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WNBA on NBC

August 21, 2023

The WNBA on NBC is the branding used for presentations of Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) games produced NBC Sports and broadcast on the NBC television network in the United States.

WNBA on NBC
GenreWNBA basketball telecasts
StarringBruce Beck
Mike Breen
Tom Hammond
Dan Hicks
Marion Jones
Andrea Joyce
Ann Meyers
Lisa Malosky
Ahmad Rashad
Beth Ruyak
Summer Sanders
Hannah Storm
Paul Sunderland
Chris Wragge
Theme music composerJohn Tesh
Opening theme"Roundball Rock"
No. of seasons6
Production
Executive producerDick Ebersol[1]
ProducerMolly Solomon[2]
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time120 minutes+
Production companyNBC Sports
Release
Original networkNBC
Original releaseJune 21, 1997 (1997-06-21) –
August 31, 2002 (2002-08-31)
Related

NBC showed Women's National Basketball Association games from 1997 to 2002 as part of their NBA on NBC[3][4] coverage before the league transferred the rights[5] to ABC/ESPN.[6][7][8]

Background

On June 27, 1996, NBC Sports was announced as the WNBA's first national broadcaster.[9] The WNBA soon also had television deals in place with the Walt Disney Company and Hearst Corporation joint venture channels, ESPN and Lifetime Television Network, respectively. At the time, NBC didn't pay television rights fees[10][11] to the league's teams.

NBC[12] nationally televised the very first[13] WNBA game on June 21, 1997. The game featured the New York Liberty facing the Los Angeles Sparks[14] in Los Angeles. For NBC's final season with the WNBA in 2002,[15] they again began their season's worth of coverage on Memorial Day weekend[16] with the Liberty[17] and Sparks.[18] NBC would proceed to televise WNBA games on Saturday[19][20][21] and Sunday[22] afternoons culminating in the Championship game on August 30.[23][24]

Music and segments

A more rock-oriented variant[25] of John Tesh's theme, "Roundball Rock" introduced by NBC to coincide with the debut of the WNBA. NBC's halftime report was sponsored by Lee Jeans.

Ratings

NBC Sports' broadcast of the inaugural WNBA game between the Liberty and Sparks received a 3.8 overnight national rating.[26] Although NBC's end-of-season average[27] for 1999 was even with 1998's average, viewership had actually increased from 1,540,000 households in 1998[28] to 1,607,000 in 1999. On the same token however, Nielsen ratings for NBC broadcasts of WNBA games slipped[29] from 2 million households reached in 1997—the WNBA's inaugural season—to 1.5 million in 1999.[30]

The average rating for the first 9 of the 10[31] WNBA games NBC carried in the 2001 season[32] was only 1.1, compared to a 2.0 rating its first season.[33]

WNBA Finals coverage

See also: List of WNBA Finals broadcasters

The very first WNBA season concluded with what was at the time, a single championship game. The following year, the finale series into a best-of-three games series, with NBC airing the first two games and ESPN airing the decisive third game. In 1999, ESPN aired the first game of the championship series while NBC covered the following two. Come the year 2000, Lifetime temporarily assumed ESPN's role as the WNBA's cable outlet for the WNBA Championship. Like the year prior, Lifetime broadcast the first game while NBC covered the second and ultimately decisive game between the Houston Comets and New York Liberty. This marked Houston's fourth consecutive WNBA Championship.

ESPN returned to the fold in the year 2001, broadcasting the first game with NBC airing the second and decisive game between the Los Angeles Sparks and Charlotte Sting. For NBC's final year of coverage in 2002, ESPN2 this time, broadcast the first game with NBC again covering what would become the second and ultimately decisive game. The Los Angeles Sparks' 69–66 victory over the New York Liberty on August 31, 2002, would therefore, prove to be the final broadcast of the WNBA on NBC.

Announcers

See also: List of current Women's National Basketball Association broadcasters

During the WNBA's first season on NBC, the primary announcing team consisted of Hannah Storm[34] calling the play-by-play with Ann Meyers doing the color commentary and Lisa Malosky assuming the role as sideline reporter.[35] The following year, Storm receded her lead play-by-play duties to Tom Hammond,[36] who would call NBC's coverage of the WNBA Finals with Ann Meyers in 1998[37][38] and in 2000. For the 1999 season and 2001 seasons, NBC used Mike Breen[39] as their primary play-by-play announcer. For the WNBA's final season in 2002, Paul Sunderland worked with Meyers for their coverage of the WNBA Finals.

