1988-89 NBA Season
As originally posted by Tony Miller and avargha:
The final Olympic year in which NBA players did not participate, 1988-89 opened with three teams in new arenas. The Pistons departed the Pontiac Silverdome (whose final three games were the NBA Finals) for the 22,076-seat Palace of Auburn Hills, the Kings moved from one ARCO Arena to another, and the Bucks moved out of their MECCA (the Milwaukee Exposition Convention Center and Arena) into the Bradley Center.
In addition to the new buildings for existing teams, Charlotte and Miami inaugurated new franchises. Charlotte played in the Atlantic Division, which sort of makes sense. In order to maintain relative divisional balance, Miami joined the Western Conference in the Midwest Division, moving Sacramento (which had never changed divisions after its move west in 1985) to the Pacific Division.
Hubie Brown joined Dick Stockton on the CBS “A” team; Verne Lundquist and Tom Heinsohn were the second regular-season crew, but Brent Musburger and Bill Raftery did the other conference final. Onions. TBS’s five stalwarts returned, joined by Hot Rod Hundley, Oscar Robertson, Walt Frazier and John MacLeod for Emperor Stern’s tournament.
Data transcribed from ”’NBA on CBS’ Regular Season Schedules” and ”NBA on CBS Playoff Games”. Additional listings and significant clarifications on which games have been confirmed came from jtgrace1 and Jeff79.
For the numerous games that are not confirmed, the initials of jtgrace1's guesses are given in parentheses. These are, for the sake of emphasis, GUESSES.
National Television
PRESEASON
10/21
Celtics-Yugoslavian National Team, 8:05 (tape delay), TBS. Skip Caray, Rick Barry, Steve Jones (in Madrid)
McDonald's Open Semifinal
10/23
Celtics-Real Madrid, 3:30, ABC. Gary Bender, Dick Vitale, Cheryl Miller (in Madrid)
McDonald's Open Championship Game
11/1
Clippers-Pistons, 8:05, TBS. Skip Caray, Rick Barry, Craig Sager (in Springfield, Mass.)
Steve Jones may have been analyst
REGULAR SEASON
NOVEMBER
Friday 11/4:
Lakers-Mavericks, 8:00, TBS. Skip Caray, Rick Barry
Tuesday 11/8:
Bulls-Knicks, 8:00, TBS. Skip Caray, Steve Jones
Friday 11/11:
Pistons-Celtics, 8:00, TBS. Skip Caray, Rick Barry
Warriors-Suns, 10:30, TBS. Pete Van Wieren, Steve Jones
Tuesday 11/15:
Hawks-Cavaliers, 8:00, TBS. Pete Van Wieren, Steve Jones
Friday 11/18:
Hawks-Bulls, 8:00, TBS. Pete Van Wieren, Rick Barry
Tuesday 11/22:
Lakers-Knicks, 8:00, TBS. Bob Neal, Rick Barry
Wednesday 11/23:
Nuggets-Mavericks, 8:00, TBS. Bob Neal, Rick Barry
Bulls-Clippers, 10:30, TBS. Pete Van Wieren, Steve Jones
Friday 11/25:
Hawks-Mavericks, 8:00, TBS. Skip Caray, Rick Barry
Saturday 11/26:
Lakers-Pistons, 8:30, CBS. Dick Stockton, Hubie Brown, Pat O'Brien
Tuesday 11/29:
Blazers-Bucks, 8:00, TBS. Skip Caray, Rick Barry
(Note: CHI-NY on 11/8 went up against Bush-Dukakis on ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, CNN …)
Although Fox didn't have a network news operation.
