College basketball analyst Bill Walton has reportedly been missing recent assignments due to an undisclosed health issue. Plus: the NBA’s exclusive negotiating window with ESPN and TNT is now open with the sides close to a deal; Kevin Kisner is expected to be offered the lead analyst role on NBC golf channel.
Walton reportedly missing assignments due to health issue
ESPN and Pac-12 Network college basketball analyst Bill Walton has missed several scheduled assignments in recent weeks due to an undisclosed health issue, Awful Announcing reported Sunday. Walton last called a game on February 10 and appeared both healthy and in good spirits at NBA All-Star Weekend from February 16-18. He has since missed four scheduled assignments, according to the schedule posted to his personal website, including ESPN’s final Pac-12 regular season game on Saturday night.
Per Awful Announcing, his scheduled “Throw It Down” alternate presentation of Monday’s Suns-Cavaliers NBA game has been postponed.
Walton has been dogged by health issues throughout his adult life, from the foot injuries that cost him much of his NBA career to the back issues that temporarily derailed his broadcasting career in the late 2000s.
NBA close to deals with ESPN, TNT, as exclusive negotiating window opens
The NBA’s exclusive negotiating window with incumbent broadcasters ESPN and TNT opened on Saturday with the sides already “roughly 75% in agreement on a deal,” Sports Business Journal reported Sunday. The exclusive window expires on April 22, after which additional bidders will be able to enter negotiations. Per the report, NBC is still expected to acquire a package, though that is dependent on the league’s deals with Disney and Turner. NBC last aired the NBA from 1990-2002.
Amazon is also expected to bid on rights, with Apple also mentioned as a lesser possibility. There has been considerably more smoke surrounding the former than the latter.
Kisner calling Players for NBC, expected to be offered full-time job
NBC announced Friday that Kevin Kisner will serve as its lead analyst for coverage of The Players Championship, a move that per Golfweek is a prelude to his being offered the role full-time. Kisner has been part of a rotation of analysts on NBC since the network let go Paul Azinger in the offseason, having previously worked the season-opening Tournament of Champions and the Phoenix Open. It is not clear that Kisner would accept the job if offered, as he remains an active player on the PGA Tour.
The lead role was held by Johnny Miller for nearly 30 years from 1990 until his 2019 retirement.