References

  1. ^ Kent, Milton (June 28, 1996). "Deal to televise Women's NBA shows NBC as bold yet pragmatic". The Baltimore Sun.
  2. ^ Sole, Mel (March 19, 2015). "WOMEN AT THE HELM. #1 MOLLY SOLOMON MAKES GOLF HISTORY". Golf Chats.
  3. ^ Swayne, Dodds, Linda E., Mark (August 8, 2011). Encyclopedia of Sports Management and Marketing. SAGE Publications. p. 1662. ISBN 9781452266480.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ "Gender in Televised Sports: 1989, 1993 and 1999" (PDF). la84.org.
  5. ^ Penner, Mike (December 18, 2001). "NBC Exit Strategy Begins NBA Spin". Los Angeles Times.
  6. ^ Miller, Shales, James Andrew, Tom (May 24, 2011). Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN. Little, Brown. ISBN 9780316125765.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ Reynolds, Mike (June 16, 2002). "ESPN's Come a Long Way, WNBA". Multichannel News.
  8. ^ "Stern Talks Smack With Rome: TV Deal And WNBA Profitability". Sports Business Daily. June 5, 2002.
  9. ^ Araton, Harvey (May 13, 2016). "The Formation of the WNBA". WNBA.com.
  10. ^ "We Got Next!". National Women's History Museum. October 1, 2018.
  11. ^ "Salary Doesn't Pay in WNBA". Los Angeles Times.
  12. ^ Gustkey, Earl (May 29, 2000). "As W.N.B.A. Opens Its 20th Season, Key Figures Recall the First Game". The New York Times.
  13. ^ Voepel, Mechelle (June 16, 2016). "Twenty seasons later, a look back at the WNBA's first game". ESPN.
  14. ^ Lopez, Steve (June 30, 1997). "THEY GOT NEXT TIPPING OFF TO LARGE CROWDS AND GREAT EXPECTATIONS, THE HYPER-HYPED WNBA FELL SHORT ONLY ON THE COURT". Sports Illustrated.
  15. ^ Robbins, Lenn (May 24, 2002). "LIBERTY TIP OFF THEIR SEASON ON LONG, WINDING ROAD". New York Post.
  16. ^ "Three Former Longhorn Basketball Players Assigned to WNBA Teams". Big 12 Sports. April 26, 2002.
  17. ^ Howell, John (March 29, 2002). "LIEBERMAN SEES A WNBA TOWN". Hartford Courant.
  18. ^ "Starzz release schedule". Deseret News. February 1, 2002.
  19. ^ Johnson, L.C. (July 23, 2001). "HARRISON IS NOT THE ONLY WNBA BEAUTY". The Orlando Sentinel.
  20. ^ Robb, Sharon (June 18, 1998). "A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN". South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
  21. ^ Levin, Gary (June 27, 1997). "WNBA scores big in ratings". Variety.
  22. ^ WNBA on NBC Promos / 1998 & 2001 on YouTube
  23. ^ Burris, Joe (June 19, 1997). "Lobo center of WNBA's attention". Boston Globe.
  24. ^ Gustkey, Earl (June 18, 1997). "Ball Is in Their Court : WNBA Takes Its Turn on Basketball Stage Starting Saturday". Los Angeles Times.
  25. ^ The WNBA on NBC Theme Song on YouTube
  26. ^ "NOW WHO WOULD'VE GUESSED THIS? WNBA TIP-OFF GETS 3.8 RATING". Sports Business Daily. June 23, 1997.
  27. ^ Lopiano, Dean (December 13, 1999). "WNBA's remarkable 1999 blows the vultures out of the sky". Sports Business Daily.
