversal had regained rights to the NBA under a new contract beginning in the 2025–26 season, which will see coverage on NBC and streaming platform Peacock.

## History

[edit]

### First iteration (1954–1962)

[edit]

NBC's first tenure with the National Basketball Association[1][2][3] began on October 30, 1954, and lasted until April 7, 1962. NBC's very first NBA telecast was a game between the Boston Celtics and Rochester Royals in Rochester.

For the 1954–55 season, Marty Glickman and Lindsey Nelson called all games except on April 9 (Fort Wayne @ Syracuse during the playoffs), when Glickman worked with Jim Gordon. Nelson would later write in his autobiography, Hello Everybody, I'm Lindsey Nelson[4] that NBA commissioner Maurice Podoloff would travel to the televised games and, when NBC needed to get in a commercial, he would go up to one of the coaches and say, "Call a timeout," and they had to, since the commissioner ordered it. On March 19, 1955, during the playoffs, NBC gave the national spotlight to the New York Knicks and rising Boston Celtics at New York's Madison Square Garden.

For the first year of NBC's tenure, the first five weeks of coverage followed a Canadian Football League game. That contract decreed that the network show 13 games (along with presumably the Grey Cup) on Saturday afternoons beginning in late August, and was signed one week after NBC had lost the rights to NCAA football to ABC.

The following year, Lindsey Nelson was paired with Curt Gowdy on commentary for all games except on February 25 (St. Louis @ New York), March 3 (Minneapolis @ Rochester with Nelson working with Joe Lapchick), and March 24 (Fort Wayne @ St. Louis with Nelson working alone). On March 31, 1956, NBC broadcast the first nationally televised NBA Finals game, which was Game 1 of the Philadelphia-Fort Wayne series.

Gowdy and Nelson were retained as the primary broadcast team for NBC in 1956–57 except on March 23 and March 30 (St. Louis @ Boston), when Nelson worked by himself. While the team of Gowdy and Nelson again did most games in 1957–58, Nelson worked the December 14 telecast (Syracuse @ Detroit) with Chick Hearn, who in return, worked the January 11 telecast (Syracuse @ Cincinnati) with Gowdy. For the January 18 telecast (Detroit @ St. Louis), Nelson worked alone while on February 1 (Syracuse @ Minneapolis), Nelson was paired with Bill O'Donnell. Meanwhile, Gowdy worked alone on March 1 (Cincinnati @ Philadelphia).

NBC also during the 1957–58 season, broadcast a game in Detroit between Cincinnati and the Pistons on March 15. It was after this game, on the flight home to Cincinnati, that Maurice Stokes became ill and later suffered a seizure, fell into a coma and was left permanently paralyzed. This was the delayed reaction from having hit his head in a game three days earlier. Stokes died in April 1970.

In the 1958-59 season, Curt Gowdy worked alone on all games except on March 15 (New York @ Syracuse, when Gowdy worked with Bud Palmer), April 5 (Minneapolis @ Boston with Lindsey Nelson). The 1959 NBA All-Star Game[5] marked the first time that the All-Star Game was nationally televised. However, NBC only broadcast the second half[6] at 10 p.m. Eastern Time, in lieu of its Friday Night Fights telecast. The fact that the All-Star Game prior to this, was almost always played on a Tuesday night meant that NBC would have had to sacrifice most, if not all, of their evening programming. In the first few years, that would have meant taking off Milton Berle's program, which was starting to slide, but still would have made more money for the network than a pro basketball game. Plus, NBA owners weren't terribly savvy when it came to working with TV in this era, so they probably refused network requests to put it in a weekend afternoon slot.

During the 1959–60 season, Curt Gowdy worked alone most on Saturday games while Lindsey Nelson worked alone on most Sunday games. Nelson also worked on Saturday April 2 (St. Louis @ Boston) during the playoffs. Marty Glickman meanwhile, worked alone on December 6 (St. Louis @ Cincinnati), January 2–3 (New York Knicks @ Cincinnati and Boston @ Syracuse), February 28 (Philadelphia @ Detroit), March 13 (Philadelphia @ Syracuse), 20 (Boston @ Philadelphia), and 27 (St. Louis @ Boston), and April 3 (Boston @ St. Louis). Finally, Bill O'Donnell worked alone on March 12 (Minneapolis @ Detroit), 19 (St. Louis @ Minneapolis), and 26 (Minneapolis @ St. Louis).

In the 1960-61 season, Lindsey Nelson was alone on all games except when he worked with Bud Palmer on October 22 (New York @ Cincinnati) and 29 (New York @ Detroit), November 26 (Syracuse @ Boston), December 3 (New York @ Syracuse), 10 (Syracuse @ Detroit), and 24 (Detroit @ Boston). Jerry Doggett helped call games on November 5 (Syracuse @ Los Angeles) and 19 (Detroit @ Los Angeles). Marty Glickman contributed to commentary on January 8 (Boston @ St. Louis), 15 (Philadelphia @ Syracuse), 22 (St. Louis @ Cincinnati), and 29 (Philadelphia @ Boston), February 19 (Boston @ Syracuse) and 26 (Boston @ Detroit), March 12 (Boston @ Syracuse), 19 (Syracuse @ Boston), and 26 (Syracuse @ Boston), and April 2 (St. Louis @ Boston).

For NBC's final season of their first stint with the NBA, Bud Palmer worked alone on commentary on all games except for on February 3 (Cincinnati @ New York) and April 7 (Los Angeles @ Boston), when he was paired with Bob Wolff.

NBC's ratings[7] during this time period were lukewarm at best. By 1962,[8] NBA ratings for NBC's Saturday afternoon games dipped to 4.8 (9 million viewers) as compared to Sunday afternoon NFL ratings of 10.4 (15 million viewers). As a matter of fact, CBS was at one point, getting better ratings[9] for their National Hockey League (NHL) telecasts than NBC was getting with the NBA. One possible factor for the dipping ratings the fact that NBC's 1960–61 schedule placed the three weakest teams--Cincinnati, Syracuse, and Detroit on television a total of 14 times. In comparison, three of the NBA's best teams--Boston, St. Louis, and Philadelphia—appeared on NBC a total of only seven times.

### Second iteration (1990–2002)

[edit]

#### Background

[edit]

NBA on NBC logo used from 1990 to 2000.

On November 9, 1989,[10] the NBA reached an agreement with NBC worth US$600 million [11][12] to broadcast the NBA's games for four years, beginning with the 1990–91 season.[13][14][15] On April 28, 1993, NBC extended its exclusive broadcast rights to the NBA with a four-year, $750 million contract.[16][17]

#### Coverage

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NBC's coverage of the NBA[18] began on Christmas Day each season, with the exception of the inaugural season in 1990 (which featured a game on November 3, 1990[19] between the Los Angeles Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs), the 1997–98 season (which included a preseason tournament featuring the Chicago Bulls), the 1998–99 season (as no Christmas games were played due to the 1998–99 NBA lockout), and the final season of NBC's contract in 2001–02 (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 canceled due to the 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 during the first two weeks of the playoffs. Prior to 2000, NBC would air a doubleheader on Saturday, followed by a tripleheader on Sunday.