DECEMBER
Friday 12/2:
Celtics-Cavaliers, 8:00, TBS. Skip Caray, Steve Jones
Jazz-Lakers, 10:30, TBS. Bob Neal, Rick Barry
Tuesday 12/6:
Celtics-Bulls, 8:00, TBS. Bob Neal, Rick Barry
Friday 12/9:
Pistons-Hawks, 8:00, TBS. Skip Caray, Rick Barry
Tuesday 12/13:
Nets-Knicks, 8:00, TBS. Bob Neal, Steve Jones
Friday 12/16:
Lakers-Celtics, 8:00, TBS. Bob Neal, Rick Barry
Tuesday 12/20:
Lakers-Bulls, 8:00, TBS. Skip Caray, Rick Barry
Friday 12/23:
Bulls-Hornets, 8:00, TBS. Skip Caray, Steve Jones
Sunday 12/25:
Lakers-Jazz, 3:30, CBS. Dick Stockton, Hubie Brown, Pat O'Brien
Bullets-76ers, 7:00, TBS. Pete Van Wieren, Steve Jones
Tuesday 12/27:
Rockets-Heat, 8:00, TBS. Skip Caray, Rick Barry
JANUARY
Tuesday 1/3:
Celtics-Knicks, 8:00, TBS. Bob Neal, Rick Barry
Friday 1/6:
Hawks-Pistons, 8:00, TBS. Skip Caray, Steve Jones
Tuesday 1/10:
Lakers-Kings, 8:00, TBS. Bob Neal, Rick Barry
Friday 1/13:
Nuggets-Bulls, 8:00, TBS. Skip Caray, Rick Barry
Sunday 1/15:
Celtics-Bulls, 3:30, CBS. Dick Stockton, Hubie Brown
Tuesday 1/17:
Bucks-Hawks, 8:00, TBS. Bob Neal, Rick Barry
Friday 1/20:
Pacers-Pistons, 8:00, TBS. Bob Neal, Steve Jones
Mavericks-Lakers, 10:30, TBS. Pete Van Wieren, Rick Barry
Sunday 1/22:
Pistons-Celtics, 12:00, CBS. Dick Stockton, Hubie Brown
Tuesday 1/24:
Sonics-Blazers, 8:00, TBS. Announcers unknown (pvw-sj)
Friday 1/27:
Spurs-Mavericks, 8:00, TBS. PBP unknown (sc), Rick Barry
Sunday 1/29:
Lakers-Mavericks, 1:00, CBS. Dick Stockton, Hubie Brown, Pat O'Brien
Tuesday 1/31:
Pistons-Bulls, 8:00, TBS. Skip Caray, Steve Jones
(Note: Really? 5:00 PST starts on Tuesdays on 1/10 and 1/24?)
FEBRUARY
Friday 2/3:
Pistons-76ers, 8:00, TBS. Skip Caray, Rick Barry
Sunday 2/5:
Bulls-Pistons, 2:00, CBS. Dick Stockton, Hubie Brown, Pat O'Brien
Tuesday 2/7:
Cavaliers-Bucks, 8:00, TBS. Bob Neal, Steve Jones
Sunday 2/12:
NBA All-Star Game at Houston
East-West, 3:15, CBS. Dick Stockton, Hubie Brown, Pat O'Brien, James Brown
Tuesday 2/14:
Celtics-Rockets, 8:00, TBS. Pete Van Wieren, Steve Jones
Pistons-Lakers, 10:30, TBS. Bob Neal, Rick Barry
Friday 2/17:
Cavaliers-Hawks, 8:00, TBS. Skip Caray, Steve Jones
Sunday 2/19:
Celtics-Lakers, 3:30, CBS. Dick Stockton, Hubie Brown, Pat O'Brien
Monday 2/20:
Rockets-Cavaliers, 1:30, CBS. Verne Lundquist, Tom Heinsohn
Tuesday 2/21:
Celtics-Sonics, 8:00, TBS. Bob Neal, Steve Jones
Friday 2/24:
Jazz-Nuggets, 8:00, TBS. Pete Van Wieren, Rick Barry
Sunday 2/26:
Celtics-Knicks, 2:00, CBS. Dick Stockton, Hubie Brown, Pat O'Brien
Tuesday 2/28:
Pistons-Cavaliers, 8:00, TBS. Skip Caray, Rick Barry
Suns-Blazers, 10:30, TBS. Bob Neal, Steve Jones
MARCH
Friday 3/3:
Mavericks-Celtics, 8:00, TBS. Bob Neal, Rick Barry
76ers-Blazers, 10:30, TBS. Pete Van Wieren, Steve Jones
Sunday 3/5:
Lakers-Rockets, 3:30, CBS. Dick Stockton, Hubie Brown
Tuesday 3/7:
Lakers-Hawks, 8:00, TBS. Skip Caray, Steve Jones
Sunday 3/12:
Nuggets-Celtics, 12:00, CBS. Dick Stockton, Hubie Brown
Wednesday 3/15:
Blazers-Jazz, 8:00, TBS. Bob Neal, Steve Jones
Mavericks-Warriors, 10:30, TBS. Skip Caray, Rick Barry
Tuesday 3/21:
