Once a familiar figure in pro basketball television coverage, Cheryl Miller is back in broadcasting with NBCUniversal.
NBC announced Wednesday that Miller will serve as a WNBA studio analyst this coming season, working alongside host Maria Taylor and fellow analyst Sue Bird. It will be her first television role since departing Turner Sports in 2013.
Miller was one of the most prominent NBA broadcasters during her 17-year tenure with Turner Sports, occupying roles that were at the time rare for women in sports broadcasting. Long before Candace Parker or Doris Burke, Miller was serving as a regular studio analyst on TNT’s “Inside the NBA” — often alongside Ernie Johnson — and calling occasional NBA games for TNT, including during the playoffs.
She was also the lead sideline reporter for NBA games on TNT for much of her tenure.
Miller had already completed her playing career by the time the WNBA launched in 1996, but still played a prominent role in the league’s early years as head coach of the Phoenix Mercury. Even as a coach, Miller was one of the primary stars NBC marketed during its run carrying the early years of the WNBA.
In joining NBC, Miller will work for the same company as her brother Reggie, who serves as one of NBC’s lead NBA analysts. The pair overlapped on TNT for about a decade.
While NBC only announced Miller’s hiring on Wednesday, Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports reported that the company will be adding LaChina Robinson and Sarah Kustok on its WNBA games this season. Robinson has been a mainstay of ESPN’s WNBA and women’s college basketball coverage, while Kustok was part of the CBS Sports WNBA studio team last season. It was not clear from the report whether they will work for other networks carrying WNBA games.
With a whopping six different broadcast partners — NBCUniversal, ESPN/ABC, Amazon Prime Video, CBS Sports, Versant and Scripps — there is no shortage of openings on WNBA games this season, as all six partners will have dedicated studio shows. NBC had no WNBA studio analysts during its previous run with the league from 1997-02.
