NBA on ABC

ABC gains the NBA for the first time (1965–1973)[edit]

ABC first signed a deal with the NBA to become the league's primary television^[1] partner in 1964;^[2] the network's first game telecast aired on January 3, 1965^[3] (a game between the Boston Celtics and Cincinnati Royals).^[4] ABC's initial alliance with the NBA first came about due to ABC Sports head Roone Arledge's search for live programming that could diminish the ratings of CBS Sports Spectacular, and ABC's anthology program, Wide World of Sports a boost with sponsors. ABC initially paid the NBA only $650,000 for the rights annually.


For much of the 1960s, ABC only televised Sunday afternoon games, including during the NBA Playoffs. This meant that ABC did not have to televise a potential NBA Finals deciding game if it were played on a weeknight. In 1969, ABC did televise Game 7 of the Los Angeles Lakers–Boston Celtics series in prime time on a weeknight. The following season, ABC aired the 1970 NBA Finals in its entirety, making it the first Finals series to have all games televised nationally.


Commentators for the original NBA on ABC included play-by-play announcers Keith Jackson^[5] and Chris Schenkel,^[6]and analysts Jack Twyman,^[7] Bob Cousy^[8][9] and Bill Russell.^[10] On April 8, 1967, a strike by the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) forced ABC Sports producer Chuck Howard and director Chet Forte^[11] to call Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals between Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers,^[12] as its regular announcing team were members of the union. Curt Gowdy also served on play-by-play for half of the 1967–68 season.


The first nationally televised Christmas Day NBA broadcast occurred in 1967 when ABC broadcast a game between the Los Angeles Lakers and San Diego Rockets from the then-San Diego Sports Arena in San Diego. Jerry Gross and Jack Twyman called that particular broadcast for the network. ABC would continue to televise Christmas games through 1972. The remainder of these broadcasts were based on Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix. Chris Schenkel did play-by-play for ABC during this period except 1970,^[13] when Keith Jackson held that responsibility. Jack Twyman remained as the color commentator for the broadcasts up until 1971 when the position was assumed by Bill Russell.


By 1969, ABC's NBA contract was worth only $3 million. To put things into proper perspective, in 1969, Major League Baseball's television contract with NBC was worth $16.5 million while the National Football League cost CBS about $22 million. What that meant is that ABC had made a bargain in purchasing the television rights to the NBA, considering the league's steady ratings. To give you a better idea, ABC's ratings for the NBA rose from a 6.0 in 1965 to an 8.2 in 1968.


ABC was by this time, coming increasingly under fire for what was perceived to be a less-than-spectacular presentation of the NBA. Sports Illustrated's Frank Deford^[14] in particular, singled ABC out for their coverage of the 1971 NBA Finals. Deford felt that ABC was making a mistake in trying to cover the NBA the same way that they covered a football game because they were two different games. On that end, Deford wrote that neither ABC's announcers nor cameras were able to isolate the important phases of the game. He added that replays were used only to second-guess officials rather than "capture the grace and precision of the performers". Meanwhile, Deford also criticized play-by-play man Chris Schenkel^[6] in regards to his failure to appreciate the nuances of the game and their halftime shows, which Deford saw as not innovative or imaginative.


The network proposed a contract extension with a modest rights bump in 1972, which was criticized by owners. Reportedly, a powerful bloc of owners in larger TV markets were weary of television, though they understood they needed TV to promote their brand. A major sticking point was attempting to force the prospective winning TV network to air games on Saturdays during the fall and winter, directly in competition with far more popular college football telecasts on ABC. ABC balked at the request.^[15]


ABC lost the broadcast rights to the NBA^[16] to CBS^[17][18][19] after the 1972–73 season,^[20] with the network's initial tenure with the league ending with its last NBA Finals game on May 10, 1973. ABC filled the void left by losing the NBA by counterprogramming Wide World of Sports on Sundays^[21] against CBS' NBA coverage.^[22]