Latest news with #JohnTesh
CNN
10-05-2025
- Sport
- CNN
Trendlines: NBA playoff ticket prices are out of control
Welcome to Trendlines, your weekly installment of what's trending up and what's trending down in sports. This week we're talking about the NBA playoffs, which are hot, hot, hot in the city that I am currently in (New York). The New York Knickerbockers (or Knicks) are up 2-0 on their rival Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Can the Knicks go all the way? I don't know, but what I do know is tickets to Game 3 of their series against the Celtics are some of the hottest items in town. That's where we start with trending up. The cheapest ticket right now on Vivid Seats is about $600. Last week, it was under $400. That's an increase of somewhere between 70% and 80%, depending on what time you check the website. I don't know who has that much money to spend on a seat, though it speaks to the fact that ticket prices are out of control. The last time the Knicks were this good (the mid 1990s) you could get a face value playoff seat in the semifinals for $25. Even if you take inflation into account and that tickets were 10 times as high on the secondary market, such a seat would still be less than what a playoff ticket is going for now. Who can afford this stuff? I will admit that I'm not the most ardent NBA fan, hence my references to mid-90s basketball. I didn't quite realize how often the Celtics would be attempting and missing three-pointers this series. Indeed, the whole league is attempting more and more three-pointers. The average team is now attempting a little less than 38 three-pointers per game. When I was a kid, it was slightly less than 10. I don't know if I like the new style of play. I guess it works for some teams and doesn't work for others. It hasn't been working for the Celtics who have been a combined 25-for-100 (yes they're averaging 50 attempts a game) in this series. Did somebody say brick? The Celtics may be missing, but John Tesh's basketball anthem does not. The famous theme song for NBC is coming back next season as NBC has regained NBA television rights. Apparently, a lot of people are, like myself, looking forward to that theme song. Google searches for 'Roundball Rock' are averaging more this month than any month on record. I guess I can say I'm not too surprised? Tesh's live performance of the song has nearly three million views on YouTube. But more than anything else, the theme song is full of nostalgia. The NBA has never had more viewers than it did in the 1990s, when 'Roundball Rock' was the league's anthem for viewers. The NBA will probably never be that popular again, though maybe the theme can bring them some good mojo.
CNN
10-05-2025
- Sport
- CNN
Trendlines: NBA playoff ticket prices are out of control
Welcome to Trendlines, your weekly installment of what's trending up and what's trending down in sports. This week we're talking about the NBA playoffs, which are hot, hot, hot in the city that I am currently in (New York). The New York Knickerbockers (or Knicks) are up 2-0 on their rival Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Can the Knicks go all the way? I don't know, but what I do know is tickets to Game 3 of their series against the Celtics are some of the hottest items in town. That's where we start with trending up. The cheapest ticket right now on Vivid Seats is about $600. Last week, it was under $400. That's an increase of somewhere between 70% and 80%, depending on what time you check the website. I don't know who has that much money to spend on a seat, though it speaks to the fact that ticket prices are out of control. The last time the Knicks were this good (the mid 1990s) you could get a face value playoff seat in the semifinals for $25. Even if you take inflation into account and that tickets were 10 times as high on the secondary market, such a seat would still be less than what a playoff ticket is going for now. Who can afford this stuff? I will admit that I'm not the most ardent NBA fan, hence my references to mid-90s basketball. I didn't quite realize how often the Celtics would be attempting and missing three-pointers this series. Indeed, the whole league is attempting more and more three-pointers. The average team is now attempting a little less than 38 three-pointers per game. When I was a kid, it was slightly less than 10. I don't know if I like the new style of play. I guess it works for some teams and doesn't work for others. It hasn't been working for the Celtics who have been a combined 25-for-100 (yes they're averaging 50 attempts a game) in this series. Did somebody say brick? The Celtics may be missing, but John Tesh's basketball anthem does not. The famous theme song for NBC is coming back next season as NBC has regained NBA television rights. Apparently, a lot of people are, like myself, looking forward to that theme song. Google searches for 'Roundball Rock' are averaging more this month than any month on record. I guess I can say I'm not too surprised? Tesh's live performance of the song has nearly three million views on YouTube. But more than anything else, the theme song is full of nostalgia. The NBA has never had more viewers than it did in the 1990s, when 'Roundball Rock' was the league's anthem for viewers. The NBA will probably never be that popular again, though maybe the theme can bring them some good mojo.
