NBC is brining back more than a theme song when the network resumes its NBA coverage next season.
In addition to Roundball Rock, TV personality John Tesh’s immortal basketball anthem, NBC will be relying on the famed voice of Jim Fagan despite the fact the narrator died in 2017 following a battle with Parkinson’s Disease.
Thanks to advancements in artificial intelligence, and an agreement with Fagan’s surviving family, promos for NBC’s NBA coverage will include a digital recreation of the announcer’s voice.
‘For many basketball fans, Jim’s unique and recognizable voice immediately conjures a deep sense of nostalgia for a special time in NBA history,’ NBC Sports president Rick Cordella said in a statement.
‘His voice perfectly captured the magnitude of the heavyweight matchups and stars that he was introducing.’
NBC Sports has already produced one promo featuring the late Fagan’s voice, but the reaction wasn’t entirely positive.
Fagan, a former college football player at West Virginia, did promos for a variety of NBC programming, including the network’s Saturday morning hoops show, NBA Inside Stuff
‘You can’t find a living announcer?’ one critic asked on YouTube. ‘You’ve got to zombify a legend? AI is the worst.’
‘In poor taste and weird,’ one fan followed. ‘Please stop doing this.’
Another added: ‘Besides AI sucking I feel like this is a signal that they’re going to rely solely on nostalgia in terms of marketing/branding.’
NBC pulled a similar move with Al Michaels voice, although he is still alive and handling Amazon Prime’s NFL coverage. Rather, NBC used an AI-replication of his voice for daily Olympic recaps during the Paris Games, given the legendary announcer’s place in Team USA history with his famed ‘Do you believe in miracles?’ call at the 1980 Winter Games.
Fagan, a former college football player at West Virginia, did promos for a variety of NBC programming, including the network’s Saturday morning hoops show, NBA Inside Stuff. Prior to that, Fagan originally came to New York to perform on Broadway.
‘I was a pretty good singer,’ he told WVU Sports prior to his death in 2017.
Ultimately it was his wife, Jamie, who did commercial jingles and later pushed him towards television.
‘I guess I was born to do it, I got the voice, I looked OK, and I could read, so I started doing commercials,’ he said.
NBC broadcasters Steve Jones, Bill Walton and Tom Hammond stand courtside during the first round NBA playoff game between the Utah Jazz and the Sacramento Kings in 2002
Former NBA basketball player Magic Johnson, NBC commentator, at the 1993 NBA Finals – Game 5, Chicago Bulls vs Phoenix Suns, held at the Chicago Stadium
NBC also decided to bring back Tesh’s famed Roundball Rock, which holds a special place in the hearts of NBA fans of a certain age because it often preceded highly anticipated Chicago Bulls games involving Michael Jordan.
The NBA’s new 11-year TV deal begins next season, with Amazon and NBC gaining league media rights alongside ESPN in a $77 billion agreement.
The WNBA also cut its own deal with Amazon, ESPN and NBC worth around $2.2 billion (or $200 million annually), DailyMail.com has learned. What’s more, the ‘W’ is still free to make other media deals, potentially adding to its nine-figure annual haul.
Although the NBA’s regular-season ratings were down again in 2024-25, the playoff coverage has seen a 13-percent uptick from last year on ESPN, the network recently revealed.
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