NBA on TNT

NBA on TNT
Format	Sports
Starring	Marv Albert Steve Kerr Mike Fratello Ernie Johnson Jr. Charles Barkley Kenny Smith Reggie Miller Kevin Harlan Dick Stockton John Thompson Matt Devlin Craig Sager David Aldridge Cheryl Miller Chris Webber Pam Oliver Shaquille O'Neal
Country of origin	United States
Production
Running time	150 minutes+ Subject to change
Broadcast
Original channel	TNT (1988-present)
Picture format	480i (SDTV), 1080i (HDTV)
Original run	October 30, 1988 (1988-10-30) – Present
External links
Website

The NBA on TNT is Turner Network Television's coverage of the National Basketball Association, produced by Turner Sports. TNT's basketball broadcasts, which include a weekly doubleheader known as TNT NBA Thursday, the Inside the NBA studio show, as well as playoff coverage, are perhaps that channel's signature programs. TNT began airing NBA games in 1988, and aired games on multiple nights^[1] of the week (usually twice a week with sister network TBS airing another game on another night) until 2002. In the video game NBA 07, made by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 3 consoles, graphics for TNT's NBA games is seen when playing an exhibition, playoff, preseason, or seasonal game. A direct copy of TNT's graphics can also be seen on Cartoon Network's weekly basketball program, Run It Back.

The NBA on TNT is the network's longest-running program, as well as the current longest-running NBA game coverage program in the league (ABC and ESPN did not start airing games until 2002).

Coverage

Overview

TNT airs many of the NBA's marquee games (the NBA All-Star Game, a full Conference Final, Opening Night games, and the vast majority of playoff games), and is regarded by many NBA fans as the equivalent of what NBC was during their coverage of the league.^[2] TNT would seem to be the preferred carrier to the NBA as well; from 2003 to 2005, TNT aired the Conference Final with the most interest from the national media (Spurs-Mavericks in 2003, Lakers-Wolves in 2004 and Pistons-Heat in 2005). TNT also airs most of the big games during the regular season (TNT aired a Lakers-Heat game for the third straight year in 2007), and TNT studio content is streamed to NBA.com via the TNT Overtime section.

Studio team

Main article: Inside the NBA

The host of the NBA on TNT since its inception is Ernie Johnson Jr. Currently, Johnson is joined by Kenny "The Jet" Smith and Charles Barkley. The NBA postgame show which features the three, Inside the NBA, has gained popularity in recent years for the chemistry and banter they have. Occasionally, Johnson, Smith and Barkley are joined by Chris Webber, Kevin McHale, David Aldridge or Reggie Miller.

Playoff coverage

TNT's playoff coverage is nicknamed 40 Games in 40 Nights. In previous years, TNT and TBS aired doubleheaders opposite each other each night of the first round of the playoffs, with one network airing a doubleheader at 7:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. and the other network airing a doubleheader at 8:00 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. (all times Eastern).

TNT also carries exclusive coverage of one NBA Conference Final. From 2005 on, TNT has aired the Eastern Conference Finals in odd-number years and the Western Conference Finals in even-number years. They aired, or will air, the 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2015 Eastern Conference Finals, and the 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2016 Western Conference Finals. ESPN airs the other Conference Final, with weekend coverage of the ESPN covered series and the Finals being broadcast on ABC.

For the first round, TNT's coverage of the playoffs is not exclusive; local sports networks can still air the game. Only during the second round and the conference finals does TNT's coverage become exclusive.

2000-2002

Starting in 2000, the NBA spread out playoff series so that only two series would play per day (so as to avoid TNT and TBS competing for ratings). TNT would air doubleheaders on most weekdays, while TBS would air one doubleheader per week (in 2002, TBS aired doubleheaders every Tuesday night of the playoffs until the Conference Finals).

Since 2003

NBA on TNT logo 2005-2008

With the advent of the new NBA television deal in 2003 (which ended TBS' coverage), TNT has aired playoff games alone, including (in 2003 only) some weekday tripleheaders. The tripleheaders, which were criticized by both fans and many in the media, consisted of one game at 6:00 p.m., another at 8:30 p.m., and a final game at 11:00 p.m. After 2003, the NBA and TNT discontinued the tripleheaders, instead settling for a doubleheader on TNT and a single game on NBA TV simultaneously. However, when Turner Sports acquired NBA TV in 2008, the network abandoned airing the lone non-national Thursday game, instead leaving it up to the local sports networks.