  28. ^ Shaprio, Leonard (June 18, 1998). "WNBA Has All the Angles Covered". Washington Post.
  29. ^ "A Dud of Their Own". Forbes. November 29, 1999.
  30. ^ Petrecca, Laura (October 9, 2000). "HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH?". Ad Age.
  31. ^ "PLUS: BASKETBALL; W.N.B.A. Releases 1998 Schedule ..." The New York Times. January 16, 1998.
  32. ^ Isidore, Chris (August 17, 2001). "WNBA: lovable money loser". CNN Money.
  33. ^ "Catching On If Nothing Else, Wnba Is A Hit With Its TV Exposure". The Spokesman-Review. August 12, 1997.
  34. ^ The Inaugural WNBA Game on YouTube
  35. ^ "Women at Liberty to play basketball on TV". Post Bulletin. June 20, 1997.
  36. ^ 2000 WNBA WCF GM 2 COMETS @ SPARKS HIGHLIGHTS on YouTube
  37. ^ "Retro: Western Washington, Sat. Aug 29th, 1998". Radio Discussions. April 7, 2012.
  38. ^ 1998 WNBA Championship Game-2 on YouTube
  39. ^ 1999 WNBA Finals Game 2 - Liberty at Comets on YouTube
  40. ^ "Bruce Beck". NBC New York. October 21, 2008.
  41. ^ "Episode #124: Mike Breen". Brandon Steiner. July 24, 2018.
  42. ^ Sandomir, Richard (June 5, 2016). "Mike Breen Becomes N.B.A. Finals Play-by-Play Fixture". The New York Times.
  43. ^ Brown, O'Rourke, Robert S., Daniel J. (2003). Case Studies in Sport Communication. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 30. ISBN 9780275975302.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  44. ^ Schlosser, Joe (June 6, 2001). "Marion Jones on NBC's WNBA team". Broadcasting & Cable.
  45. ^ Johnson, L.C. (June 8, 2001). "DAVIS' DOUBLE DUTY DRAWS BIGGER PROFILE". Orlando Sentinel.
  46. ^ "ANDREA JOYCE". NBC Sports Pressbox.
  47. ^ Meyers Drysdale, Ann (May 15, 2012). You Let Some Girl Beat You?: The Story of Ann Meyers Drysdale. Behler Publications. ISBN 9781933016870.
  48. ^ "2000 WNBA Finals - Game Two: New York Liberty v Houston Comets". Getty Images. August 26, 2000.
  49. ^ "Summer Sanders - Beg, Borrow & Deal 2". NBA.com.
  50. ^ "Summer Sanders". ESPN.
  51. ^ Johnson, L.C. (June 30, 2001). "JONES MAY LOOK TO WNBA FOR FUTURE". The Orlando Sentinel.
  52. ^ Kaplan, Don (August 3, 1999). "STORM BREWING – WILL NBC SPORTSCASTER FIT GUMBEL'S GLASS SLIPPER?". New York Post.
  53. ^ Hirsley, Michael (November 26, 1997). "NBC'S NEW NO. 1 TEAM IS COSTAS, THOMAS". Chicago Tribune.
  54. ^ "NBC's Storm to Work the W.N.B.A." The New York Times. May 15, 1997.
  55. ^ Hoffarth, Tom (February 2, 2012). "TOM HOFFARTH on MEDIA: Sunderland pushes forward in post-Laker career". Los Angeles Daily News.
  56. ^ Stickney Jr., W.H. (June 16, 2001). "Notebook: After slow break-in, Johnson getting the hang of pro game". Houston Chronicle.
  57. ^ Barron, David (June 3, 2001). "TV/Radio Notebook: No surprise as Comets draw national exposure". Houston Chronicle.
  58. ^ "Chris Wragge". CBS News. February 20, 2008.