On December 30, 2000, NBC aired a rare second December game. The Saturday match was the only time that NBC aired a game between Christmas Day and the start of the regular run of games in February. In 2001, NBC was scheduled to air an October preseason game involving an NBA team playing an international team; that game was canceled due to the September 11 attacks. During the 2001–02 NBA season, NBC added a significant number of Washington Wizards games to its schedule (due to the aforementioned return of Michael Jordan). When Jordan became injured during the middle of the season, NBC replaced the added Wizards games with the games that had been originally on the schedule (for example, a March 2002 game between the Wizards and Orlando Magic was replaced at the last minute with an Indiana Pacers–Sacramento Kings game).

#### Segments

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The pre-game show for NBC's NBA telecasts was NBA Showtime, a title that was used from 1990 until 2000, with the pre-game being unbranded afterward. Showtime was originally hosted by Bob Costas from the inaugural season of the 1990 contract to the 1995–96 season; Hannah Storm took over as host beginning with the 1996–97 season, who in turn was replaced by Ahmad Rashad in 2001 when Storm went on maternity leave. The video game NBA Showtime: NBA on NBC, by Midway Games, was named after the pregame show.

During the NBA Finals, additional coverage would be immediately available on CNBC, in which the panelists provided an additional half-hour of in-depth game discussions, after the NBC broadcast network's coverage concluded.

The halftime show was sponsored by Prudential Financial (Prudential Halftime Report), and later NetZero (NetZero at the Half) and Verizon Wireless (Verizon Wireless at the Half). The broadcasts also featured a segment during the live games called Miller Genuine Moments, which provided a brief retrospective on a particular historically significant and/or dramatic moment in NBA history; this segment was discontinued towards the end of NBC's coverage. The song used as the soundtrack for the Miller Genuine Moments segment was "Black Hole" by John Tesh.[20] For a brief period in 2001–02, NBC aired a studio segment called 24, in which each analyst (at that time, Pat Croce, Jayson Williams or Mike Fratello) would have 24 seconds to talk about issues concerning the NBA. NBC (in conjunction with completely revamping the pregame show) discontinued the segment in February 2002, after Williams was arrested on murder charges.

#### Ratings

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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 the 1999 Finals. In 1998, the NBA set a Finals ratings record, with an 18.7 household rating for the second Chicago Bulls–Utah Jazz series, the last championship run by the Michael Jordan-led Bulls. The very next year (after a lockout which erased part of the season), the ratings for the 1999 Finals plummeted, marking the beginning of an ongoing period of lower viewership for the league's game telecasts.[21] In 2002, NBC set a record for the highest-rated Western Conference Final, including a 14.2 rating for Game 7 of the series between the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings.

NBC's highest-rated regular season game was Michael Jordan's first game back from playing minor league baseball; the March 1995 game between the Chicago Bulls and Indiana Pacers scored a 10.9 rating (higher than all but three NBA telecasts on ABC). As a comparison, the first game in Jordan's second comeback (a game against the New York Knicks that aired on TBS opposite the 2001 World Series) scored a rating between a 3.0 and 4.0. NBC's first game of Jordan's second comeback scored ratings similar to that number.

#### Criticisms

[edit]

Further information: National Basketball Association criticisms and controversies § Accusations of network bias

Several NBA observers accused NBC and the NBA of being biased with only certain teams and individual players. NBC benefited from having all of the Finals it televised involve the large-market Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers or Houston Rockets; however, smaller-market teams such as those in San Antonio, Sacramento, Phoenix, Seattle, Portland, Utah, Indiana, Orlando, and Miami all made regular appearances on NBC games during its run.

#### Loss of rights to ABC/ESPN

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Upon the expiration of NBC Sports' contract with the NBA in 2002, the NBA signed a broadcast television rights agreement with ABC,[22] which began airing games in the 2002–03 season. NBC had made a four-year, US$1.3 billion bid in the spring of 2002 to renew its NBA rights, but the NBA instead made the initial six-year deals worth $4 billion with ESPN, ABC, and TNT.[23][24]

The new media deal at the time highly incentivized airing games on cable television. The major leagues received more money from cable[25] than broadcast, due to the dual revenue stream of subscriptions and ad revenue. NBC could not compete with the combined broadcast and cable[26] deal that Disney had with ESPN and ABC. When NBC's relationship with the NBA ended, their only cable properties then were CNBC and MSNBC. Whereas NBC normally televised 33 regular season games per year, ABC would generally air fewer than 20 regular season games annually. According to NBA 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). The NBA saw its NBC ratings[27] for the regular season fall from 4.3 in 1999 to 3.0 in 2000. Meanwhile, the playoff ratings[28] dipped from 6.5 to 4.9.

As well as that, NBC began to lose money on the NBA[29] after signing a new media deal in 1998. NBC lost $100 million on the NBA in the 2000–01 season.[30] By December 2001, NBC was projecting a $200-million loss on the 2001–02 season.[31] Additionally, NBC lost $35 million[32] because of the failure of the XFL the previous year. As Charles Barkley summed it up during halftime of Game 1 of the 2002 NBA Finals[33] "If y'all hadn't wasted all that money on the XFL, y'all would still have basketball."[34]

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 impact on our prime time strength. . . 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.

NBC Sports chairman Dick Ebersol said:

> 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.[35]

Ebersol added:

> We walked away from the N.F.L., because it was the right thing to do, and we stayed No. 1 in prime-time in all the important aspects. We walked away from baseball because it was the right thing to do and we don't have to take off our fall shows to show playoff games. The N.B.A. was asking us to lose hundreds of millions of dollars.[36]

NBC network president Randy Falco said:

> We have a responsibility to our shareholders.

NBC's last NBA telecast to date was Game 4 of the 2002 NBA Finals, which closed with highlights from the network's 12-year run with the league, through the Chicago Bulls' dynasty led by Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, the retirement of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers' new Shaq/Kobe reign. The final image of the end montage was set in an empty gym, showing a basketball bouncing into the background and ending with the message, "Thanks for The Memories" and a final appearance of the NBA on NBC logo on the bottom. Prior to the sequence, match commentators Marv Albert, Steve Jones and Bill Walton evaluated the end of their NBA contract and of the series. After that, Bob Costas closed the network's last NBA broadcast with the following:

> Okay, Marv, thanks very much. And as Marv himself would say, "it should be pointed out" that Marv is celebrating his forty-ninth birthday tonight for a record twelfth consecutive year. Well, another season is in the books. The Lakers' title run continues with perhaps no end in sight. But as Marv said, we have reached the end of our run with the NBA. NBC's twelve years televising the league had been filled with indelible moments. And so, as we say good night, here's an appreciative look back. And for one last time, you've been watching the NBA on NBC.

[37]

#### Aftermath

[edit]

From 2002 to 2006, the NBA's ratings on broadcast television (ABC) dropped almost a full ratings point (from nearly a 3.0 average rating to just above a 2.0 rating). NBC averaged a 5.5 average rating during the 2002 NBA Playoffs. ABC averaged a 3.3 average rating for the 2005 NBA Playoffs.

Within two years of the network losing the NBA rights, NBC dropped to fourth place in the prime time television rankings for the first time in its history, which was also partly the result of a weaker prime time schedule, and would more or less remain there for almost nine years.