Other than their regular Thursday schedule, TNT also airs NBA regular season games on Martin Luther King Day, during which tripleheaders were still used. However in 2011, ESPN opted to air one matinee game on MLK Day, and NBA TV on the second matinee, leaving TNT to air the remaining two night games. In 2008, TNT broadcast on Christmas Day for the first time as Marv Albert, Mike Fratello and Craig Sager broadcast the game between Washington and Cleveland in Cleveland and Kevin Harlan, Reggie Miller and Cheryl Miller broadcast the game between Dallas and Portland in Portland.

Due to TNT's part in coverage of the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship beginning in March 2011, the league shifted over what would have been the Thursday night games in the third week of that month to Monday nights and they aired as part of ESPN's coverage instead.

Normally the studio crew of Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley would stay in the TNT Atlanta studios for all of the regular season and the first two rounds of the playoffs. However, in the 2010-11 NBA season the studio crew started taking their pre-game, halftime and Inside the NBA shows on the road in the regular season, specifically select games involving the Miami Heat on TNT, due to the heightened media coverage surrounding the Heat's acquisitions of LeBron James and Chris Bosh. The substitute studio hosts will also be on hand for Inside the NBA and the other game's pre-game and halftime presentations; the crew consists of Matt Winer, Chris Webber and Kevin McHale.

On May 11, 2011, Turner Sports (this includes TBS) broadcast its 1,000 playoff telecast.^[3]

In July 2011, It was announced that Shaquille O'Neal will join as an analyst and signed a multi-year agreement.

Canadian coverage

TNT rarely shows regular season games from the Toronto Raptors, the NBA's lone non-United States based franchise. This is because the Toronto market lies outside the network's saleable broadcast zone (TNT is not available in Canada, and Canadian viewership would not affect TNT's U.S. ratings even if it was available in that country).

Virtually all TNT games, regular season or postseason, are now simulcast in Canada via either TSN/TSN2, Rogers Sportsnet/Sportsnet One, or NBA TV Canada. However, any TNT coverage of Raptors postseason games is not aired in favour of team-produced coverage, as has been the case with all Raptors games in Canada since the early 2000s.

Announcing teams

The NBA on TNT logo used prior to the 2001-02 NBA season.

Mike Fratello, Reggie Miller and Marv Albert, along with TNT production staff, during an NBA on TNT broadcast.

Main article: List of NBA on TNT broadcasters

The lead announcing team for the NBA on TNT is Marv Albert and Steve Kerr. The 2010-11 NBA season will be their fourth season together; however their first since the 2005-06 NBA season (Kerr was Phoenix Suns general manager in between). The second announcing team will be Kevin Harlan and Reggie Miller. Dick Stockton, who has been with TNT since 1995, is currently the third play-by-play man, calling select regular season and playoff games. Stockton usually teams up with Mike Fratello but has often teamed up with Kerr in select games. In the regular season, TNT's announce teams are not usually permanent; Fratello has occasionally teamed up with Harlan while Miller also teamed up along with Albert and Kerr as a three-piece and vice versa. At times Fratello would also be absent because of his commitment with the New Jersey Nets on the YES Network. Another occasional announcer is Matt Devlin. When not calling Toronto Raptors games, Devlin is usually filled in as play-by-play man on select games, particularly in the playoffs. Most recently Nets play-by-play man Ian Eagle also fill in during the playoffs, primarily working with his YES colleague Fratello.

Albert, Harlan and Eagle are all also play-by-play hosts for the NFL on CBS.

