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NBA fans’ viewing experience will look different later in the year, but there will also be a touch of nostalgia.
Last summer, Comcast/NBC Universal closed an 11-year agreement on the rights to regular NBA and WNBA games after the season. These games will be presented across the network’s linear and streaming platforms beginning with the 2025-26 season. As viewers are preparing to make an adjustment of their habits for the fall, the network announced that an AI-driven tool will help bring back a feeling from the 1990s.
The late Jim Fagan, whose iconic voice became synonymous with NBC programming in the 90s, will be part of the NBA coverage in the future -thanks to artificial intelligence.
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The NBA logo adorns the court during the NBA Summer League game between the Portland Trail Blazers and Houston Rockets in Thomas & Mack Center on July 7, 2023 in Las Vegas. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
The AI-generated voice from Fagan will be deployed for NBC’s coverage of the league. The restored voice will also be heard in selected promotional elements starting in October.
These items will include some title sequences, the Show Open and other promos, NBC announced in a press release. The company will use other voiceover artists for more traditional work.
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Fagan’s family gave NBC Sports permission to use AI-voting synthesis technology to restore the famous narrator’s voice.
Fagan’s daughters, Jana Silvia Joyce and Risa Silvia-Koonin, issued a statement that partly said, “We are deeply grateful that NBC Sports had the vision of honoring our father’s heritage in such a meaningful way.”
A ball sails through the brace during the game between Miami Heat and Rockets at the Toyota Center in Houston, April 5, 2024. (Troy Taormina-usa Today Sports)
“For many basketball fans, Jim’s unique and recognizable voice immediately evokes a deep sense of nostalgia in a special time in the NBA story,” said Rick Cordella, NBC Sports President in a statement. “His voice perfectly captured the size of the heavy weight matchups and stars that he introduced. It has been a joy to work with Jim’s family to recreate his voice and honor his legacy. I am excited that we are able to introduce his voice to a whole new generation of fans.”
An NBA basketball is in a rack before a game between Detroit Pistons and Charlotte Hornets, March 9, 2023, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)
Fagan played college football in West Virginia. He died in 2017.
Amazon is one of three partners in the record $ 76 billion Medication Agreement with NBA. Disney, ESPN’s parent company, will continue its partnership with the league in accordance with the conditions of the latest agreement.
“NBA on NBC” race from 1990-2002. TNT’s partnership with NBA began in 1989, when the “Inside the NBA” Studio Show is gaining popularity over decades. But in July 2024, NBA rejected a bid from TNT’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), about exercising his right to match an offer from Amazon for part of the league’s Meda Law Agreement.
In May 2024, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver expressed confidence that at least two of the “Inside the NBA” stars will continue to cover the NBA in the coming years, regardless of which network contains TV rights.
“We never lose Charles (Barkley) and Kenny (Smith),” Silver said. “They will always cover the NBA … I can’t imagine these guys [on ‘Inside the NBA’] will not act and advertise together in the future and we love them all. ”
All four prominent faces of “inside the NBA” will eventually remain together as the program will be licensed to ESPN, starting with the 2025-26 season.
The League’s current Medications Light Agreement expires in June after the NBA final.
