NBC’s sports future tied to the NBA and Peacock

Mike Tirico told NBCUniversal’s annual upfront at Radio City Music Hall this morning that NBC and Peacock plan to insert real-time stats into its NBA coverage this fall to show the percentage chance a shot has before it succeeds or fails.

Sports, particularly the NBA, were an early theme in the upfront, the day broadcasters and streamers showcase their programming to advertisers. NBC’s late-night host Jimmy Fallon opened his presentation by jokingly saying, ” Welcome to the NBA’s upfront.. err NBC.” That was a bit of a stretch—I left before the end because of the seemingly interminable march of new entertainment shows with contrived plot lines.

But there is no denying the splash made by the news Michael Jordan will be a special contributor to NBC’s return to NBA coverage in the fall. 

“Hey everyone, sorry I can’t be with you all today,” Jordan said in a pre-recorded message played at the upfront. “I am so excited to see the NBA back on NBC. The NBA on NBC was a meaningful part of my career, and I’m excited about being a special contributor to the project.”

What special contributor means was not defined, but no matter, landing Jordan is a major coup for NBC’s NBA revival after a 23-year absence.  The NBA’s halcyon days on NBC coincided with the apogee of Jordan’s career in the 1980s and 1990s, so there is a nice synergy to his role.

Jordan may not have been at Radio City, but John Tesh was. The composer performed his iconic “Roundball Rock,” with a 55-piece symphony orchestra. The medley, the music for the NBA on NBC back in the day, is returning with NBC’s coverage in the fall.

Tirico unveiled some of the new tricks NBC will trot out, including the in-play stat predictor. 

“On Peacock let’s say Luka is having a monster game. We’re going to show you real time data overlays about the player performance, showing what’s likely to happen moments before it does.”

Whether that is just on the Peacock stream, or inserted into the broadcast is unclear, or if a viewer could turn it off.  Outlets like ESPN and Amazon feature alternative feeds for stats-hungry viewers, as not everyone wishes to be bombarded with the spew of big data. Amazon has a feed on its Thursday Night Football coverage that predicts which defensive player may be about to rush the quarterback. How NBC’s effort is received is worth watching.  Some may love it, others may find it distracting and want to opt out.

NBC will also feature fantasy games on Peacock alongside the coverage, Tirico said.

“We will have a first-of-its-kind, real-time streaming experience,” Tirico said. “Think of bingo meets fantasy sports. You can choose a game card based on what you think is going to happen that particular night, and then you’ll be able to see how you stack up against the crowd.”

Tirico showed a screenshot of a game with the fantasy contest on the right side.

Later in the season, Tirico continued, NBC plans “to introduce an entirely new vantage point by going courtside live, give the audience a look at everything, the latest gameday fashion pregame shoot arounds, courtside for reactions from celebrity row.”

At the upfront, the NBA received the most attention, but the Comcast division certainly emphasized its impressive sports portfolio over the next 12 months, including a 17-day stretch in February that includes the NBA All-Star game, the Super Bowl, and the Winter Olympics.

“In fact, Peacock was built on sports, and it will have over 7,500 hours of sports in the next year alone, and that is more than all of these streamers combined,” said Mark Marshall, Chairman, Global Advertising & Partnerships, NBCUniversal, pointing to a screen listing six streamers; AppleTV+, Hulu, Max, Netflix, Paramount+ and Prime.

NBC will share the NBA with ESPN and Amazon. In addition to the NFL, the NBA, and the Olympics, NBC also has the Premier League, Spanish-language World Cup rights in the U.S., major golf events, NASCAR, and college football.