### Third iteration (2025–future)

[edit]

On July 23, 2024, NBC parent company Comcast confirmed in a conference call with its investors that NBC Sports had secured an agreement with the NBA on an 11-year media rights deal beginning in the 2025–26 season, marking the NBA's return to NBC after a 23-year absence.[38] An official announcement of the agreement was released by the NBA and NBC the following day, alongside other deals with incumbents ABC/ESPN and newcomer Amazon.[39][40] The $2.5 billion per season agreement will see games broadcast on NBC and streamed on Peacock:[41][42][43][44]

* NBC Sports will carry a total of 100 regular season games per season.[39][40][43][44]
* Peacock will exclusively stream a package of Monday night games. Selected Mondays will be doubleheaders.
* NBC and Peacock will carry Tuesday night doubleheaders, scheduled at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT and 11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT. Both games will stream nationally on Peacock. At their discretion, NBC affiliates may show one or both games.
* NBC will carry a package of eight Sunday night games, carrying on from Sunday Night Football after the NFL season.
* NBC will broadcast annual opening night and Martin Luther King Jr. Day doubleheaders, as well as games on Veterans Day, and Presidents' Day.
* NBC will have coverage of All-Star Weekend and the All-Star Game, aside from the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game (which continues to air on ESPN).[39][40][43][44]
* During the playoffs, NBC Sports will carry between 22 and 34 first and second-round games and one conference finals series in even-numbered years.[39][40][43][44]
* Approximately half of the playoff games will stream exclusively on Peacock.

The social media accounts for the NBA on NBC were launched on January 12, 2025, during NBC's coverage of the NFL playoffs.[45]

### Statistics

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Games televised / television contracts per season (NBC) Season | 1990–91 | 1991–92 | 1992–93 | 1993–94 | 1994–95 | 1995–96 | 1996–97 | 1997–98 | 1999 | 1999–2000 | 2000–01 | 2001–02 | 2025–26 | 2026–27 | 2027–28 | 2028–29 | 2029–30 | 2030–31 | 2031–32

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Games | 46 | 52  | 55  | 55  | 54  | 54  | 54  | 54  | 58  | 71 | 69  | 69
Contracts | $601 million/4 years  | $892 million/4 years  | $1.616 billion/4 years  | $27.5 billion/11 years

## Announcers

[edit]

Main article: List of NBA on NBC broadcasters

### 1990–1997

[edit]

NBC's first broadcast team of the 1990s–2000s era was made up of Marv Albert[46] and Mike Fratello, with Ahmad Rashad serving as sideline reporter. Other broadcasters at the time included Dick Enberg and Steve "Snapper" Jones. Aside from Rashad, Jim Gray and Hannah Storm also handled sideline reporting duties; before becoming the television voice of the Spurs, Lakers and Pelicans, Joel Meyers also started as a sideline reporter for NBC. Bob Costas[47] presided as host of the network's pre-game show, NBA Showtime, while also providing play-by-play as a fill-in when necessary. During the Playoffs, Don Criqui and Joel Meyers were also used, with Criqui for play-by-play and Meyers mainly as a sideline analyst.

In 1992, shortly after announcing his retirement, basketball legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson became a top game analyst (alongside the likes of Enberg, Albert and Fratello); however, his performance was heavily criticized.[48] Among the complaints were his apparently poor diction skills, his tendency for "stating the obvious", his habitual references to his playing days, and an 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 Jones and play-by-play announcers Dick Enberg, Tom Hammond or Greg Gumbel), broadcast the next two Finals (1996 and 1997) together in a three-man booth.

### 1998–2000

[edit]

1997 was the last time Marv Albert called the NBA Finals for NBC during the decade, as 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 pre-game show by Hannah Storm, whom she replaced in the 1997 NBA Finals. Midway through the season, Costas and Thomas were joined by recently fired Detroit Pistons coach Doug Collins. Collins served to take some weight off Thomas, who was considered by some to be uncomfortable in the role of lead analyst. Thomas, in particular, was singled out for his soft voice and often stammered analysis.[49]

The team of Costas, Thomas, and Collins worked the major games that season including the 1998 NBA Finals (which set an all-time ratings record for the NBA). Mike Breen, who was backup announcer to Albert on MSG Network's New York Knicks broadcasts, was hired to do select playoff games that year and was later promoted to backup announcer status for the rest of the NBA's run on NBC. 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 low-rated 1999 NBA Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and the New York Knicks. Albert was brought back for the 1999–2000 season, making a return which included calling that year's lead Christmas Day game between the San Antonio Spurs and the Los Angeles Lakers from Staples Center.

### 2000–2001

[edit]

The 2000–2001 season brought to an end to Bob Costas' direct role with the NBA on NBC (although Costas worked playoff games for the next two seasons and returned to host NBC's coverage for the 2002 NBA Finals). Costas deferred to Marv Albert, allowing Albert to 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 position as studio host to go on maternity leave, with Ahmad Rashad taking over for Storm; Isiah Thomas left NBC to become coach of the Indiana Pacers. Joining Rashad were former Phoenix Suns player Kevin Johnson and former NBA coach P. J. Carlesimo, with Carlesimo also filling in as backup analyst during select playoff games until 2002. Marv Albert joined Doug Collins as the lead broadcast team, and the two broadcast the 2001 NBA Finals, which had the highest ratings for a Finals match since 1998. After the season, Collins was hired away from NBC by the Washington Wizards, which forced the network to move the longtime secondary color duo of Steve 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 its NBA coverage with its then-popular quiz show The Weakest Link. Two 10-minute editions of The Weakest Link aired during halftime of Games 2 and 3, featuring Bob Costas, Bill Walton and Steve Jones as contestants, along with Charlotte Hornets guard Baron Davis and WNBA team Los Angeles Sparks's center, Lisa Leslie.

### 2001–2002

[edit]

The 2001–2002 season featured several anomalies, as NBC started their coverage on the first Saturday of the season, for the first time 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 a broadcast television network aired more than one pre-Christmas NBA game since CBS in the 1980s.

That year also marked the return of Hannah Storm from maternity leave, with her and Ahmad Rashad alternating as studio hosts throughout the 2002 season. That year, NBC's studio team consisted of Rashad and Storm with former Philadelphia 76ers owner Pat Croce, the returning Mike Fratello, and 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 limousine driver. He was promptly fired by 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 NBC Sports 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 sports columnist Rudy Martzke. Hannah Storm was not able to anchor the 2002 NBA All-Star Game as she was on assignment at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City serving as daytime studio host; Rashad solo anchored from the studio.

In June 2002, Rashad told the Los Angeles Times, in an interview conducted before the 2002 NBA Finals began, that he would be ending his 20-year run with NBC Sports, after hosting the pre-game show for Game 3 of the Finals.[50] Hannah Storm, meanwhile, covered the 2002 NBA Finals as host of the CNBC post-game show.

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 limousine accident. That week, NBC juggled its announcing teams, which resulted in Bob Costas and Paul Sunderland working some early-round playoff games, paired with Mike Dunleavy.[51] 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. In January 2002, the league announced a six-year agreement with The Walt Disney Company and AOL Time Warner, which resulted in the broadcast television rights being acquired by ABC. That year, NBC's playoff ratings were much higher than in previous years, including tallying record-high ratings for the 2002 Western Conference Finals. Those high ratings did not translate to the Finals, which scored their lowest ratings in over two decades.