External links

  • Official website
Preceded by
League created
 WNBA network broadcast partner
1997–2002 		Succeeded by

August 21, 2023
wnba, branding, used, presentations, women, national, basketball, association, wnba, games, produced, sports, broadcast, television, network, united, states, genrewnba, basketball, telecastsstarringbruce, beckmike, breentom, hammonddan, hicksmarion, jonesandre. The WNBA on NBC is the branding used for presentations of Women s National Basketball Association WNBA games produced NBC Sports and broadcast on the NBC television network in the United States WNBA on NBCGenreWNBA basketball telecastsStarringBruce BeckMike BreenTom HammondDan HicksMarion JonesAndrea JoyceAnn MeyersLisa MaloskyAhmad RashadBeth RuyakSummer SandersHannah StormPaul SunderlandChris WraggeTheme music composerJohn TeshOpening theme Roundball Rock No of seasons6ProductionExecutive producerDick Ebersol 1 ProducerMolly Solomon 2 Camera setupMulti cameraRunning time120 minutes Production companyNBC SportsReleaseOriginal networkNBCOriginal releaseJune 21 1997 1997 06 21 August 31 2002 2002 08 31 RelatedWNBA on ABC NBA on NBCNBC showed Women s National Basketball Association games from 1997 to 2002 as part of their NBA on NBC 3 4 coverage before the league transferred the rights 5 to ABC ESPN 6 7 8 Contents 1 Background 2 Music and segments 3 Ratings 4 WNBA Finals coverage 5 Announcers 6 References 7 External linksBackground EditOn June 27 1996 NBC Sports was announced as the WNBA s first national broadcaster 9 The WNBA soon also had television deals in place with the Walt Disney Company and Hearst Corporation joint venture channels ESPN and Lifetime Television Network respectively At the time NBC didn t pay television rights fees 10 11 to the league s teams NBC 12 nationally televised the very first 13 WNBA game on June 21 1997 The game featured the New York Liberty facing the Los Angeles Sparks 14 in Los Angeles For NBC s final season with the WNBA in 2002 15 they again began their season s worth of coverage on Memorial Day weekend 16 with the Liberty 17 and Sparks 18 NBC would proceed to televise WNBA games on Saturday 19 20 21 and Sunday 22 afternoons culminating in the Championship game on August 30 23 24 Music and segments EditA more rock oriented variant 25 of John Tesh s theme Roundball Rock introduced by NBC to coincide with the debut of the WNBA NBC s halftime report was sponsored by Lee Jeans Ratings EditNBC Sports broadcast of the inaugural WNBA game between the Liberty and Sparks received a 3 8 overnight national rating 26 Although NBC s end of season average 27 for 1999 was even with 1998 s average viewership had actually increased from 1 540 000 households in 1998 28 to 1 607 000 in 1999 On the same token however Nielsen ratings for NBC broadcasts of WNBA games slipped 29 from 2 million households reached in 1997 the WNBA s inaugural season to 1 5 million in 1999 30 The average rating for the first 9 of the 10 31 WNBA games NBC carried in the 2001 season 32 was only 1 1 compared to a 2 0 rating its first season 33 WNBA Finals coverage EditSee also List of WNBA Finals broadcasters The very first WNBA season concluded with what was at the time a single championship game The following year the finale series into a best of three games series with NBC airing the first two games and ESPN airing the decisive third game In 1999 ESPN aired the first game of the championship series while NBC covered the following two Come the year 2000 Lifetime temporarily assumed ESPN s role as the WNBA s cable outlet for the WNBA Championship Like the year prior Lifetime broadcast the first game while NBC covered the second and ultimately decisive game between the Houston Comets and New York Liberty This marked Houston s fourth consecutive WNBA Championship ESPN returned to the fold in the year 2001 broadcasting the first game with NBC airing the second and decisive game between the Los Angeles Sparks and Charlotte Sting For NBC s final year of coverage in 2002 ESPN2 this time broadcast the first game with NBC again covering what would become the second and ultimately decisive game The Los Angeles Sparks 69 66 victory over the New York Liberty on August 31 2002 would therefore prove to be the final broadcast of the WNBA on NBC Announcers EditSee also List of current Women s National Basketball Association broadcasters During the WNBA s first season on NBC the primary announcing team consisted of Hannah Storm 34 calling the play by play with Ann Meyers doing the color commentary and Lisa Malosky assuming the role as sideline reporter 35 The following year Storm receded her lead play by play duties to Tom Hammond 36 who would call NBC s coverage of the WNBA Finals with Ann Meyers in 1998 37 38 and in 2000 For the 1999 season and 2001 seasons NBC used Mike Breen 39 as their primary play by play announcer For the WNBA s final season in 2002 Paul Sunderland worked with Meyers for their coverage of the WNBA Finals Bruce Beck 40 sideline reporter Mike Breen 41 42 play by play Tom Hammond play by play Dan Hicks 43 studio host Marion Jones 44 45 sideline reporter Andrea Joyce 46 sideline reporter Ann Meyers 47 color commentary Lisa Malosky sideline reporter Ahmad Rashad 48 studio host Summer Sanders 49 50 sideline reporter Beth Ruyak 51 studio host Hannah