NBA on ABC

• 1. First ABC Era Beginnings

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  On the 3rd of January 1965, a game between the Boston Celtics and Cincinnati Royals aired on ABC. This marked the first time the network broadcast National Basketball Association games to a national audience. Roone Arledge, head of ABC Sports, secured the rights for $650,000 annually. The deal aimed to boost ratings against CBS Sports Spectacular. ABC initially focused on Sunday afternoon telecasts during the regular season and playoffs. This strategy allowed them to avoid weeknight Finals games if necessary. In 1969, they broke this pattern by airing Game 7 of the Lakers-Celtics series in prime time. The following year, ABC televised the entire 1970 NBA Finals. Commentators included Keith Jackson, Chris Schenkel, Jack Twyman, Bob Cousy, and Bill Russell. A strike by AFTRA forced producer Chuck Howard and director Chet Forte to call Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals without their usual team. Curt Gowdy filled play-by-play duties for half the 1967-68 season. By 1969, the contract was worth only $3 million compared to Major League Baseball's $16.5 million with NBC. Ratings rose from 6.0 in 1965 to 8.2 in 1968. Frank Deford criticized ABC's coverage of the 1971 NBA Finals in Sports Illustrated. He argued that treating basketball like football failed to capture its nuances. Replays were used to second-guess officials rather than highlight player grace. ABC lost rights after the 1972-73 season when CBS took over.

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• 2. The Dark Years Interregnum

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  ABC did not broadcast NBA games between the 10th of May 1973 and the 25th of December 2002. During this period, the network focused on college basketball and other sports properties. On the 15th of December 1973, ABC aired a regular season college game between UCLA and North Carolina State in St. Louis. Keith Jackson and Bill Russell called this matchup using their former NBA crew. Russell also provided color commentary for the Summer Olympics in 1972 and 1976 alongside Frank Gifford and Curt Gowdy. In the 1977-78 NCAA season, C.D. Chesley sold ACC Tournament final rights to ABC. Jim Lampley and Bill Russell called the Duke Blue Devils' first national television appearance. For the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, Keith Jackson handled play-by-play with Digger Phelps and Ann Meyers. Regular college basketball coverage began again on the 18th of January 1987. Keith Jackson and Dick Vitale formed the primary announcing team while Gary Bender served as secondary play-by-play. Al Michaels covered regional games during this era. From 1987 through 1989, ABC broadcast the McDonald's Open with Gary Bender and Dick Vitale. ABC Radio Network served as the official national radio broadcaster from 1984-85 through 1989-90. Fred Manfra did play-by-play while Oscar Robertson and Dick Vitale provided color commentary. Marv Albert and Chick Hearn appeared as guest announcers for All-Star Games. The network filled its void by counterprogramming Wide World of Sports against CBS NBA coverage.

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• 3. Modern Revival And Expansion

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  On the 22nd of January 2002, the NBA signed a six-year deal with Disney Company and Turner Sports. ABC and ESPN paid an average of $400 million per season. Technically, ESPN buys time on ABC to air select games. The agreement included rights to the NBA Finals, five playoff games, fifteen regular season games, and Saturday morning shows. In June 2007, the league renewed its television agreement extending it through the 2024-25 season. Coverage expanded in the 2015-16 season when ABC added eight Saturday night games. Regular Sunday doubleheaders returned in 2021 after being reduced. ABC began airing the NBA draft in 2021. On the 2nd of October 2023, five Wednesday night games moved from ESPN to ABC due to labor strikes. The league renewed its agreement again on the 24th of July 2024 for eleven years through the 2035-36 season. A sublicensing agreement gave ESPN and ABC rights to TNT Sports' Inside the NBA starting in 2025-26. ABC's schedule typically begins with Christmas Day games followed by Saturday Primetime and Sunday Showcase. In some seasons, coverage started with the In-Season Tournament rounds. From 2003 to 2025, TNT held rights to the All-Star Game instead of ABC. NBC will return to air All-Star weekend beginning with the 2026 game. ABC airs selected games during the first three rounds of playoffs but rarely covers Conference Finals outside of specific games.

