“Roundball Rock” isn’t the only song viewers will become accustomed to during NBC’s forthcoming NBA coverage. Apparently, the network is also employing the rockin’ sounds of Lenny Kravitz to set the scene before its NBA broadcasts.
According to a report by Jon Lewis of Sports Media Watch, Kravitz will record weekly opens for Sunday Night Basketball, NBC’s premier package of NBA games. Kravitz will serve in a role similar to Carrie Underwood, who records the opening number for Sunday Night Football.
Fear not, “Roundball Rock,” the popular basketball jingle composed by John Tesh, will remain the theme song for the NBA on NBC. Kravitz will simply be used on Sundays to ring in the network’s primetime game.
NBC is clearly trying to create a bit of brand synergy between its Sunday night properties. Beginning next season, NBC will also carry MLB’s Sunday Night Baseball package, giving the network year-round live sports coverage on Sunday evenings. As part of that brand building, NBC is dubbing its Sunday night basketball pregame show Basketball Night in America, a nod to its NFL show Football Night in America. The show will emanate from the site of that Sunday’s game. Lewis reports that NBC’s Monday and Tuesday games will use the old NBA Showtime title for pregame coverage.
Tapping a celebrity musician for a theme song is nothing new. But if Kravitz is able to replicate the type of recognizable jingle that Underwood has successfully done for Sunday Night Football, NBC will have done well to enlist his services.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.