Storm 52 play by play 53 54 studio host Paul Sunderland 55 56 play by play Chris Wragge 57 58 sideline reporter studio host References Edit Kent Milton June 28 1996 Deal to televise Women s NBA shows NBC as bold yet pragmatic The Baltimore Sun Sole Mel March 19 2015 WOMEN AT THE HELM 1 MOLLY SOLOMON MAKES GOLF HISTORY Golf Chats Swayne Dodds Linda E Mark August 8 2011 Encyclopedia of Sports Management and Marketing SAGE Publications p 1662 ISBN 9781452266480 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint multiple names authors list link Gender in Televised Sports 1989 1993 and 1999 PDF la84 org Penner Mike December 18 2001 NBC Exit Strategy Begins NBA Spin Los Angeles Times Miller Shales James Andrew Tom May 24 2011 Those Guys Have All the Fun Inside the World of ESPN Little Brown ISBN 9780316125765 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint multiple names authors list link Reynolds Mike June 16 2002 ESPN s Come a Long Way WNBA Multichannel News Stern Talks Smack With Rome TV Deal And WNBA Profitability Sports Business Daily June 5 2002 Araton Harvey May 13 2016 The Formation of the WNBA WNBA com We Got Next National Women s History Museum October 1 2018 Salary Doesn t Pay in WNBA Los Angeles Times Gustkey Earl May 29 2000 As W N B A Opens Its 20th Season Key Figures Recall the First Game The New York Times Voepel Mechelle June 16 2016 Twenty seasons later a look back at the WNBA s first game ESPN Lopez Steve June 30 1997 THEY GOT NEXT TIPPING OFF TO LARGE CROWDS AND GREAT EXPECTATIONS THE HYPER HYPED WNBA FELL SHORT ONLY ON THE COURT Sports Illustrated Robbins Lenn May 24 2002 LIBERTY TIP OFF THEIR SEASON ON LONG WINDING ROAD New York Post Three Former Longhorn Basketball Players Assigned to WNBA Teams Big 12 Sports April 26 2002 Howell John March 29 2002 LIEBERMAN SEES A WNBA TOWN Hartford Courant Starzz release schedule Deseret News February 1 2002 Johnson L C July 23 2001 HARRISON IS NOT THE ONLY WNBA BEAUTY The Orlando Sentinel Robb Sharon June 18 1998 A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN South Florida Sun Sentinel Levin Gary June 27 1997 WNBA scores big in ratings Variety WNBA on NBC Promos 1998 amp 2001 on YouTube Burris Joe June 19 1997 Lobo center of WNBA s attention Boston Globe Gustkey Earl June 18 1997 Ball Is in Their Court WNBA Takes Its Turn on Basketball Stage Starting Saturday Los Angeles Times The WNBA on NBC Theme Song on YouTube NOW WHO WOULD VE GUESSED THIS WNBA TIP OFF GETS 3 8 RATING Sports Business Daily June 23 1997 Lopiano Dean December 13 1999 WNBA s remarkable 1999 blows the vultures out of the sky Sports Business Daily Shaprio Leonard June 18 1998 WNBA Has All the Angles Covered Washington Post A Dud of Their Own Forbes November 29 1999 Petrecca Laura October 9 2000 HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH Ad Age PLUS BASKETBALL W N B A Releases 1998 Schedule The New York Times January 16 1998 Isidore Chris August 17 2001 WNBA lovable money loser CNN Money Catching On If Nothing Else Wnba Is A Hit With Its TV Exposure The Spokesman Review August 12 1997 The Inaugural WNBA Game on YouTube Women at Liberty to play basketball on TV Post Bulletin June 20 1997 2000 WNBA WCF GM 2 COMETS SPARKS HIGHLIGHTS on YouTube Retro Western Washington Sat Aug 29th 1998 Radio Discussions April 7 2012 1998 WNBA Championship Game 2 on YouTube 1999 WNBA Finals Game 2 Liberty at Comets on YouTube Bruce Beck NBC New York October 21 2008 Episode 124 Mike Breen Brandon Steiner July 24 2018 Sandomir Richard June 5 2016 Mike Breen Becomes N B A Finals Play by Play Fixture The New York Times Brown O Rourke Robert S Daniel J 2003 Case Studies in Sport Communication Greenwood Publishing Group p 30 ISBN 9780275975302 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint multiple names authors list link Schlosser Joe June 6 2001 Marion Jones on NBC s WNBA team Broadcasting amp Cable Johnson L C June 8 2001 DAVIS DOUBLE DUTY DRAWS BIGGER PROFILE Orlando Sentinel ANDREA JOYCE NBC Sports Pressbox Meyers Drysdale Ann May 15 2012 You Let Some Girl Beat You The Story of Ann Meyers Drysdale Behler Publications ISBN 9781933016870 2000 WNBA Finals Game Two New York Liberty v Houston Comets Getty Images August 26 2000 Summer Sanders Beg Borrow amp Deal 2 NBA com Summer Sanders ESPN Johnson L C June 30 2001 JONES MAY LOOK TO WNBA FOR FUTURE The Orlando Sentinel Kaplan Don August 3 1999 STORM BREWING WILL NBC SPORTSCASTER FIT GUMBEL S GLASS SLIPPER New York Post Hirsley Michael November 26 1997 NBC S NEW NO 1 TEAM IS COSTAS THOMAS Chicago Tribune NBC s Storm to Work the W N B A The New York Times May 15 1997 Hoffarth Tom February 2 2012 TOM HOFFARTH on MEDIA Sunderland pushes forward in post Laker career Los Angeles Daily News Stickney Jr W H June 16 2001 Notebook After slow break in Johnson getting the hang of pro game Houston Chronicle Barron David June 3 2001 TV Radio Notebook No surprise as Comets draw national exposure Houston Chronicle Chris Wragge CBS News February 20 2008 External links EditOfficial websitePreceded byLeague created WNBA network broadcast partner1997 2002 Succeeded byABC Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title WNBA on NBC amp oldid 1149470726, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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