NBA on USA
TheNBA on USAis thede factoname for theUSA Network'sNational Basketball Association( NBA ) television coverage. The program ran from the1979–80season through the1983–84season.
Coverage overview
[edit]Before the USA Network came to be (1969-1979)
[edit]Manhattan Cable and HBO
[edit]Manhattan Cable(subsequently referred to as theMSG Network) debuted in the spring of 1969 and did all home events from theMadison Square Garden:New York Knicksbasketball,New York Rangershockey, college basketball, horse shows,Golden Glovesbo xing, tennis, theWestminster Dog Show,ice capades, professional wrestling, etc. The first reference to the channel as “MSG Network” was sometime around 1971–72, although the name did not become official until 1977.
The first televised events wereNHLandNBA playoffsin the spring of 1969; in those playoffsMarty Glickmandid play-by-play for theKnicksbroadcasts whileWin Elliottdid play-by-play for theRangers.
Meanwhile,HBObegan simulcasting some MSG games in 1972 beginning with theRangers/Vancouver Canucksgame on November 8,1972(the first ever program televised on HBO, to a few subscribers inWilkes-Barre, PA). 1974–75 marked the only year in which HBO used MSG announcers for their feed. Because HBO is a premium cable service, this created a burden on announcers to fill in dead airtime on HBO while commercials aired on MSG Network. HBO did not broadcast Knicks or Rangers games after the 1976–77 season.
UA-Columbia
[edit]When the MSG/HBO marriage ended in 1977, Madison Square Garden proceeded to seek a new partner to launch a national network to show off its events. So for several years, beginning with the 1977–78 season, all MSG home events (such as those involving theKnicks,Rangers,etc.) were then televised on a fledgling network that would eventually become known as the USA Network. This channel, which debuted in September 1977, was basically a continuation of the existing MSG Network. The key difference however, was that it was now nationally syndicated via satellite rather than terrestrially. It was also the first cable channel to be supported by advertising revenues. By this time, the channel was officially called the “Madison Square Garden Network” or MSG Network.
In1979–80,theNational Hockey Leaguereplaced theirsyndicatedcoverage packageThe NHL Networkwith a package on USA. At the time, the USA Network was calledUA-Columbia.[1]As the immediate forerunner for the USA Network, UA-Columbia, served as the cable syndicated arm ofMSG NetworkinNew York,PRISMchannel inPhiladelphia,and whatever pay/cable outlets were around in 1979.
The formation of the USA Network
[edit]On April 9, 1980, the Madison Square Garden Network changed its name to theUSA Network.[2]This occurred when the ownership structure was reorganized under ajoint operating agreementby theUA-ColumbiaCablevision cable system (now known asCablevisionSystems Corporation) andMCA(then the parent ofUniversal Studios,now owned byNBCUniversal). Things took a step further one year later when,Time Inc.(which eventually merged with Warner Communications to formTime Warner) andParamount PicturesCorp. (then a division ofGulf+Western,now owned byViacom) took minority ownership stakes in USA in 1981. G+W also owned the New York Knicks and theMSG regional sports television network(both later owned by Cablevision, but spun off in 2010).
1981-84 coverage
[edit]When the USA Network signed a three-year (running through the1981-82 season),$1.5 million deal, it marked the first time that the NBA had acable televisionpartner. USA would extend their deal with a two-year contract (along with another cable partner in the form ofESPN) worth a total of $11 million.
USA typically aired approximately 35-40 regular season doubleheaders on Thursday nights. Besides regular season andplayoffaction, USA also broadcast theNBA draft.[3]USA (as well as ESPN) was ultimately succeeded byTBS,who paid $20 million for two years beginning in the1984–85season.
Announcers
[edit]- Al Albert[4]
- Hubie Brown
- Lou Carnesecca[3](an analyst for USA's draft coverage)
- Eddie Doucette[5]
- Steve Jones[6]
- Jim Karvellas
- Tom Kelly
- Jon McGlocklin
- Richie Powers
In1980,USA televised two NBA games onChristmas Day.Jim Karvellasand Richie Powers called the early game involvingNew JerseyatWashington.Meanwhile, Eddie Doucette and Steve Jones called the late game involvingGolden StateatPortland.
During the 1981-82 season, Al Albert and Hubie Brown called the early game while Eddie Doucette[7]and Steve "Snapper" Jones called the late game. Hubie Brown was subsequently replaced by Jon McGlocklin as Al Albert's partner.
The1982 NBA Finalsdocumentary "Something To Prove" recaps all the action of this series. It was the last NBA video documentary to exclusively use film in all on-court action.Dick Stocktonnarrated the documentary, with the condensed USA Network version narrated byAl Albert.
Conference Finals broadcasters
[edit]| Year | Conference | Play-by-play | Color commentators |
| 1984 | Eastern (Games 4-5) | Al Albert | Steve Jones |
| 1983 | Eastern (Game 5) | Al Albert | Hubie Brown |
| 1982 | Western (Game 4) | Eddie Doucette | Hubie Brown |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^Anderson, Dave(December 30, 1979). "'I'll set women's tennis back 20 years'; Champs Come and Go; TV's Forever ".New York Times.p. DX8.
- ^Parsons, Patrick (5 April 2008)."Blue skies: a history of cable television".ISBN9781592137060.
- ^abSimmons, Bill(July 12, 2002)."Let's go to the tape".ESPN.
- ^"Al Albert".Pacers.
- ^"The ESPN Take".ESPN.
- ^"Meet Blazers Broadcaster Steve Jones".Blazers.
- ^Taaffe, William (May 16, 1983)."The Good, Bad And Ugly".Sports Illustrated.Time Inc.
External links
[edit]- Old Time Radio Shows - PRO BASKETBALL
- THE NBA ON NETWORK TELEVISION: A HISTORICAL ANALYSISat theWayback Machine(archived November 5, 2005)