Daily Mail
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
NBC to bring NBA broadcasting icon Jim Fagan back from the dead next season
NBC is brining back more than a theme song when the network resumes its NBA coverage next season. In addition to Roundball Rock, TV personality John Tesh's immortal basketball-inspired anthem, NBC will be relying on the famed voice of Jim Fagan despite the fact the narrator died in 2017 following a battle with Parkinson's Disease. Thanks to advancements in artificial intelligence, and an agreement with Fagan's surviving family, promos for NBC's NBA coverage will include a digital recreation of the announcer's voice. NBC Sports has already produced one promo featuring the late Fagan's voice, but the reaction wasn't entirely positive. 'You can't find a living announcer?' one critic asked on YouTube. 'You've got to zombify a legend? AI is the worst.' 'In poor taste and weird,' one fan followed. 'Please stop doing this.' Another added: 'Besides AI sucking I feel like this is a signal that they're going to rely solely on nostalgia in terms of marketing/branding.' NBC pulled a similar move with Al Michaels voice, although he is still alive and handling Amazon Prime's NFL coverage. Rather, NBC used an AI-replication of his voice for daily Olympic recaps during the Paris Games, given the legendary announcer's place in Team USA history with his famed 'Do you believe in miracles?' call at the 1980 Winter Games. Fagan, a former college football player at West Virginia, did promos for a variety of NBC programming, including the network's Saturday morning hoops show, NBA Inside Stuff. Prior to that, Fagan originally came to New York to perform on Broadway. 'I was a pretty good singer,' he told WVU Sports prior to his death in 2017. Ultimately it was his wife, Jamie, who did commercial jingles and later pushed him towards television. 'I guess I was born to do it, I got the voice, I looked OK, and I could read, so I started doing commercials,' he said. NBC also decided to bring back Tesh's famed Roundball Rock, which holds a special place in the hearts of NBA fans of a certain age because it often preceded highly anticipated Chicago Bulls games involving Michael Jordan. The NBA's new 11-year media rights deal begins next season, with Amazon and NBC gaining league media rights alongside ESPN in a $77 billion agreement. The WNBA also cut its own deal with Amazon, ESPN and NBC worth around $2.2 billion (or $200 million annually), has learned. What's more, the 'W' is still free to make other media deals, potentially adding to its nine-figure annual haul. Although the NBA's regular-season ratings were down again in 2024-25, the playoff coverage has seen a 13-percent uptick from last year on ESPN, the network recently revealed.
USA Today
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
A former Laker will be a studio analyst for the NBA on NBC
A former Laker will be a studio analyst for the NBA on NBC Next season, there will be a big change in how basketball fans watch NBA games. After decades of covering games in outstanding fashion, Turner Sports will be out of the NBA broadcast business, but an old favorite will be back. NBC will start televising games for the first time since the 2001-02 season. That means that the old musical number that became synonymous with the sport of basketball — "Roundball Rock" by John Tesh — will finally be heard again on a regular basis. A promo video featuring that memorable and timeless song was posted on X (formerly known as Twitter) the other day. In addition, it was announced that former Los Angeles Lakers forward and Hall of Famer Carmelo Anthony will be a studio analyst for this new iteration of the NBA on NBC. Anthony was one of the better and more lethal scorers in the league during his 19-year career. He finished his career with an average of 22.5 points a game, and he led the league in scoring average during the 2012-13 campaign. He spent his final season with the Lakers three years ago. While his game, especially his shooting efficiency from game to game, had greatly declined, he was very popular among Lakers fans. He would routinely get loud cheers when he would check into games played at Arena. He averaged 13.3 points a game on 44.1% overall shooting and 37.5% 3-point shooting that season.
Toronto Star
04-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Toronto Star
'Roundball Rock' coming back as the theme song when NBC returns to carrying the NBA in October
'Roundball Rock' is coming home. NBC answered the biggest question many have had since it won back NBA rights last July during Saturday's coverage of the Kentucky Derby when it aired a 60-second commercial featuring John Tesh's iconic theme song. The song was the soundtrack of NBC's coverage of the NBA from 1990 until 2002 along with the Chicago Bulls dynasty of six NBA titles. '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,' NBC Sports president Rick Cordella said. '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.' ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW The spot features current NBA stars Luka Doncic, Donovan Mitchell and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, along with stars from NBC shows humming the theme. It concludes with Tesh playing 'Roundball Rock' on a keyboard in the center of Los Angeles' Intuit Dome — the home of the Los Angeles Clippers — before cutting to the front row where Tracy Morgan says, 'John Tesh still got it.' Tesh has often said he composed 'Roundball Rock' in July 1989 after he woke up in the middle of the night with the idea. Without instruments or a tape recorder, Tesh left an a cappella message on his answering machine so he wouldn't forget it. 'I'm truly honored to be back with my friends at NBC Sports,' Tesh said in a statement. '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.' During the media rights negotiations last year, Tesh created a bit of a social media frenzy when he announced he was going into the recording studio to do an updated version of 'Roundball Rock.' However, it was for NBC's coverage of the Paris Olympics. 'Roundball Rock' has lived on in popularity even after NBC lost the NBA. Fox Sports reached an agreement to use it for its college basketball coverage, while a 2013 skit featuring actor Jason Sudeikis portraying Tesh remains one of 'Saturday Night Live's' most popular scenes. NBC's 11-year agreement with the NBA and WNBA begins in October. Peacock will exclusively stream games on Monday night while NBC/Peacock will have regional doubleheaders on Tuesday. NBC and Peacock will also launch 'Sunday Night Basketball' in January. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW NBC also announced on Saturday that Carmelo Anthony will be part of its studio coverage. ___ AP NBA:
