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Nathaniel S Butler
In the pantheon of TV sports theme songs, “Roundball Rock,” John Tesh's anthem that accompanied National Basketball Association games on NBC until 2002, may be the best.
If NBCUniversal acquires the rights to rebroadcast the NBA, it would have a chance to bring back the iconic tune, the composer told DailyExpertNews in an email.
Comcast's NBCUniversal has made an average bid of $2.5 billion per year to reacquire NBA rights after losing them to NBA 22 years ago DisneyAccording to people familiar with the matter. The Wall Street Journal first reported the details of NBC's offer.
The NBA wants three media partners this time and is close to deals with both Disney and Amazon for two of the packages. The third probably goes to Warner Bros. Discovery or NBCUniversal, but not both, said the people, who asked not to be named because the conversations are private.
Warner Bros. Discovery remains in discussions with the league to retain the rights. Still, NBCUniversal's offer more than doubles the $1.2 billion that Warner Bros. Discovery currently pays. That could be too expensive for Warner Bros. Discovery, whose market cap of $18 billion is dwarfed Comcast$150 billion.
Warner Bros. Discovery Chief Executive Officer David Zaslav has preached a message of financial discipline since taking over the company, including cutting jobs and cutting back on content to reduce debt and boost free cash flow. He says he is not interested in the “rental business” as is the case with licensing sports rights, although he has done that. also expressed optimism about retaining NBA rights.
Spokespeople for Warner Bros. Discovery, NBC and the NBA declined to comment.
The rights to 'Roundball'
Nostalgic NBA fans associate “Roundball Rock” with “The NBA on NBC” and an era defined by Michael Jordan, the dominance of the Chicago Bulls and the voices of Bob Costas and Marv Albert. USA Today named it No. 1 in a 2017 ranking of “The 25 Biggest Sports TV Themes”. The Ringer published an oral history article about its origins, and NBC's “Saturday Night Live” did a whole skit about it.
The song hasn't heralded the start of an NBA game since 2002, when NBC broadcast its last league game. Fox Sports acquired the rights to the theme to use for college basketball for the 2018-2019 season, but a generation of fans still associate the tune with NBC.
If NBC Sports acquires the rights, it will be free to relicense “Roundball Rock” from Tesh, which owns the song, the composer said in an email.
TV personality John Tesh visits Hallmark Channel's “Home & Family” at Universal Studios Hollywood on March 6, 2020 in Universal City, California.
Paul Archuleta | Getty Images
Fox's deal for “Roundball Rock” will not prevent any media company from using the song for NBA games, Tesh said.
Media companies typically buy the rights to the song in three-year increments, Tesh said. He declined to say how much he is paid because the contracts include non-disclosure agreements, but Tesh noted that he is also compensated with royalties based on the number of plays. The Ringer reported in 2020 that Tesh's jingle aired an estimated 12,000 times on “NBA on NBC” from 1990 to 2002.
“It's funny how people fight for the song,” Tesh said. “In 1990 it was just a different theme. Now the internet is full of people playing the song on ukulele and casios and learning it on guitar. We still play the song at every concert and show these people's YouTube videos. “
If the NBA returns to broadcast on NBC, it would begin in the 2025-2026 season. And rest assured, fans: “Roundball Rock” is available.
— DailyExpertNews's Lillian Rizzo contributed to this report.
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and DailyExpertNews.
WATCH: Fight for the NBA: NBC vs. Warner Bros. Discovery