NBC could land ‘Sunday Night Basketball’ package?
Jun 2, 2022; San Francisco, California, USA; NBA commissioner Adam Silver talks to media before game one of the 2022 NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Boston Celtics at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
It has been more than two decades since an NBA game was broadcast on NBC, but we have some good news for fans of “Roundball Rock.”
The NBA’s current media rights deals are set to expire after the 2024-25 season. Andrew Marchand of the New York Post discussed the future of those broadcast rights during an appearance on “The Ariel Helwani Basketball Show” this week. The media insider said “NBC is a player.”
Marchand expects Amazon to secure a package for Thursday games, and fellow streaming giant Apple could also get into the mix. Marchand thinks NBC will look to take a share of Tuesday regular-season games from TNT and that NBC could try to work out a “Sunday Night Basketball” package that would begin after the NFL season ends.
Is the NBA on NBC making a comeback?!
I discuss that + all things NBA media rights with the great @AndrewMarchand.
Enjoy: https://t.co/WIx84MhN4g pic.twitter.com/TAHLPoNAp4
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) June 27, 2023
NBA games were broadcast on NBC from 1954-1962 and then again from 1990-2002, which was one of the league’s most popular eras. Many fans grew up watching some of the biggest games of those seasons on NBC, which always kicked off with the famous “Roundball Rock” theme. There have even been times where networks have tried to bring back some of the “NBA on NBC” nostalgia.
If the NBA does return to NBC, it would likely be very popular among fans.
H/T Awful Announcing
