ESPN adds Jason Kidd, Jeremy Lin as NBA analysts; Travis Demers to reportedly call Portland Trail Blazers television games “on a trial basis”; and the LA Clippers reintroduce “ClipperVision” with linear distribution. Plus news on Netflix, “Pardon the Interruption,” the UFL and Sports Illustrated.
Kidd, Lin join ESPN as NBA analysts
Former NBA guards Jason Kidd and Jeremy Lin have joined ESPN as NBA analysts for the upcoming season, the network announced Thursday. Kidd, who most recently coached the Dallas Mavericks for five seasons, will join the cast of the ESPN-produced “NBA Countdown,” filling the vacancy left by new North Carolina men’s basketball coach Michael Malone,. (Marc Stein of The Stein Line first reported that ESPN was “in advanced talks” to hire Kidd.)
Kidd joins an “NBA Countdown” cast that is otherwise unchanged from last season, with host Malika Andrews, analyst Kendrick Perkins, and reporters Brian Windhorst and Shams Charania. Kidd, who has not previously worked in TV, will also serve as an occasional game analyst.
Lin contributed to ESPN coverage of the NBA Finals and NBA Summer League before joining the network on a full-time basis this fall. As part of his new role, he will serve as a game analyst and appear on the daily “NBA Today” studio show.
ESPN announced the rest of its NBA commentary roster on Thursday, including the additions of Drew Carter and Mike Monaco on play-by-play and Taylor McGregor on the sidelines. The lead ESPN NBA broadcast team of Mike Breen, Tim Legler, Richard Jefferson and Lisa Salters is unchanged from last season.
Demers reportedly named television voice for Trail Blazers “on a trial basis”
Portland Trail Blazers radio broadcaster Travis Demers has been named the new television voice of the team “on a trial basis,” according to Joe Freeman of The Oregonian. Demers, who has called Trail Blazers basketball on the radio for seven seasons, will reportedly broadcast “on a game-by-game basis” alongside analyst Lamar Hurd and reporter Brooke Olzendam.
Freeman reported that Demers has a chance to hold the job for the entire season, but the team could have a temporary play-by-play announcer call “four or five games in spots during the season.” It is believed that the team will begin the season simulcasting television broadcasts on radio, aligning with the approach team owner Tom Dundon has taken with the Carolina Hurricanes.
The news comes approximately one week after since-fired play-by-play voice Braiden Bell asked the organization for a second chance in the role. Bell was relieved of his duties mere hours after being announced as the team’s new television play-by-play announcer earlier this month after KGW uncovered inappropriate social media posts he wrote at the age of 15. Bell’s counsel, Annie Herz, released a statement describing Bell as having taken accountability for his actions and wondering “whether a boy’s words from fourteen years ago should outweigh everything the man has done since.”
The play-by-play role opened up after the Blazers did not renew the contract of longtime voice Kevin Calabro, one of many changes to the organization’s broadcast teams following last season. Calabro left the role after receiving a contract offer he determined “subprime,” per a report by Freeman. Calabro has since joined the Minnesota Timberwolves. Maury Brown of Forbes reported in July that the Blazers were parting with analyst Michael Holton, hosts Neil Everett and Jamie Hudson and statistician Tom Haberstroh.
LA Clippers reintroduce “ClipperVision” for game broadcasts with linear distribution
The LA Clippers announced Thursday that they will stream their games through “ClipperVision,” the team-owned streaming platform that launched ahead of the 2022 season, which will now be available on linear television via MVPD and vMVPD services — including Spectrum, DirecTV and Fubo. Ten games will be simulcast for free on Nexstar-owned KTLA 5. Clipper games previously aired on FanDuel Sports Network SoCal, owned by Main Street Sports Group, which ceased operations following the conclusion of the NBA and NHL seasons.
Tom Friend of Sports Business Journal reported that the team had been receiving a rights fee of “roughly” $17.5 million from Main Street and expects to make $16-18 million in carriage fee revenue going forward.
The arrangement is for one year, with the team expected to join the NBA centralized hub next season. Friend added that the team is utilizing NBA in-house production group for its broadcasts, along with at least eight other franchises, among them the Oklahoma City Thunder, Memphis Grizzlies and Indiana Pacers.
Brian Sieman is beginning his 20th season calling Clippers games, and he will primarily work alongside analyst Jim Jackson and new sideline reporter/host Ohm Youngmisuk. Mike Fratello and Brent Barry will also contribute to Clippers broadcasts as game analysts during the season. Aside from its local inventory, the team is scheduled for eight games on national television (excluding NBA TV), half of which will air on NBC.
Plus: Netflix, USA Sports, “Pardon the Interruption,” Sports Illustrated
- Netflix chief content officer Bela Bajaria, who has been an executive for the streamer since 2016, is leaving the company, according to a report by Matthew Belloni of Puck. Bajaria departs a few weeks after Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said at the Bloomberg Screentime conference that the platform is “not growing as fast as I want us to.” Belloni reported that former Disney and Fox executive Peter Rice is taking on the role. Netflix reportedly engaged in layoffs earlier this week that affected approximately 6% of its workforce.
- ESPN will a special 25th anniversary edition of “Pardon the Interruption” next Thursday at 5 PM ET, leading into a regular edition of the show in the usual 5:30 timeslot. Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon have anchored the program since its debut in 2001, which has logged more than 5,500 episodes and won various Sports Emmy Awards. Kornheiser and Wilbon were named the 2027 recipients of the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism by Arizona State University earlier this year.
- The opening two rounds of the 2027 UFL Draft will air on NFL Network Wednesday, November 18 at 8 PM ET, it was announced Thursday, marking the third UFL telecast on the now ESPN-owned channel. The draft, which did not air on linear television last year, will be hosted by ESPN broadcaster Joe Tessitore with reporter Michelle Smallmon.
- Former ESPN “The Jump” host Rachel Nichols is hosting a new weekday show for Sports Illustrated, with distribution on SI TV, along with the publication’s website and YouTube channel. Titled “The Story with Rachel Nichols,” the program will focus on “the stories behind the scores,” Nichols said in an announcement Wednesday. Nichols will continue co-hosting the “Open Floor” podcast with Chris Mannix, along with her other roles at Fox Sports and Monumental Sports Network.