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• 4. Broadcasting Team Evolution

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  Brad Nessler became lead play-by-play announcer after Bob Costas chose to stay with NBC. He was initially joined by Bill Walton and Michele Tafoya as sideline reporter. Tom Tolbert later joined as pre-game analyst. This team called most regular season games and every network playoff game until ratings dropped sharply in 2003. Al Michaels replaced Nessler as lead broadcaster in 2003. Doc Rivers worked alongside him before becoming head coach of the Boston Celtics. Hubie Brown then replaced Rivers as partner for the 2004-05 season. Brown called his first ABC game on Christmas Day 2004 featuring Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant. Michaels only called thirty-seven NBA games total with ABC including thirteen regular season contests. Mike Breen took over as lead broadcaster starting in 2006. He previously worked Knicks games on MSG Network. Lisa Salters served as lead sideline reporter filling in for Tafoya during maternity leave. Mark Jackson replaced Hubie Brown as lead analyst in 2006-07. Stuart Scott hosted the pregame show from 2007 through 2013. Sage Steele became host in 2013. Chauncey Billups joined analysts but left for a coaching job. Maria Taylor and Rachel Nichols handled hosting duties after the 8th of March 2020 when play suspended due to the pandemic. Doris Burke replaced Nichols as sideline reporter for the Finals. In Game 1 of the 2022 Finals, Mark Jones filled in for Breen making history as part of the first all-black broadcast team. Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson were laid off in June and July 2023. Doris Burke and Doc Rivers replaced them on the lead team. Redick later joined Breen and Burke before leaving to coach the Lakers. Tim Legler replaced Burke ahead of the 2025-26 season.

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• 5. Christmas Day Game Traditions

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  The first nationally televised Christmas Day NBA broadcast occurred between the Los Angeles Lakers and San Diego Rockets at the San Diego Sports Arena. Jerry Gross and Jack Twyman called that particular game. ABC continued televising Christmas games through various years based largely on the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix. Chris Schenkel did play-by-play except when Keith Jackson held responsibility. The Heat-Lakers matchup featuring Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant appeared three consecutive years from 2003 to 2005. In 2007, ABC broke tradition by having the Heat face the Cleveland Cavaliers instead. The Boston Celtics replaced the Heat in 2008 facing the Lakers while the Cavaliers played the Lakers in 2009. LeBron James moved from the Cavaliers to the Heat leading to a return of the Heat-Lakers special in 2010-11. For the 2011-12 season, both teams played separate opponents against the Chicago Bulls and Dallas Mavericks. ABC aired pre-game championship ring ceremonies for the first time during this period. Mariah Carey performed her hit song All I Want for Christmas Is You starting in 2006. She also sang Oh Santa! in subsequent years. Coverage expanded to tripleheaders from 2014 to 2019. In 2022 all five games were simulcast across ABC and ESPN to counterprogram NFL scheduling. When Christmas fell on a Monday only two games aired on ABC while others stayed on ESPN. After the NFL scheduled Wednesday games in 2023 all five matches returned to simultaneous broadcast.

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• 6. Production Techniques And Music

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  ABC utilized unconventional camera angles including Floorcam and Skycam throughout its coverage. Critics complained that colors appeared faded and crowd noise was quieted so announcers could be heard clearly. NBC allowed crowd noise to sometimes drown out voices unlike ABC's approach. The network used at least nine different themes in its first four years after rejecting John Tesh's Roundball Rock proposal. Three themes were traditional sports pieces while six were contemporary songs by known artists like Justin Timberlake and Destiny Child. Fast Break became the theme music for ABC broadcasts starting in 2004-05 season. This same track was adopted by ESPN following reorganization under ESPN oversight. The Pussycat Dolls performed Right Now as the new introduction for NBA games during the 2006-07 season. Nine Lives by Def Leppard and Tim McGraw served as intro song for the 2008 season. A revised version of the 1972-73 theme incorporated current players from previous years during the 2012 playoffs. Maze featuring Frankie Beverly added Before I Let Go to start courtside commentary in 2016-17. A remixed version of a newly composed theme began usage prior to the 2022-23 season. These musical choices reflected attempts to modernize the broadcast experience compared to earlier decades.

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• 7. Viewership Trends And Criticism

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  Between 2012 and 2019, the NBA lost forty to forty-five percent of its viewership. Cable-cutting contributed alongside political stances taken by leagues and uneven talent distribution. The opening game of the 2020 Finals between Lakers and Heat brought only 7.41 million viewers according to The Hollywood Reporter. That figure represents the lowest since regular recording began in 1994 showing a 45 percent decline from the previous year's Warriors-Raptors matchup. Media analysts noted that cable-heavy deals made many games unavailable to fans without subscriptions. Starting with the second round of playoffs TNT coverage became exclusive preventing local broadcasts from competing. ABC's coverage remains exclusive even during regular seasons causing some games not to air at all locally. Promotions for the 2003 NBA Finals received little fanfare compared to other events like the Indianapolis 500. Promos took up three minutes fifty-five seconds of airtime on the 23rd of May 2004 while Indy 500 promotions outnumbered them fourteen-to-nine between nine and eleven PM. Critics argued ABC focused too heavily on select teams especially regarding repeated Christmas Day matchups involving popular franchises.

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