NBA fans are convinced basketball is back on NBC – after composer John Tesh revealed the return of a classic.
Tesh is recording a new version of Roundball Rock, the iconic song that accompanied the NBA on NBC from 1990 to 2002.
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NBC reportedly made a whopping $2.5 billion offer for NBA rights starting with the 2025 season.
The league continues talks with current rights holder Warner Bros.
During an appearance on The Dan Le Batard Showpianist Tesh revealed that he was approached by NBC to re-record the theme song.
“Actually, yes,” Tesh said after being asked if NBC had contacted him.
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“Nothing firm, but they said, ‘Hey, can you stay cool on this?’ Like a Navy SEAL thing.
“We’re actually talking about licensing them for the Paris Olympics.
“At the end of June, we’re going to Nashville and we have a full orchestra on standby.
“The recording still sounds great, but I wanted to make some changes, maybe open up the middle.”
The track was played before NBA broadcasts in the 1990s and remains a nostalgic throwback for many basketball fans.
It was also licensed for one-off broadcasts on TNT and ESPN.
Fox Sports has used the rink for college basketball since 2018.
“This song gives me goosebumps,” replied a fan in the interview on X.
“Iconic theme, but I will really miss TNT,” wrote another.
“Sweet and sassy mollassy. This is the best news I have ever heard in my entire life,” said a third.
“This would immediately make me less sad that the NBA isn’t on TNT,” a fourth added,
Inside the future of the NBA?
The operation of the NBA on TNT Sports is in doubt due to the NBA’s broadcast agreements.
The Emmy-winning sports show is a fan favorite thanks to the likes of Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley.
But TNT’s broadcast deal with the NBA ends after next season and NBC is preparing a bid to take over those rights.
If TNT loses its NBA package, it will raise questions about the popular Inside the NBA.
One solution could be to recreate the show on another network, which would snatch the rights from the NBA.
NBC obtaining the rights could mean the end of TNT’s popular show Inside the NBA.
The four-member panel of Ernie Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith indicated they would part ways if the rights were transferred to NBC.
“I’ll be on LinkedIn tomorrow afternoon,” Barkley joked during the NBA playoffs broadcast last weekend.
The 61-year-old has already revealed that he would become a “free agent” if TNT lost the rights to show NBA games.
“I just signed a 10-year contract two years ago, but one of the things I did was opt out in a couple of years because I wanted to protect myself when it came to that situation,” Barkley said in an interview with 850ESPN Cleveland.
“I said, ‘If you guys lose the NBA, I want to make sure I can get out of here.’
“So I’m actually in a great position.
“Listen, I love TNT, they’ve been great to me.
“I wanted to make sure that if we lost the NBA in two years, I could be a free agent.”
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