### 2025–future

[edit]

For its revived NBA coverage, NBC Sports appointed Mike Tirico to be its lead play-by-play commentator. He had previously called NBA games for ESPN and ABC from 2002 to 2016. For his first season, he is expected to call one or more games per week after his commitments to Sunday Night Football, Super Bowl LX, and the 2026 Winter Olympics end. Before then, he will call select games such as the NBA season opener.[52][53] NBC Sports additionally appointed Noah Eagle as its number two play-by-play announcer, where he is expected to call games throughout the season. During the fall, he will call games in addition to handling duties for Big Ten Saturday Night.[54] For game analysts, NBC Sports has hired former Sixth Man of the Year winner Jamal Crawford and longtime TNT Sports analyst Reggie Miller. Crawford and Miller are expected to work one or more games per week throughout the season.[55][56] Former NBA All-Star Carmelo Anthony will join NBC as a studio analyst.[57]

### Voice-over artists

[edit]

Jim Fagan's voice was heard in nearly every single NBA telecast on NBC;[58] as the voice behind "This is the NBA on NBC", he also did several voice-over promotions for the network's game broadcasts. Les Marshak and Mitch Phillips also did voice-over work for the broadcasts, primarily for promotions.[59]

## Music

[edit]

The theme music for the NBA on NBC broadcasts is "Roundball Rock", composed by new-age artist John Tesh. The instrumental piece, first composed in 1990 for NBC, soundtracked the network's NBA coverage from 1990 to 2002 and will do so again starting in 2025.[60][61] During periods when NBC hasn't broadcast the NBA, it has used the theme for its Olympic basketball coverage, first in 2008 and then in every Summer Olympics since 2016.[62][63][64][65]

During NBC's NBA coverage from 1990 to 2002, the network would soundtrack their end-of-season montages to various songs. In 1991, "The Dream is Still Alive" by Wilson Phillips was played during the end-of-season montage. Afterwards, until 1996, NBC would play the rock song "Winning It All" by The Outfield[66] during its end-of-season montage. From 1997 to 2001, several contemporary music pieces were used for the montage (including, in 1997, R. Kelly's song "I Believe I Can Fly", which coincidentally came from a basketball film – Space Jam, which starred Michael Jordan, in 1998, John Williams's song Exsultate Justi, and Pat Benatar's song "All Fired Up" from 1999 to 2001). After the 1999 Finals, NBC used "Fly Away" by Lenny Kravitz for their montage. For NBC's final broadcast in 2002, the network aired a montage of memorable moments from every year of coverage, using music from "Titans Spirit" (from the film Remember the Titans) to "Winning It All" and most notably, "To the Flemish Cap" from the 2000 film The Perfect Storm. The song composed by James Horner is played at the beginning of the montage as well as the end featuring footage from the Los Angeles Lakers dynasty era.

## WNBA on NBC

[edit]

Main article: WNBA on NBC

NBC showed Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) games from 1997 to 2002 as part of their NBA on NBC[67][68] coverage before the league transferred the rights[69] to ABC/ESPN.[70][71][72] The network is set to return to airing WNBA games in 2026 as part of NBC's latest 11-year media rights agreement with the NBA.[38][73]

## NBA coverage on other NBC-owned outlets

[edit]

### Telemundo Deportes

[edit]

Following NBC's $2.7 billion purchase of Telemundo Communications Group from Sony Pictures and Liberty Media on October 11, 2001, Deportes Telemundo began to gradually be integrated into NBC Sports, although it would maintain sports programming rights separate from the main NBC broadcast network and its sister cable channels.[74] Under NBC (which ironically lost the rights to the league that year to ABC), on August 20, 2002, Telemundo signed a three-year agreement with the NBA for the Spanish language broadcast rights to 15 NBA and up to ten WNBA regular season games; Telemundo and the NBA did not renew the deal upon its expiration following the 2004–05 season.[75][76][77]

Beginning in 2025, Telemundo will return to airing select NBA games as a part of NBC's latest 11-year media rights agreement.[38]

### NBC Sports Regional Networks

[edit]

Main article: NBC Sports Regional Networks

Since 2011, NBCUniversal owns and operates a group of regional sports networks under the branding NBC Sports Regional Networks (formerly known as Comcast SportsNet). This includes four networks that currently hold local TV broadcast rights with individual NBA teams: NBC Sports Bay Area (Golden State Warriors), NBC Sports Boston (Boston Celtics), NBC Sports California (Sacramento Kings), and NBC Sports Philadelphia (Philadelphia 76ers).

