NBA on ABC
| NBA on ABC | |
|---|---|
| Genre | NBA game telecasts |
| Presented by |
Mike Breen Jeff Van Gundy Mark Jackson Mark Jones Hubie Brown Doris Burke Lisa Salters |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| Production | |
| Location(s) |
Various NBA arenas (game telecasts) ESPN Studios, Los Angeles, California (studio segments, pregame and postgame shows) |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 150 minutes or until game ends |
| Production company(s) |
ABC Sports (1965–1973, 2002–2006) ESPN (2006–present) |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC |
| Picture format |
480i (SDTV), 1080i (HDTV) |
| Original release |
|
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | NBA Countdown |
| External links | |
| Website | |
The NBA on ABC is a presentation of National Basketball Association (NBA) games produced by ESPN, and televised on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC).
ABC originally broadcast NBA games from 1965 to 1973. In 2002, NBA games returned to the network as part of a contract signed with the league, along with ESPN.
ABC televises games throughout the regular season, typically starting with a doubleheader on Christmas Day, followed by select games on Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoons as part of its NBA Saturday Primetime and NBA Sunday Showcase series. ABC then airs up to nine games during the first five weeks of the NBA playoffs, and is the exclusive broadcaster of the NBA Finals.
ABC first signed a deal with the National Basketball Association to become the league's primary television partner in 1964; the network's first game telecast aired on January 3, 1965. For much of the 1960s, ABC only televised Sunday afternoon games, including during the NBA Playoffs. This meant that ABC did not have to televise a potential NBA Finals deciding game if it were played on a weeknight. In 1969, ABC did televise Game 7 of the Los Angeles Lakers–Boston Celtics series in prime time on a weeknight. The following season, ABC aired the 1970 NBA Finals in its entirety, making it the first Finals series to have all games televised nationally.
Commentators for the original NBA on ABC included play-by-play announcers Keith Jackson and Chris Schenkel, and analysts Jack Twyman, Bob Cousy and Bill Russell. On April 8, 1967, a strike by the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) forced ABC Sports producer Chuck Howard and director Chet Forte to call Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals between Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers, as its regular announcing team were members of the union. Curt Gowdy also served on play-by-play for half of the 1967–68 season.
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