ABC has finally begun to improve its NBA coverage this season, after six years of inconsistency and arguably the worst television coverage of a major sport ever. However, for all of the improvements this year, ABC is still hanging onto the Disney/ESPN obsession with putting celebrities where they do not belong — in sports coverage.
The Good.
- NBA Countdown: The ABC NBA pregame show has improved drastically this year. The show is short on fluff and serves as a more than adequate round-up of the week in the NBA. In the past, ABC’s pregame show rarely touched on NBA topics that did not have to do with the games it was airing. Stuart Scott has avoided trying to take over the show with his catchphrases, and Michael Wilbon has done a decent job as a studio analyst.
- The booth: Let’s hope nobody hires Jeff Van Gundy this offseason. Van Gundy has single-handedly improved what was a terrible two-man booth last year, injecting some life into his dry teammates Mike Breen and Mark Jackson. Van Gundy has made both better, especially Jackson — who was insufferable as the lone analyst last year.
- The games: Finally, someone at ABC has their finger on the pulse of the NBA. Last year, ABC aired several terrible games, including two involving the Sacramento Kings, leading to equally terrible ratings. This year, the network has done a much better job of selecting better match-ups, adding Hornets/Pistons and Lakers/Rockets last week, and even putting Warriors/Hornets on the schedule for April 6.
- Promotion: One area in which ABC was sorely lacking was in-game promotion. For several years, ABC would fail to let viewers know what game — if any — was airing on the network the next week. This year, ABC has done a decent job of filling in viewers on upcoming games.
The bad.
- Tim McGraw: Whoever made the decision to use Tim McGraw and Def Leppard’s song “Nine Lives” as the ABC theme song should be fired immediately. Since taking over the NBA six long years ago, ABC has used artists such as Justin Timberlake, Rob Thomas, Tom Petty, and The Pussycat Dolls to sing its NBA theme, each performer less appropriate than the last. If ABC has to have pop music, at the very least they can choose singers that actually match the young male demographic tuning into the games.
- Z-list celebrities: This is not a major issue, but it is telling nonetheless. During every game on ABC, the network will use at least two commercial breaks to have some unknown actor from one of their TV shows tell viewers “You’re watching the NBA on ABC, home of the NBA Finals.” On no other ESPN/ABC sports property is this done. Why is the NBA singled out as a promotional tool for shows that skew almost completely opposite the demographics watching the games? How can Dana Delany from Desperate Housewives possibly resonate with the 18-34 sports fan?
- Too few games: ABC is airing enough games during the regular season. The problem comes during the playoffs. ABC is slated to air only six first round games, three second round games, and two Conference Final games, meaning several series will likely go without airing on broadcast. How is the NBA supposed to gain popularity when some of the best series air on cable only? Nobody is asking for tripleheaders, which are no longer viable in the current sports TV landscape. However, three games per weekend (one on Saturday, two on Sunday) throughout the postseason is not too much to ask.
While the NBA on ABC is not alone in providing mediocre-at-best coverage (NASCAR on ABC was terrible last year, Monday Night Football is terribly mismanaged by ESPN, and FOX has been mailing in its baseball coverage since the very beginning), there is no question that of all the television sports properties, the NBA on ABC has been the worst. The improvements this year have been promising, but ABC still has a long way to go.