Doug Collins used to be the secondary analyst on TNT; he was also the lead analyst in his first stint with the network from 1989 to 1995, pairing with the likes of Bob Neal, Ron Thulin and Pete Van Wieren. In his second stint from 2003 to 2010, he is usually paired with Harlan during the regular season, but is also paired with Albert during the NBA All-Star Game and the Conference Finals. The original voice of the NBA on TNT was Bob Neal, who worked with the network from 1989 to 1995; he was also the original voice of the NBA on TBS. Other announcers who worked for TNT include Hubie Brown, Vern Lundquist, Danny Ainge, Rex Chapman, John Thompson, Jeff Van Gundy, P.J. Carlesimo and Gary Bender. Several prominent NBA analysts have chosen TNT over ABC or ESPN, such as Doug Collins and Charles Barkley (Barkley was not only approached by ABC about an NBA studio job in 2002, but as also rumored to have been approached for a job on Monday Night Football). Reggie Miller was also sought out by ABC and ESPN, only to go to TNT. Craig Sager and Cheryl Miller currently serve as the primary sideline reporters, with David Aldridge filling in on select games. In the playoffs fill-in sideline reporters, some coming from NBA TV, are used, with Marc Fein, Marty Snider, Jamie Maggio and Lewis Johnson currently hold the capacity.

The biggest TNT acquisition once sought out by ABC and ESPN was Marv Albert. After the 2002 NBA Finals, Albert, essentially a free agent, was a candidate for the lead spot on The NBA on ABC (which ultimately went to Brad Nessler). Albert, hired by TNT in 1999, decided to stay with the network.^[4] Some attributed this to the fact that TNT gave Albert his first chance to be on national television after the embarrassing sex scandal that forced his firing at NBC. Albert and Mike Fratello—both of whom worked as a team in the NBA on NBC's early years—would ultimately reunite on TNT.

Hubie Brown and Jeff Van Gundy are currently the only former TNT announcers working for ABC. Brown, whose role on TNT was going to be significantly reduced starting with the 2002–03 season, left in 2002 to coach the Memphis Grizzlies. After two seasons of coaching, he left Memphis in early 2004 (leading to the departure from TNT of lead analyst Mike Fratello, who replaced him in Memphis) and was quickly picked up by ABC. Jeff Van Gundy, who was fired by the Houston Rockets after they lost in the first round, joined ABC at the beginning of the Western Conference Finals. Part-time TNT broadcaster Mike Breen is now the lead broadcaster for ABC and one-time TNT analyst Doc Rivers worked for ABC in 2004. Meanwhile, Pam Oliver, the lead sideline reporter for NFL games on FOX Sports joined Turner Sports in 2004 as she would only be on during the NBA Playoffs as she still continues that role today.

Music

Main article: National_Basketball_Association_music#TNT.2FTBS

TNT's current NBA game theme^[5] was written by composer Trevor Rabin.^[6] Previous themes for TNT were composed by Edd Kalehoff^[7], Big Bad Voodoo Daddy^[8], Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis^[9]

Contract history^[10]

Seasons	Contracts Amount
1988-89 to 1989-90	$50 million/2 years
1990-91 to 1993-94	$275 million/4 years
1994-95 to 1997-98	$397 million/4 years
1998-99 to 2001-02	$840 million/4 years
2002-03 to 2007-08	$2.2 billion/6 years

TNT extended its deal with the NBA in 2007. TNT's NBA contract is up at the end of the 2015–16 season, financial terms between the NBA and TNT were not disclosed, although the NBA will receive $930 million per year from all of its broadcasting partners (ESPN, ABC, ESPN Radio, and NBA TV).^[11]

References

1. ^ 1990 NBA Tuesday on TNT Intro on YouTube
2. ^ Old School Friday - SLAM Online
3. ^ Fang, Ken (9 May 2011). "TNT To Air Turner Sports’ 1,000th NBA Playoff Game on Wednesday". Fang's Bites. Wordpress. http://fangsbites.com/2011/05/tnt-to-air-turner-sports-1000th-nba-playoff-game-on-wednesday/. Retrieved 9 May 2011. 
4. ^ Albert follows bouncing NBA from NBC to TNT
5. ^ NBA on TNT Theme Song Extended (Edited) (HQ) on YouTube
6. ^ Conversation with Trevor Rabin
7. ^ TV Music Museum
8. ^ NBA on TNT Theme (99-2000) on YouTube
9. ^ NBA on TNT Theme: "Excellence" on YouTube
10. ^ Inside Hoops - NBA TV Contracts
11. ^ [1]

External links

• NBA on TNT at the Internet Movie Database
• Sports Media Watch: NBA on TNT

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