Ahead of a highly anticipated Game 7 of the NBA Finals on Sunday night, the Athletic\u2019s sports media columnist Richard Deitsch connected with sports business editor Dan Shanoff to talk about the expectations and pressure \u2014 not on the teams, but on the league and its broadcast partner ESPN to deliver a great experience for fans.<\/p>\n
Shanoff: It\u2019s a cliche, but it\u2019s also true \u2014 the two greatest words in sports are \u201cGame 7.\u201d What kind of pressure are the NBA and ESPN under to deliver a presentation that matches the moment, or is \u201cGame 7\u201d the kind of thing that no league or network can screw up, because it\u2019s so inherently interesting\/dramatic?<\/b><\/p>\n
Deitsch: There was a very famous monologue delivered by Al Michaels prior to the start of ABC\u2019s coverage of the famous Miracle On Ice game:<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we have at hand, the rarest of sporting events \u2014 an event that needs no buildup, no superfluous adjectives.\u201d<\/p>\n
(Shanoff sidebar to readers: Take 60 seconds and watch the first 45 seconds of the broadcast<\/a>, just Michaels\u2019 intro right at the start of this video. It is as close to perfect as it gets in sports TV.)<\/p>\n That\u2019s true of all Game 7s and title games for major sports. The interest is inherent.<\/p>\n The broadcaster has an immense duty to make you feel like you are about to witness a monumental event. Sunday\u2019s ABC presentation needs to highlight what the game means for these teams and in a historical sense. If ESPN\/ABC is smart, they will go heavy in the pregame coverage on the last time we had a Game 7 in the NBA Finals.<\/p>\n The best advice I can give \u2014 and this is often hard for ESPN \u2014 is to not make this game about ESPN or what an ESPN personality thinks. Make it about the game. Please.<\/p>\n Quite frankly, I don\u2019t know to whom you might be referring. Speaking of making it about the game: ESPN play-by-play announcer Mike Breen\u2019s \u201cBlocked by James!\u201d from the NBA Finals Game 7 in 2016 is one of the most iconic NBA broadcast calls of all time. Are he, Doris Burke and Richard Jefferson under any unusual pressure to deliver \u201ca moment?\u201d\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n The pressure will be to make sure they nail the game\u2019s biggest moments, but that is just as much on the producer and director. This announcing booth will have something that can benefit them for Game 7 \u2014 they were all part of the last time we saw a Game 7 for the NBA Finals: Breen was the play-by-play announcer, Burke was the sideline reporter and Jefferson played for the Cavs. They should delve into that during the broadcast. What\u2019s unique about this broadcast is that it is likely the last time we see them as a trio<\/a> calling the NBA Finals.<\/p>\n To that point, for ESPN, what does success look like in a game like this?<\/b><\/p>\n Simple. Success is a broadcast where people talk about the game afterward and not the broadcast.<\/p>\n Speaking of the game presentation, the league seems to have been unusually responsive to audience (and columnist) critiques of the game broadcast, including adding digitized Finals logos to the floor and bringing back televised pre-game player introductions for the first time in more than a decade. Why do you think that is, and what do you make of that approach?<\/b><\/p>\n The NBA was reactive here, but it\u2019s better to be reactive with a popular change than not to react at all. I did a podcast last week with Jon Lewis, editor and founder of Sports Media Watch, and both of us were struck by how much the ABC broadcast of these Finals didn\u2019t feel much different than any other postseason game. Player introductions make a game feel bigger. It\u2019s not rocket science. For so many people who watch pro wrestling, it\u2019s the entrance to the ring that gets people the most excited. Think \u201cCult of Personality\u201d playing for C.M. Punk. This is where I think NBC is going to do well next year with the NBA. They event-ize everything.<\/p>\n And, as you said, \u201cGame 7\u201d is inherently an <\/b>event<\/b>. Front Office Sports\u2019 Colin Salao <\/b>posted an interesting point<\/b><\/a>: The past four NBA Finals Game 7s saw a 65 percent lift in audience from the rest of the series. For this one, that would put it just under 20 million viewers, which would be the most watched Finals game of the 2020s. Of course, it won\u2019t compare to the Game 7 in 2016 \u2014 Cavs vs. Warriors, LeBron vs. Steph \u2014 which drew 31 million viewers (for good reason). Where do you think Sunday\u2019s Game 7 nets out?<\/b><\/p>\n