The one overlapping figure between last year’s lead ABC/ESPN NBA booth and this year’s looks set to remain there for some time to come. Play-by-play voice Mike Breen has been working with ESPN/ABC since 2003 and has been their lead NBA announcer since 2006. And Andrew Marchand of The New York Post reported Monday that Breen has signed an extension to stay with ABC/ESPN parent Disney for an additional two years beyond the two remaining on his contract:
NEWS: Mike Breen receives big extension with ESPN after booth blowup, The Post has learned.https://t.co/3FKjKAQpxk
— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) October 30, 2023
Here’s more from Marchand’s piece:
Breen, 62, has agreed to a two-year, multi-million-dollar extension with ESPN to go along with the final two seasons that he has left on his current deal with the network, according to sources.
…The new deal for Breen is contingent on ESPN/ABC retaining the rights to the NBA. The current national deals with Disney/ESPN and Warner Bros. Discovery/TNT expire following next season.
ESPN is seen as a favorite to keep its package, which includes the Finals, though it may end up with fewer regular-season games. Amazon, Apple and NBC are among those that are expected to vie for the rights with ESPN and TNT.
If ESPN keeps the Finals every season through 2026-27, Breen would be scheduled to be on the call for the league’s top event for 22 years.
Breen hit the milestone of calling his 100th Finals game this summer, becoming just the third basketball announcer and sixth U.S. radio or TV broadcaster across sports to call 100 championship series games. And he’s received a lot of praise for his work over the years, both nationally with ABC and ESPN (and with NBC before that, and also with them on several Olympics broadcasts) and locally with WFAN and MSG (he continues to work as the lead Knicks’ play-by-play voice on the latter).
However, Breen is now in a new situation. That’s thanks to ESPN laying off his long-time analyst partners Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson this summer (to some regrets from Breen) and replacing them with Doris Burke and Doc Rivers. Of course, he’s spoken very positively about both Burke and Rivers in the past, including calling his shot that Burke would be ESPN/ABC’s lead NBA analyst way back in 2018. And he’s been known to hang out with and even vacation with Rivers before this broadcasting assignment. So it’s not like these are people he dislikes or is unfamiliar with.
But on-air chemistry is something different. And it can come with challenges, especially with three-person booths. So it’s notable to see ESPN indicate so clearly (and so early, with lots of time still left on his current deal) that they believe Breen will be the best person to helm their lead booth for years to come. (And it’s also interesting to see that include an exit if ESPN and ABC somehow don’t retain NBA rights.)
