'Roundball Rock' Confirmed For NBA on NBC Homecoming

NBC has officially dunked the ball they’ve been given

I’m gonna dunk it! Full disclosure: NBC’s second era of NBA rights, which ran from 1990 to 2002 is basically just before my time. I don’t think I was quite paying attention back then. I do not remember a single Michael Jordan Bulls game. So was their main MLB era for that matter But in the early 2010s it seems the nostalgia for the NBA on NBC theme song “Roundball Rock” was rampant. Or maybe its general appreciation got its social media bullhorn. It made its way through Fox College Basketball and AEW wrestling. But when Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav’s devaluation of the NBA pushed TNT out of the league’s next media rights deal that included NBC, many were excited at the possibility of its beloved theme song coming back. And while it took a while, it was confirmed Saturday in style.

Being without the Super Bowl and the Olympics this year, NBC chose the 151st Kentucky Derby (won by Sovreignty) to start the push. The bugler started playing it into an ad with NBA stars like Luka Doncic, Donovan Mitchell, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and those of NBC’s scripted, unscripted and even news programs like Law & Order: SVU, America’s Got Talent, TODAY, Real Housewives, The Voice, and the WWE, falling victim to the ear worm. And of course they included a clip from Saturday Night Live’s sketch from the April 13, 2013 Vince Vaughn/Miguel episode of a fictional version of the pitching of the song to NBC executives featuring Jason Sudeikis as John and Tim Robinson as fictional lyrically-leaning brother Dave. But it wasn’t quite easy. “What happened was, right before the Olympics, I get a call from the music department at NBC and they say, ‘Hey, we just found out that it’s official. We got the rights to the NBA for 11 years. It’s back. And it begins in October of 2025. And we want to say that we’re negotiating with you and your publishing company. We’re gonna bring Roundball Rock back. We want to put that in the press release because we know that will be one of the big questions.'” Tesh described, continuing “So when I said this,” he continued. “I said, ‘You know you don’t have the rights to the song?’ He said, ‘Yeah. But we want to put in the press release that we’re negotiating with you and your publishing company.’ I said ‘Ah, I don’t think that’s a great idea.’ And then he said, ‘Well. We would just hope that you would negotiate in good faith.’ I said, ‘I guess you’re gonna do what you want to do.’ And he said ‘That’s what the folks here want to do.'”

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But now, everything is squared away, as the press release confirming the return features Tesh and NBC Sports President Rick Cordella’s enthusiastic statement about the return. “It’s a thrill to announce that Roundball Rock is coming home,” Cordella started. “‘Roundball Rock is one of the greatest pieces of theme music in sports history. Hearing it immediately conjures images of NBC Sports’ coverage of one of the golden ages of the NBA, from Magic to Michael to Kobe and many others. It was a pleasure working with John Tesh to bring Roundball Rock back to NBC, and we’re equally excited to hear its debut on Peacock. We couldn’t imagine beginning our coverage any other way.”

“I’m truly honored to be back with my friends at NBC Sports,” Tesh continued. “From our first meeting, Rick Cordella had a powerful vision for bringing Roundball Rock back to its one true home. Along with millions of other fans, I’ll be front row center for the epic launch in the fall.” NBC’s package is headlined by a Tuesday night doubleheader, with affiliates able to choose one game or both, as well as Sunday night games, the baton passed after Sunday Night Football is over. They’ll also have opening night, Veterans’ Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, and directly taking everything in All-Star Weekend except the Celebrity Game. Peacock, which will most certainly use Roundball Rock as well with the same production team and all, has an exclusive Monday night package and will stream both NBC Tuesday games and select of the others. The broadcast team includes play-by-play announcers Mike Tirico and Noah Eagle; color commentators Reggie Miller and Jamal Crawford; and Carmelo Anthony as newly-announced studio analyst.

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Source: Press release, Awful Announcing