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "The NBA on NBC". NBC Sports History Page. Archived from the original on August 6, 2017. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
2. ^ Sarmento, Mario R. "The NBA on Network Television: Historical Analysis". Archived from the original on November 5, 2005. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
3. ^ "NBA on NBC regular season and playoff schedules". rec.sport.basketball.pro. Archived from the original on January 22, 2011. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
4. ^ Nelson, Lindsay (1985). Hello everybody, I'm Lindsey Nelson. Beech Tree Books. p. 260\. ISBN 9780688041861. Archived from the original on May 3, 2024. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
5. ^ "NBA Coaches Add Their Choices To East-West Squad". The Christian Science Monitor. January 6, 1959. p. 24.
6. ^ "Sports Fans in For Big Afternoon". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. Associated Press. January 17, 1959. p. 2B.
7. ^ Pomerantz 2005, pp.10–11
8. ^ Pomerantz, Gary M. (2005). Wilt, 1962: The Night of 100 Points and the Dawn of a New Era. New York: Crown. p. 80. ISBN 1-4000-5160-6.
9. ^ Dan Parker (October 28, 1957). "The Hockey Rebellion". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on November 12, 2019. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
10. ^ Silverstein, Jack M. (June 11, 2021). "The 1991 NBA Finals Were David Stern's Godsend". A Shot On Ehlo. Archived from the original on December 16, 2021.
11. ^ Curtis, Bryan (May 16, 2024). "NBC's NBA Nostalgia Play". The Ringer. Retrieved July 26, 2024.
12. ^ Desser, Kosner, Ed, John (September 19, 2022). "The NBA On NBC Partnership". Sports Business Journal. Retrieved July 26, 2024.`{{cite news}}`: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
13. ^ Gerard, Jeremy (November 10, 1989). "NBC to Pay N.B.A. $600 Million For TV Rights". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 9, 2021. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
14. ^ Stewart, Larry (November 10, 1989). "NBC Gets NBA for Four Years, $600 Million". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on August 9, 2021. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
15. ^ Sarni, Jim (November 10, 1989). "NBC GETS NBA FOR $644 MILLION". Sun-Sentinel. Archived from the original on July 1, 2021. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
16. ^ Sandmoir, Richard (April 29, 1993). "THE MEDIA BUSINESS; NBC and N.B.A. Agree to $750 Million Pact". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 9, 2021. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
17. ^ "November 9, 1989: The NBA signs a lucrative 4-year television deal with NBC". Sports Media Watch. November 10, 2009. Archived from the original on May 3, 2024. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
18. ^ ""NBA on NBC" Regular Season TV Schedules – 1990–2002". The506.com.[permanent dead link]
19. ^ "NBA on NBC introduces "Roundball Rock" theme song". NBC Sports History Page. Archived from the original on August 6, 2017. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
20. ^ "John Tesh - Victory: The Sports Collection". sputnikmusic.com. May 8, 2018. Archived from the original on May 3, 2024.
21. ^ Bill Carter (March 20, 2000). "Basketball Ratings Hit a Slump at NBC And That Is Costly". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 20, 2015. Retrieved July 29, 2011.
22. ^ Lewis, Jon. "How they did it". Sports Media Watch. Retrieved July 26, 2024.
23. ^ Stewart, Larry (January 23, 2002). "NBA Finalizes $4.6-Billion TV Contract". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
24. ^ Richard Sandomir (January 9, 2002). "BASKETBALL; NBC Will Live Without N.B.A. and Without Losses From It". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 28, 2011. Retrieved July 29, 2011.
25. ^ Sandomir and Wise, Richard and Mike (June 12, 2002). "PRO BASKETBALL; Final Buzzer For NBC and N.B.A." The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 17, 2019. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
26. ^ Sandomir, Richard (December 15, 2001). "PRO BASKETBALL; Cable Is Said to Muscle Out NBC for N.B.A. Rights". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 17, 2019. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
27. ^ Dukcevich, Davide (December 18, 2001). "The NBA Is Blowing It". Forbes. Archived from the original on February 17, 2019. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
28. ^ Concon, Josh (September 12, 2009). "NBA on NBC: When Basketball Was Basketball". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on February 17, 2019. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
29. ^ McCarthy, Michael (May 26, 2024). "NBC's Time With the NBA Was a 'Perfect Storm.' Will History Repeat Itself?". Front Office Sports. Retrieved July 26, 2024.
30. ^ Maffei, John (December 21, 2001). "NBC appears likely to lose NBA, too". The San Diego Union Tribune. Archived from the original on February 17, 2019. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
31. ^ Penner, Mike (December 18, 2001). "NBC Exit Strategy Begins NBA Spin". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on December 20, 2012. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
32. ^ "Ex-NBC Sports Employee: Dick Ebersol Is The Biggest Failure Of Them All". Deadspin. January 16, 2010. Archived from the original on February 17, 2019. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
33. ^ 2002 NBA Finals Lakers vs Nets - Game 1 on YouTube
34. ^ "Potent quotables over the years". Sports Business Daily. December 9, 2013. Archived from the original on February 17, 2019. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
35. ^ "SportsBusinessDaily.com". Sports Business Daily. Archived from the original on June 5, 2009. Retrieved May 26, 2006.
36. ^ Sandomir, Richard (January 9, 2002). "BASKETBALL; NBC Will Live Without N.B.A. and Without Losses From It". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 28, 2017. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
37. ^ The Final Closing Credits To The NBA on NBC on YouTube
38. ^ a b c "Comcast Corporation (CMCSA) Q2 2024 Earnings Call Transcript". seekingalpha.com. SA Transcripts. July 23, 2024. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
39. ^ a b c d "NBA signs new 11-year media agreements with The Walt Disney Company, NBCUniversal and Amazon Prime Video through 2035-36 season". nba.com (Press release). July 24, 2024.
40. ^ a b c d "The NBA and WNBA return to NBCUniversal with 11-year agreement for Regular Season and Playoff Basketball on NBC, Peacock, USA Network, Sky Sports, and Telemundo". NBC Sports (Press release). July 24, 2024.
41. ^ Flint, Joe; Sharma, Amol; Simonetti, Isabella (June 5, 2024). "NBA Nears $76 Billion TV Deal In Defining Moment for Media". wsj.com. The Wall Street Journal.
42. ^ Marchand, Andrew (July 10, 2024). "NBA finalizes TV deals with ESPN, NBC, Amazon, but TNT could still match: Sources". The Athletic. The New York Times Company.
43. ^ a b c d Kaplan, Daniel (October 29, 2024). "Amazon, NBC contracts with NBA unsealed during WBD-NBA lawsuit". Awful Announcing. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
44. ^ a b c d "NBCUniversal - NBA U.S. Rights Agreement" (Contract). Retrieved October 29, 2024.
45. ^ Steinberg, Brian (January 12, 2025). "NBC Pushes Basketball to Viewers Months Ahead of NBA Deal Start". Variety. Retrieved January 13, 2025.
46. ^ Rusnak, Jeff (November 2, 1990). "FOR MARV ALBERT, NBA ON NBC IS DREAM COME TRUE". The South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Archived from the original on June 30, 2021.
47. ^ Kleen, Brendon (June 6, 2024). "Bob Costas wishes NBA broadcast opening monologues were still around". Awful Announcing. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
48. ^ Bill Simmons (September 27, 2002). "Magic's Act". ESPN. Archived from the original on May 23, 2011.
49. ^ Ryan Yoder (January 25, 2012). "Top 10 Sports Media Busts". Awful Announcing. Archived from the original on August 25, 2012. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
50. ^ Larry Stewart (June 10, 2002). "Walton Delivers the Jabs, O'Neal the Knockout". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on December 25, 2019. Retrieved May 19, 2011.
51. ^ The NBA on NBC: April 21st, 2002
52. ^ "MIKE TIRICO RETURNS TO THE NBA" (Press release). Stamford, Connecticut: NBC Sports. January 22, 2025.
53. ^ Steinberg, Brian (January 22, 2025). "Mike Tirico Will Lead NBC's New NBA Coverage". Variety.
54. ^ "NOAH EAGLE JOINS NBC SPORTS' NBA COVERAGE AS PLAY-BY-PLAY VOICE BEGINNING THIS OCTOBER" (Press release). Stamford, Connecticut: NBC Sports. February 25, 2025.
55. ^ "JAMAL CRAWFORD JOINS NBC SPORTS' NBA COVERAGE AS GAME ANALYST" (Press release). Stamford, Connecticut: NBC Sports. January 14, 2025.
56. ^ "REGGIE MILLER TO JOIN NBC SPORTS BEGINNING WITH 2025-26 NBA SEASON" (Press release). Stamford, Connecticut: NBC Sports. February 18, 2025.
57. ^ "CARMELO ANTHONY TO JOIN NBC SPORTS AS NBA STUDIO ANALYST BEGINNING THIS FALL" (Press release). Stamford, Connecticut: NBC Sports. May 3, 2025.
58. ^ Lewis, Jon. "More than nostalgia: How NBC thrived and ESPN failed with the NBA". Sports Media Watch. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
59. ^ NBA NBC 1993 Promo on YouTube
60. ^ "John Tesh on the enduring legacy of 'Roundball Rock': 'It's fun for me to watch it take on its own life'". For The Win. October 26, 2018. Archived from the original on October 28, 2018. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
61. ^ Keeley, Sean (July 24, 2024). "With NBA's return to NBC, John Tesh's 'Roundball Rock' officially coming home". Awful Announcing. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
62. ^ Lewis, Jon (July 9, 2012). "No 'Roundball Rock' on the Olympics". sportsmediawatch.com. Sports Media Watch.
63. ^ "Roundball Rock returns for the 2016 Summer Olympics on NBC". youtube.com. August 6, 2016.
64. ^ "Slam Dunk: NBC Brings Back Iconic NBA Theme for Olympics". apnews.com. Associated Press. July 26, 2021.
65. ^ ""Roundball Rock" Revival on NBC? John Tesh Re-recording Hoops Classic As NBA Rights Hunt Heats Up". hollywoodreporter.com. The Hollywood Reporter. May 21, 2024.
66. ^ "Welcome to THEOUTFIELD.com". TheOutfield.com. Archived from the original on May 16, 2005. Retrieved May 1, 2005.
67. ^ Swayne, Dodds, Linda E., Mark (August 8, 2011). Encyclopedia of Sports Management and Marketing. SAGE Publications. p. 1662\. ISBN 9781452266480. Archived from the original on May 3, 2024. Retrieved October 27, 2020.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
68. ^ "Gender in Televised Sports: 1989, 1993 and 1999" (PDF). la84.org. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 24, 2021. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
69. ^ Penner, Mike (December 18, 2001). "NBC Exit Strategy Begins NBA Spin". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 6, 2019. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
70. ^ Miller, Shales, James Andrew, Tom (May 24, 2011). Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN. Little, Brown. ISBN 9780316125765. Archived from the original on May 3, 2024. Retrieved October 27, 2020.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
71. ^ Reynolds, Mike (June 16, 2002). "ESPN's Come a Long Way, WNBA". Multichannel News. Archived from the original on May 3, 2024. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
72. ^ "Stern Talks Smack With Rome: TV Deal And WNBA Profitability". Sports Business Daily. June 5, 2002. Archived from the original on May 3, 2024. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
73. ^ Awful Announcing Staff (July 23, 2024). "NBC reveals NBA schedule highlights, new WNBA Finals agreement". awfulannouncing.com. Awful Announcing. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
74. ^ "NBC speaks Spanish". CNN Money. Time Warner. October 11, 2001. Archived from the original on November 29, 2016. Retrieved November 7, 2015.
75. ^ Eduardo Porter (August 20, 2002). "NBA Strikes Deal to Broadcast Games in Spanish on Telemundo". The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved November 7, 2015.
76. ^ "Telemundo to Air NBA en Español". Multichannel News. August 26, 2002. Archived from the original on August 9, 2021. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
77. ^ John Lombardo (October 10, 2005). "NBA is off the air at Telemundo". Sports Business Journal. Advance Publications. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved November 7, 2015.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website
* ESPN.com – NBA – PLAYOFFS 2002 – The day Tesh's music might die
* nba-low.mov QuickTime MOV video: voice-over Mitch Phillips on commercial spots for the NBA on NBC.
* 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
* InsideHoops – NBA TV Contracts
* Jump The Shark – NBA on NBC

