The NBA’s new media-rights deal comes with a broader question: How will its three broadcast partners approach league coverage?
Many of the NBA’s superstars have complained about the negative, hot-take coverage in recent years, asking for more X’s and O’s–style content that led to LeBron James creating the Mind the Game podcast. As recently as last season, James had a public spat with Stephen A. Smith, ESPN’s prized on-air talent, for his comments about James’s son Bronny.
Some Old, Lots of New
ESPN, the lone returning media partner in the new TV deal, has already announced significant changes to its NBA coverage for this upcoming season. Tim Legler has replaced Doris Burke on ESPN’s lead NBA broadcast team—including for the Finals—and the network has licensed Inside the NBA to bolster its studio programming.
But a new NBA Today segment, which started airing this week, indicates ESPN’s coverage may be taking a turn.
ESPN debuted “Coaches Corner,” where Legler, a 10-year NBA veteran, analyzes game film alongside current NBA head coaches. Early examples have featured Redick, who was an ESPN analyst as recently as 16 months ago, and Bucks head coach Doc Rivers, who called the 2004 NBA Finals for the network.
During a media availability session Thursday, Front Office Sports asked Legler about the genesis of the segment. He said he was approached by ESPN producers with the idea of sitting down with coaches to create a “more interactive” film study.
“It feels like there’s a craving for that right now—in the X’s and O’s breakdown. And people find it fascinating to sit there and just chop it up in the terminology and what coaches are looking at,” Legler said.
Legler also mentioned that he sat down with nearly every NBA head coach—missing only one or two—during the annual NBA coaches meeting in Chicago last month. The segment is expected to run until Oct. 21, the first day of the NBA regular season.
The segment has received praise across social media—including some from James.
“Love to see this. Hot take culture so tired,” James wrote on X while sharing a video of Legler and Redick.
NBA Coverage Arms Race
The stakes are high for ESPN. This fall, ESPN will split NBA media rights with two rich and powerful frenemies: NBC Sports and Amazon Prime Video.
Both of these rights partners have signaled they plan to take a more positive, celebratory approach in their NBA coverage. ESPN doesn’t want to be outflanked as the three media giants compete for favored nation status with commissioner Adam Silver and NBA brass.
You want positive coverage? How about NBC joining forces with Kenny Beecham, who describes his popular Numbers on the Board hoops podcast to FOS as “friendship packaged as sports coverage.”
On Wednesday, NBC announced it was joining forces with Beecham’s Enjoy Basketball company. Starting Oct. 20, three of its podcasts, including Numbers on the Board, will stream weekdays as part of The Enjoy Basketball Hour on NBC Sports Now on Peacock from noon to 1 p.m. ET.
During the Front Office Sports Tuned In summit, Jay Marine, head of Prime Video for U.S. and global sports, made it clear the giant streamer’s hoops coverage will lean more in to positive storylines.
“Our approach is really twofold. It’s to celebrate and educate,” said Marine. “Celebrate the game; celebrate how great these players are. The modern player in the NBA—the skill level up and down the bench—is incredible. Sometimes there’s too much weird negativity out there, when really, we should be celebrating how good these guys are. And that’s true, by the way, with the WNBA as well.”
