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Nathaniel S. Butler
In the pantheon of televised sports theme songs, “Roundball Rock,” John Tesh’s anthem that accompanied National Basketball Association games on NBC until 2002, is arguably the greatest.
If NBCUniversal gets the rights to broadcast the NBA again, it will have a chance to bring back the iconic song, the composer told CNBC in an email.
Comcast’s NBCUniversal has made an offer averaging $2.5 billion a year to reacquire NBA rights after losing them 22 years ago to Disney, according to people familiar with the matter. The Wall Street Journal was first to report details of NBC’s offer.
The NBA wants three media partners this time around and is close to reaching deals with Disney and Amazon for two of the packages. The third will probably go to Warner Bros. Discovery or NBCUniversal, but not both, said the sources, who asked to remain anonymous because the discussions are private.
Warner Bros. Discovery continues to negotiate with the league to retain the rights. Still, NBCUniversal’s offer more than doubles the $1.2 billion currently paid by Warner Bros. Discovery. This could be too costly for Warner Bros. Discovery, whose $18 billion market cap is dwarfed by Comcast’s $150 billion.
Warner Bros. CEO Discovery CEO David Zaslav has preached a message of financial discipline since taking over the company, including cutting jobs and reducing content spending, in order to reduce debt and increase free cash flow. He said he was not interested in getting into the “rental business”, as is the nature of sports rights licensing, although he has also expressed optimism that the NBA’s rights would remain.
Warner Bros. spokespeople Discovery, NBC and the NBA declined to comment.
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 voted it No. 1 in a 2017 ranking of the “25 Greatest Sports TV Themes.” The Ringer published an oral history article on its origin, and NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” did an entire skit about this.
The song hasn’t announced the start of an NBA game since 2002, when NBC broadcast its last championship game. Fox Sports acquired the rights to the theme to be used for college basketball for the 2018-19 season, but a generation of fans still associate the tune with NBC.
If NBC Sports obtains the rights, it will be free to re-license “Roundball Rock” from Tesh, which owns the song, the composer said in an email.
Television 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” does not prevent any media company from using the song for NBA games, Tesh said.
Media companies typically buy the song rights in three-year increments, Tesh said. He declined to say how much he is paid because the contracts include nondisclosure agreements, but Tesh noted that he is also compensated through royalties based on the number of times the game is played. The Ringer reported in 2020 that Tesh’s jingle was broadcast approximately 12,000 times during the period 1990-2002 on “NBA on NBC.”
“It’s funny how people fight over the song,” Tesh said. “In 1990 it was just another theme. Today the internet is full of people playing the song on ukuleles, Casios and teaching it on guitar. We still play the song every concert and let’s show YouTube videos of these people.”
If the NBA were to air on NBC again, it would debut in the 2025-26 season. And rest assured, fans: “Roundball Rock” is available.
— CNBC’s Lillian Rizzo contributed to this report.
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC.
WATCH: Fight for the NBA: NBC vs. Warner Bros. Discovery