Preceded by

DuMont

|  NBA network broadcast partner
1955–1962 | Succeeded by

SNI

|
|

Preceded by

CBS

|  NBA network broadcast partner
1990–2002 | Succeeded by

ABC

Preceded by

TNT

|  NBA network broadcast partner
Starting in 2025
(shared with ESPN/ABC since 2002; and Prime Video starting in 2025)  | Succeeded by

* v
* t
* e

NBA on NBC

Related
programs|

* NBA Showtime
* NBA Inside Stuff
* NBA on USA
* WNBA on NBC

| Non-NBA programs|

* College Basketball on NBC
* Olympics on NBC

|

Related
articles|

* NBA on television (NBA Finals ratings)
* NBA Showtime: NBA on NBC
* Like Mike
* 2002 FIBA World Championship

NBC Sports Regional Networks
Bay Area (Golden State Warriors)
Boston (Boston Celtics)
California (Sacramento Kings)
Philadelphia (Philadelphia 76ers)

* 1950s
* 1960s
* 1990s
* 2000s

Commentators|

* All-Star Game
* NBA Finals
* WNBA Finals

Key figures|

| Play-by-play|

* Marv Albert
* Mike Breen
* Bob Costas
* Don Criqui
* Noah Eagle
* Dick Enberg
* Greg Gumbel
* Tom Hammond
* Dan Hicks
* Jim Lampley
* Joel Meyers
* Bob Neal
* Paul Sunderland
* Mike Tirico

|

Color
commentators|

* Quinn Buckner
* P. J. Carlesimo
* Doug Collins
* Jamal Crawford
* Chuck Daly
* Mike Dunleavy Sr.
* Cotton Fitzsimmons
* Mike Fratello
* Matt Guokas
* Dan Issel
* Steve Jones
* Magic Johnson
* Joe Lapchick
* Ann Meyers
* Reggie Miller
* Ron Rothstein
* Isiah Thomas
* Bill Walton

Sideline reporters|

* Bruce Beck
* Jim Gray
* Lewis Johnson
* Marion Jones
* Andrea Joyce
* Lisa Malosky
* Ahmad Rashad
* Summer Sanders
* Hannah Storm
* Chris Wragge

Studio analysts|

* Pat Croce
* Julius Erving
* Kevin Johnson
* Pat Riley
* John Salley
* Tom Tolbert
* Peter Vecsey
* Jayson Williams

Play-by-play (1954–62)|

* Jerry Doggett
* Marty Glickman
* Jim Gordon
* Curt Gowdy
* Bill O'Donnell
* Bud Palmer
* Lindsey Nelson
* Bob Wolff

NBA Finals|

* 1955 (Games 2, 6)
* 1956 (Game 1)
* 1957 (Games 1, 7)
* 1958 (Game 1)
* 1959 (Games 1–2)
* 1960 (Games 1, 3–4, 7)
* 1961 (Games 1, 3–4)
* 1962 (Games 1–2)
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993
* 1994
* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999
* 2000
* 2001
* 2002

| WNBA Finals|

* 1997 (single game)
* 1998 (Games 1–2)
* 1999 (Games 2–3)
* 2000 (Game 2)
* 2001 (Game 2)
* 2002 (Game 2)

|

All-Star Game|

* 1959
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993
* 1994
* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 2000
* 2001
* 2002
* 2026

Lore|

*     * "Roundball Rock"
* Christmas Day
* O.J. Simpson's low-speed freeway chase
* The Clock Incident (1994)
* Clutch City
* Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals
* Memorial Day Miracle

| Rivalries|

* Bulls–Knicks
* Bulls–Pistons
* Heat–Knicks
* Jazz–Rockets

|

McDonald's
Championship|

* 1990
* 1991
* 1993
* 1995
* 1997

* v
* t
* e

NBC Sports Group

Current programs|

| Sports on NBC|

* Big Ten Saturday Night
* Boxing on NBC
* College Basketball on NBC
* Cycling on NBC
* Golf on NBC
* NASCAR on NBC
* NFL on NBC
* Football Night in America
* NBC Sunday Night Football
* Notre Dame Football on NBC
* Tennis on NBC
* Thoroughbred Racing on NBC
* Premier League on NBC
* history

|

Sports on other networks|

* Golf Central
* Premier Lacrosse League
* USA Sevens
* USA Rugby League
* Men in Blazers
* WWE SmackDown

National channels|

* Golf Channel
* Olympic Channel
* minority stake
* MLB Network
* NHL Network

NBC Sports Regional Networks|

* Bay Area (45%)
* Boston
* California
* Philadelphia
* SNY (8%)

Streaming affiliation|

* Peacock

USA Network|

* NASCAR
* NCAAM
* NCAAF
* Golf

Occasional programming|

* NBC Olympics
* NBC Sports
* NBC-Telemundo Deportes

Occasional broadcasters|

* NBC
* Bravo
* CNBC
* MSNBC
* (Spanish-language)
* Universo
* Telemundo

Other properties|

* All-American Bowl
* Alli Sports
* American Century Championship
* NBC Sports Digital
* GolfNow
* NBC Sports Gold
* NBC Sports Live Extra
* Rotoworld Fantasy Sports
* profootballtalk.com
* Xfinity Live! Philadelphia
* Sky Sports

