NBC Sports could buy back rights to iconic theme song ‘Roundball Rock’ if it airs NBA games again, composer John Tesh says

In
the
pantheon
of
theme
songs
for
TV
sports, “Roundball
Rock,”
John
Tesh’s
anthem
that
accompanied
National
Basketball
Association
games
on
NBC
until
2002,
is
arguably
the
greatest.

If
NBCUniversal
wins
the
rights
to
air
the
NBA
again,
it
would
have
a
chance
to
bring
back
the
iconic
tune,
the
composer
told
CNBC
in
an
email.

Comcast’s
NBCUniversal
has
made
an
offer
that
averages
$2.5
billion
per
year
to
once
again
acquire
NBA
rights
after
losing
them
22
years
ago
to


Disney,
according
to
people
familiar
with
the
matter.
The
Wall
Street
Journal

first
reported
the
details
of
NBC’s
bid.

The
NBA
wants
three
media
partners
this
time
around,
and
is
close
to
deals
with
both
Disney
and
Amazon
for
two
of
the
packages.
The
third
one
will
likely
go
to


Warner
Bros.
Discovery
or
NBCUniversal,
but
not
both,
said
the
people,
who
asked
not
to
be
named
because
the
talks
are
private.

Warner
Bros.
Discovery
continues
to
be
in
talks
with
the
league
to
keep
the
rights.
Still,
NBCUniversal’s
offer
more
than
doubles
the
$1.2
billion
that
Warner
Bros.
Discovery
currently
pays.
That
may
be
too
pricey
for
Warner
Bros.
Discovery,
whose
market
capitalization
of
$18
billion
is
dwarfed
by


Comcast‘s
$150
billion.

Warner
Bros.
Discovery
Chief
Executive
Officer
David
Zaslav
has
preached
a
message
of

financial
discipline
since
taking
over
the
company,
including
by
slashing
jobs
and
cutting
spending
on
content,
to
reduce
debt
and
boost
free
cash
flow.
He’s
said
he’s
not
interested
in
being
in
the “rental
business,”
as
is
the
nature
of
licensing
sports
rights,
though
he
has
also
expressed
optimism
about
retaining
NBA
rights.

Spokespeople
for
Warner
Bros.
Discovery,
NBC
and
the
NBA
declined
to
comment.

Nostalgic
NBA
fans
associate “Roundball
Rock”
with “The
NBA
on
NBC”
and
an
era
defined
by
Michael
Jordan,
the
Chicago
Bulls’
dominance
and
the
voices
of
Bob
Costas
and
Marv
Albert.
USA
Today

voted
it
No.
1
in
a
2017
ranking
of “The
25
greatest
sports
TV
themes.”
The
Ringer
published
an

oral
history
article
about
its
origin,
and
NBC’s “Saturday
Night
Live”

did
an
entire
sketch
about
it.

The
song
has
not
heralded
the
start
of
an
NBA
game
since
2002,
when
NBC
broadcast
its
last
league
contest.
Fox
Sports
acquired
the
rights
to
the
theme
to
use
for

college
basketball
for
the
2018-19
season,
but
a
generation
of
fans
still
associate
the
tune
with
NBC.

If
NBC
Sports
wins
the
rights,
it’s
free
to
once
again
license “Roundball
Rock”
from
Tesh,
who
owns
the
song,
the
composer
said
in
an
e-mail.

Fox’s
deal
for “Roundball
Rock”
doesn’t
preclude
any
media
company
from
using
the
song
for
NBA
games,
Tesh
said.

Media
companies
typically
buy
the
rights
to
the
song
in
three-year
increments,
Tesh
said.
He
declined
to
say
how
much
he
is
paid
because
the
contracts
include
non-disclosure
agreements,
but
Tesh
noted
he’s
also
compensated
with
royalties
based
on
the
number
of
times
it
gets
played.
The
Ringer

reported
in
2020
that
Tesh’s
jingle
aired
an
estimated
12,000
times
during
the
1990-2002
era
on “NBA
on
NBC.”

“It’s
funny
how
people
fight
for
the
song,”
Tesh
said. “In
1990,
it
was
just
another
theme.
Now
the
internet
is
filled
with
people
playing
the
song
on
Ukulele,
Casios
and
teaching
it
on
guitar.
We
still
play
the
song
at
every
concert
and
show
the
YouTube
videos
of
these
people.”

If
the
NBA
airs
on
NBC
again,
it
would
start
in
the
2025-26
season.
And
rest
assured,
fans: “Roundball
Rock”
is
available.

—
CNBC’s
Lillian
Rizzo
contributed
to
this
report.

Disclosure:
Comcast
is
the
parent
company
of
NBCUniversal
and
CNBC.

WATCH:
Fight
for
the
NBA:
NBC
vs.
Warner
Bros.
Discovery