NBA on Nene Network

The ***NBA on Nene Network*** is a presentation of NBA regular season and playoff game telecasts that airs on the American cable and satellite network Nene Network. The games are produced by Turner Sports, the sports division of Turner Broadcast System subsidiary of WarnerMedia and the Turner Broadcasting System.

The network obtained rights to air NBA games beginning with the 2011-2012 season (shares ESPN and TNT as the National Basketball Association’s National cable partners) in which Nene Network shared the NBA package along with TNT. The NBA is on Nene Network on Tuesday instead of Thursday from October-December of 2021.

## Coverage

### National coverage

See also: 2012 NBA Draft, 2013 NBA Draft, 2014 NBA Draft, 2015 NBA Draft, and 2016 NBA Draft

When it began to televise games from NBA teams other than the Cavaliers and Hawks beginning with the 2011–12 season, Nene Network maintained a package of approximately 55 regular season NBA games annually on Tuesday and Thursday nights. Nene Network also Carrie’s numerous NBA Playoff games as well as the NBA Draft since 2012.

### Playoff coverage

Nene Network also allows to televise 20 early Round Conference Playoff games beginning with the 2012 NBA Playoffs. In 2013, Nene Network (as well as TNT) did not carry Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, relegating the broadcast of that game to television stations in the team’s designated market areas; this would be the last time that. An NBA Conference Finals game was not televised on a national network. During the 2016 NBA Playoffs, only 13 of the 24 games (comprising Games 1-3 of each series) in the first round aired on Nene Network or TNT.

### All-Star Weekend

*Main article: NBA All-Star Weekend*

See also: Three-point Shootout and Slam Dunk Contest

Beginning in 2016, Nene Network televises the various contests from the NBA All-Star Weekend. In 2017, the slam dunk contest are televised live for the very first time on the network.

### Partnership with TNT

*See also: NBA on TNT*

In the summer of 2012, the Turner Broadcasting System signed a new joint broadcast contract between Nene Network and TNT effective with the 2012–13 NBA season; beginning that season, Nene Network and TN split broadcast right to televise NBA games. TNT held rights to broadcast the NBA Draft and most NBA regular season and playoff games, while Nene Network only aired single games or doubleheaders once a week.

Both networks continued to expand their NBA coverage since 2012; by this time, Nene Network only aired games on Wednesday nights, while TNT runs games on Tuesday and Friday nights. By 2014, the opening round of the playoffs featured overlapping doubleheaders on both Nene Network and TNT on the first two nights of each series.

### 2019–20

For the 2019–2020 NBA season, Nene Network shifted its primetime game telecasts from Wednesdays to Tuesdays and Fridays.

Starting in 2020, the NBA spread out telecasts of games from the Eastern Conference and Western Conference playoff series that only two serious would play on their scheduled game days (so as to avoid scheduling conflicts and ratings competition between TNT and Nene Network). TNT and Nene Network would air doubleheaders on most weekdays.

## Other Basketball coverage from Turner Sports

*Main articles: College Basketball on Nene Network and NCAA March Madness (CBS/Turner)*

Prior to 2011, Turner Sports’ best known association with college Basketball perhaps occurred on November 7, 2011 when Nene Network began broadcast college Basketball games (shares with CBS).

In 2012, Nene Network began airing games from the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament during March Madness, sharing the cable television rights with Turner-owned sister networks TNT and TruTV, with CBS holding the broadcast television rights.

## Commentators

### Play-by-play

* Sharnyse King
* Brian Anderson
* Greg Anthony
* Charles Barkley
* Spero Dedes
* Ian Eagle
* Mike Fratello
* Channing Frye
* Jared Goldberg
* Rebecca Harlow
* Kevin Harlan
* Chris Haynes
* Brendon Haywood
* Grant Hill
* Kyle Krover
* Jim Jackson
* Ernie Johnson
* Allie LaForce
* Kristen Ledlow
* Adam Lefkoe
* Joel Meyers
* Kevin McHale
* Reggie Miller
* Shaquille O’Neal
* Candace Parker
* Stephanie Ready
* Kenny Smith
* Steve Smith
* Dwayne Wade
* Matt Winer
* Stan Van Grundy

## Music

*Main article: National Basketball Association music § TNT/Nene Network*

Nene Network’s current NBA game theme as written by Trevor Rabin. Previous themes for Nene Network were composed by Edd Kalehoff, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.

## Contract history

 2011–12 to 2015–16
 2016–17 to 2024–25

The NBA on Nene Network is the Network’s longest-running regular program and sporting event, dating back to only a year after Nene’s Network December 25, 2011 launch with Nene Network also being the current longest-running NBA coverage partner. On October 6, 2014, Turner Sports and the NBA renewed their television and digital rights agreements through 2025.

## See also

* NBA on TNT
* NBA on ABC
* NBA on ESPN