Former programs|

* 36
* American Football League
* Arena Football League
* Baseball Night in America
* Bowling on NBC
* CFL on NBC
* The Dan Patrick Show
* FIFA World Cup on NBC
* Formula One on NBC
* Gillette Cavalcade of Sports
* Hambletonian
* IndyCar Series on NBC
* The 'Lights
* MLB Game of the Week
* Major League Baseball on NBC
* history
* Major League Baseball: An Inside Look
* MLB Sunday Leadoff
* Match of the Day
* MLS on NBC
* NBA on NBC
* WNBA
* NBA Showtime
* NBC College Football Game of the Week
* Bowl games
* NHL on NBC
* NHL Game of the Week
* Wednesday Night Rivalry
* WWE NXT
* WWE Raw
* Sportsworld
* Red Bull Global Rallycross
* NBC SportsTalk
* Premier Boxing Champions

Parent: NBCUniversal

* v
* t
* e

NBC programming (current and upcoming)

Primetime|

* America's Got Talent (since 2006)
* American Ninja Warrior (since 2011)
* The Americas (since 2025)
* Brilliant Minds (since 2024)
* Chicago Fire (since 2012)
* Chicago Med (since 2015)
* Chicago P.D. (since 2014)
* Dateline NBC (since 1992)
* Deal or No Deal Island (since 2024)
* Found (since 2023)
* Grosse Pointe Garden Society (since 2025)
* Happy's Place (since 2024)
* The Hunting Party (since 2025)
* The Irrational (since 2023)
* Law & Order (1990–2010; since 2022)
* Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (since 1999)
* Lopez vs Lopez (since 2022)
* Night Court (since 2023)
* Password (since 2022)
* St. Denis Medical (since 2024)
* Suits LA (since 2025)
* That's My Jam (since 2021)
* The Voice (since 2011)
* The Wall (since 2016)
* Weakest Link (2001–2002; since 2020)
* Yes, Chef! (since 2025)

Daytime|

* NBC News Daily (since 2022)

Late night|

* Late Night with Seth Meyers (since 2014)
* Saturday Night Live (since 1975)
* The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (since 2014)

News|

* Dateline NBC (since 1992)
* Early Today (since 1999)
* 1st Look (since 2008)
* Meet the Press (since 1947)
* NBC News Daily (since 2022)
* NBC Nightly News (since 1970)
* Today (since 1952)
* Sunday Today (since 2016)

Sports|

* College Football on NBC
* Football Night in America
* Golf on NBC
* NASCAR on NBC
* NBC Sunday Night Football
* NFL on NBC
* Notre Dame Football on NBC
* Olympics on NBC
* Premier League on NBC
* Tennis on NBC
* Thoroughbred Racing on NBC

Saturday
morning|

* The More You Know

Upcoming|

* NBA on NBC (2025)
* WNBA on NBC (2026)

* List of programs previously broadcast by NBC

* v
* t
* e

USA Network original programming

Current|

* Barmageddon (since 2022)
* Scare Tactics (season 6; since 2024)
* WWE SmackDown (2016–19; since 2024)

Sports|

* AMA Supercross Championship (since 2022)
* College basketball (since 2022)
* Golf (since 2022)
* NASCAR (since 2022)
* Olympics (since 2008)
* Premier League (since 2014)
* Thoroughbred Racing (since 2022)

Upcoming|

* Resident Alien (season 4; 2025)
* NBA on NBC (2025)
* WNBA on NBC (2026)

Former|

| 1970s debuts|

* Calliope (1978–93)
* NBA on USA (1979–84)
* NHL on USA (1979–85, 2015–21)
* USA Network Thursday Night Baseball (1979–83)
* Video Concert Hall (1978–81)

|

1980s debuts|

* Airwolf (1987)
* Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1987–89)
* American Bandstand (1989)
* Bumper Stumpers (1987–90)
* Camp Midnite (1989)
* Chain Reaction (1986–91)
* College Basketball on USA (1982–88)
* College Football on USA (1980–86, 2020)
* Commander USA's Groovie Movies (1985–89)
* Dance Party USA (1986–92)
* The Dick Cavett Show (1985–86)
* Golf on USA (1982–2007, 2010)
* The Hitchhiker (1989–91)
* Jackpot (1985–88)
* Love Me, Love Me Not (1986–87)
* Major Indoor Soccer League (1982–83)
* Mazda SportsLook (1981–82)
* North American Soccer League (1982–83)
* Night Flight (1981–88)
* PBA on USA (1982–84)
* Radio 1990 (1983–86)
* Sanchez of Bel Air (1986)
* Southwest Championship Wrestling (1982–83)
* Survivor Series Showdown (1989–93)
* U.S. Open Tennis Championship (1984–2008)
* Tuesday Night Titans (1984–86)
* USA Cartoon Express (1982–96)
* USA Saturday Nightmares (1984–94)
* USA Tuesday Night Fights (1982–98)
* USA Up All Night (1989–98)
* Westminster Dog Show (1984–2003)
* WWF All American Wrestling (1983–94)
* WWF Prime Time Wrestling (1985–93)

1990s debuts|

* Beyond Reality (1991–93)
* The Big Date (1996–97)
* The Big Easy (1996–97)
* Campus Cops (1996)
* Claude's Crib (1997)
* Counterstrike (1990–93)
* Duckman (1994–97)
* Farmclub.com (1999–2000)
* G vs E (1999)
* Highlander: The Animated Series (1994–95)
* Journey to the Center of the Earth (1999)
* La Femme Nikita (1997–2001)
* Lost on Earth (1997)
* March to WrestleMania (1992–94)
* Moby Dick (1998)
* Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm (1996–98)
* The Net (1998–99)
* Pacific Blue (1996–2000)
* Renegade (1996–97)
* The Savage Dragon (1995–98)
* Silk Stalkings (1993–99)
* Street Fighter (1995–98)
* Strip Poker (1999–2000)
* SummerSlam Spectacular (1991–93)
* The Superman/Batman Adventures (1995–96)
* Swamp Thing (1990–93)
* Tattooed Teenage Alien Fighters from Beverly Hills (1994–95)
* TekWar (1994–96)
* Ultraforce (1996–98)
* USA Action Extreme Team (1995–98)
* USA Gonzo Games (1991)
* USA High (1997–99)
* Weird Science (1994–98)
* Wing Commander Academy (1996–98)
* World League of American Football (1991–92)
* WWF Action Zone (1994–96)
* WWF Heat (1998–2000)
* WWF LiveWire (1996–2000)
* WWF Mania (1993–96)
* WWE Raw (1993–2000; 2005–24)
* WWF Superstars (1996–2000)

2000s debuts|

* The 4400 (2004–07)
* Burn Notice (2007–13)
* Cannonball Run 2001 (2001)
* Combat Missions (2002)
* Cover Me (2000–01)
* Crush (2000)
* The Dead Zone (2002–07)
* Dr. Steve-O (2007)
* Eco-Challenge (2000–02)
* Helen of Troy (2003)
* The Huntress (2000–01)
* In Plain Sight (2008–12)
* Kojak (2005)
* Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2007–11)
* Manhattan, AZ (2000)
* Monk (2002–09)
* Nashville Star (2003–07)
* Peacemakers (2003)
* Psych (2006–14)
* Royal Pains (2009–16)
* Smush (2001)
* Spartacus (2004)
* The Starter Wife
* miniseries (2007)
* TV series (2008)
* To Love and Die (2008)
* Touching Evil (2004)
* Traffic (2004)
* Underfunded (2006)
* The War Next Door (2000)
* White Collar (2009–14)

2010s debuts|

* American Ninja Warrior: Ninja vs. Ninja (2017–18)
* Benched (2014)
* Chrisley Knows Best (2014–23)
* Colony (2016–18)
* Common Law (2012)
* Complications (2015)
* Covert Affairs (2010–14)
* Damnation (2017–18)
* Dare Me (2019–20)
* Dig (2015)
* Donny! (2015)
* Eyewitness (2016)
* Fairly Legal (2011–12)
* Falling Water (2016–18)
* First Impressions (2016)
* Graceland (2013–15)
* Miz & Mrs. (2018–22)
* Mr. Robot (2015–19)
* Necessary Roughness (2011–13)
* Pearson (2019)
* Playing House (2014–17)
* Political Animals (2012)
* The Purge (2018–19)
* Queen of the South (2016–21)
* Rush (2014)
* Satisfaction (2014–15)
* Shooter (2016–18)
* The Sinner (2017–21)
* Sirens (2014–15)
* Straight Up Steve Austin (2019–21)
* Suits (2011–19)
* Temptation Island (2019–23)
* Treadstone (2019)
* Unsolved (2018)
* WWE NXT (2019–24)
* WWE Tough Enough (2011)

2020s debuts|

* America's Big Deal (2021)
* The Biggest Loser (2020)
* Briarpatch (2020)
* Cannonball (2020)
* Chucky (2021–24)
* The Courtship (2022)
* Dirty John (2020)
* IndyCar Series on USA (2022–24)
* Snake in the Grass (2022)

* v
* t
* e

NBA on television

Broadcast partners|

* ABC
* CBS
* NBC (returning in 2025)

| Defunct networks|

* DuMont
* SNI

|

Cable/Streaming partners|

* ESPN/ESPN+
* TBS
* TNT/Max
* USA
* Peacock (debuting in 2025)
* Prime Video (debuting in 2025)

NBA owned & operated
entities|

* NBA Entertainment
* NBA League Pass
* NBA TV

Television programs|

| Pre-game|

* NBA Countdown
* NBA Shootaround
* NBA Showtime

|

Post-game|

* Inside the NBA
* Shaqtin' a Fool

* NBA TV Center Court
* TNT Tuesday/Thursday
* ESPN NBA Wednesday/Friday/Sunday
* ABC NBA Saturday Primetime/Sunday Showcase
* NBC Sunday Night Basketball

News and highlights
programs|

| ESPN|

* Grantland Basketball Hour
* The Jump
* NBA Coast to Coast
* NBA Today
* NBA Tonight
* Vintage NBA

|

NBA TV|

* Hardwood Classics
* NBA Access with Ahmad Rashad
* NBA Action
* NBA.com Fantasy Insider
* NBA Gametime Live
* NBA Inside Stuff
* The Starters

Broadcasters by event|

* List of NBA All-Star Game broadcasters
* List of NBA Finals broadcasters

Local broadcasters|

* List of current National Basketball Association broadcasters
* Historical NBA over-the-air television broadcasters

International
broadcasters|

* NBA Premium TV
* NBA TV Canada
* NBA TV Philippines

Commentators|

* ABC
* NBC
* TNT
* ESPN

Music|

* "Roundball Rock"

Miscellaneous|

* ABA broadcasters
* NBA Finals TV ratings

| Decade summaries|

* 1950s
* 1960s
* 1970s
* 1980s
* 1990s
* 2000s
* 2010s
* 2020s

|

* v
* t
* e

Sports Emmy Award for Outstanding Live Sports Series

1975–1990|

* Monday Night Football (1975–76)
* The NFL Today/NFL on CBS (1976–77)
* The NFL Today/NFL on CBS (1977–78)
* Monday Night Football (1978–79)
* College Football on ABC (1979–80)
* PGA Golf Tour (1980–81)
* NFL on CBS (1981–82)
* NFL on CBS (1982–83)
* Not awarded (1983–84)
* Not awarded (1984–85)
* Not awarded (1985–86)
* NFL on CBS (1986–87)
* Monday Night Football (1987–88)
* 1988 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament (1988)
* Monday Night Football (1989)
* 1990 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament (1990)

1991–2009|

* 1991 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament (1991)
* 1992 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament (1992)
* Monday Night Football (1993)
* Monday Night Football (1994)
* ESPN SpeedWorld (1995)
* ESPN SpeedWorld (1996)
* Monday Night Football (1997)
* NBC Golf Tour (1998)
* MLB on Fox (1999)
* ESPN Sunday Night Football (2000)
* NASCAR on Fox (2001)
* The NBA on NBC (2002)
* ESPN Sunday Night Football (2003)
* Monday Night Football (2004)
* NASCAR on Fox (2005)
* NASCAR on NBC/NASCAR on TNT (2006)
* NASCAR on Fox (2007)
* NBC Sunday Night Football (2008)
* NBC Sunday Night Football (2009)

2010–present|

* NBC Sunday Night Football (2010)
* NBC Sunday Night Football (2011)
* NBC Sunday Night Football (2012)
* NBC Sunday Night Football (2013)
* NASCAR on Fox (2014)
* NBC Sunday Night Football (2015)
* NBC Sunday Night Football (2016)
* NBC Sunday Night Football (2017)
* NBC Sunday Night Football (2018)
* NFL on CBS (2019)
* NBC Sunday Night Football (2020)
* NBC Sunday Night Football (2021)
* Monday Night Football with Peyton & Eli (2022)

* v
* t
* e

College Basketball on NBC

Related articles|

* College Basketball on USA
* NBA on NBC
* TVS Television Network
* Wooden Classic

Commentators|

* Men's Final Four
* Southwest Conference Men's Finals
* WAC Men's Finals

| Play-by-play|

* Marv Albert
* Len Berman
* Bob Costas
* Don Criqui
* Dick Enberg
* Frank Fallon
* Frank Glieber
* Curt Gowdy
* Tom Hammond
* Merle Harmon
* Charlie Jones
* Joel Meyers
* Andy Musser
* Jay Randolph
* Jim Simpson
* Dick Stockton
* Barry Tompkins
* Fred White

|

Color commentators|

* John Andariese
* Elgin Baylor
* James Brown
* Quinn Buckner
* Dave Cowens
* Joe Dean
* Bill Enis
* Jack Givens
* Matt Guokas
* Don Haskins
* Tom Hawkins
* Steve Jones
* Jerry Lucas
* Pete Maravich
* Al McGuire
* Ann Meyers
* Billy Packer
* Ross Porter
* Lynn Shackelford
* Jim Simpson
* Fred Taylor
* Gary Thompson
* Jim Valvano
* Bill Walton
* Bucky Waters
* John Wooden

Studio hosts|

* Bryant Gumbel
* Lee Leonard
* Tim Ryan
* Hannah Storm

NCAA Division I
Men's Basketball Tournament|

* 1969
* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979
* 1980
* 1981

| Men's Championship Game|

* 1969
* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979
* 1980
* 1981

|

ACC men's tournament|

* 1977
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
* 1989
* 1990

Big East men's tournament|

* 1982
* 1983

Big Ten men's tournament|

* 2024

Big Ten women's tournament|

* 2024

SEC men's tournament|

* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1988

WAC men's tournament|

* 1984

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