Pistons-Hawks, 8:00, TBS. Announcers unknown (sc-rb)
Bulls-Lakers, 10:30, TBS. Pete Van Wieren, Steve Jones
Tuesday 3/28:
Sonics-Rockets, 8:00, TBS. Bob Neal, Rick Barry
Friday 3/31:
Cavaliers-Bulls, 8:00, TBS. Skip Caray, Steve Jones
APRIL
Sunday 4/2:
Celtics-Cavaliers, 1:30, CBS. Dick Stockton, Hubie Brown, Pat O'Brien
Friday 4/7:
Celtics-Blazers, 10:30, TBS. Bob Neal, Steve Jones
Sunday 4/9:
Bulls-Hawks, 12:30, CBS. Dick Stockton, Hubie Brown, Pat O'Brien
Tuesday 4/11:
76ers-Cavaliers, 7:30, TBS. Al Albert, Rick Barry
Thursday 4/13:
Celtics-Hawks, 8:00, TBS. Bob Neal, Steve Jones
Friday 4/14:
Pistons-Knicks, 8:00, TBS. Bob Neal, Rick Barry
Sunday 4/16:
Bulls-Cavaliers, 1:00, CBS. Dick Stockton, Hubie Brown, Pat O'Brien
Friday 4/21:
Cavaliers-Hawks, 8:00, TBS. Skip Caray, Rick Barry
Rockets-Suns, 10:30, TBS. Al Albert, Steve Jones
Sunday 4/23:
Sonics-Lakers, 3:30, CBS. Dick Stockton, Hubie Brown
Thursday 4/27:
East quarters, g1: 76ers-Knicks, 8:00, TBS. Bob Neal, Rick Barry
West quarters, g1: Blazers-Lakers, 10:30, TBS. Pete Van Wieren, John MacLeod
Friday 4/28:
East quarters, g1: Celtics-Pistons, 8:00, TBS. Skip Caray, Rick Barry
West quarters, g1: Nuggets-Suns, 10:30, TBS. Pete Van Wieren, Steve Jones
Saturday 4/29:
East quarters, g2: 76ers-Knicks, 3:30, CBS. Verne Lundquist, Tom Heinsohn, Pat O'Brien
East quarters, g2: Bucks-Hawks, 8:00, TBS. Bob Neal, Rick Barry
Sunday 4/30:
East quarters, g2: Bulls-Cavaliers, 1:00, CBS. Dick Stockton, Hubie Brown, Tim Brant
East quarters, g2: Celtics-Pistons, 3:30, CBS regional. Brent Musburger, Bill Raftery, Lesley Visser
West quarters, g2: Blazers-Lakers, 3:30, CBS regional. Greg Gumbel, Quinn Buckner, Pat O'Brien
MAY
Tuesday 5/2:
East quarters, g3: Pistons-Celtics, 8:00, TBS. Skip Caray, Rick Barry
West quarters, g3: Jazz-Warriors, 10:30, TBS. Pete Van Wieren, Steve Jones
Wednesday 5/3:
East quarters, g3: Cavaliers-Bulls, 8:00, TBS. Bob Neal, Walt Frazier
West quarters, g3: Lakers-Blazers, 10:30, TBS. Rod Hundley, Oscar Robertson
Friday 5/5:
East quarters, g4: Cavaliers-Bulls, 8:00, TBS. Pete Van Wieren, Rick Barry
Saturday 5/6:
West semis, g1: Warriors-Suns, 3:30, CBS. Verne Lundquist, Tom Heinsohn, unknown
Sunday 5/7:
East quarters, g5: Bucks-Hawks, 1:00, CBS. Brent Musburger, Bill Raftery, Dan Jiggetts
East quarters, g5: Bulls-Cavaliers, 3:30, CBS regional. Dick Stockton, Hubie Brown, James Brown
West semis, g1: Sonics-Lakers, 3:30, CBS regional. Greg Gumbel, Quinn Buckner, Tim Brant
Tuesday 5/9:
East semis, g1: Bulls-Knicks, 8:00, TBS. Bob Neal, Rick Barry
West semis, g2: Warriors-Suns, 10:30, TBS. Pete Van Wieren, Steve Jones
Wednesday 5/10:
East semis, g1: Bucks-Pistons, 8:00, TBS. Skip Caray, Walt Frazier
West semis, g2: Sonics-Lakers, 10:30, TBS. Rod Hundley, Oscar Robertson
Thursday 5/11:
East semis, g2: Bulls-Knicks, 8:00, TBS. Pete Van Wieren, Rick Barry
West semis, g3: Suns-Warriors, 10:30, TBS. Bob Neal, Steve Jones
Friday 5/12:
East semis, g2: Bucks-Pistons, 8:00, TBS. Skip Caray, Rick Barry
West semis, g3: Lakers-Sonics, 10:30, TBS. Bob Neal, Steve Jones
Saturday 5/13:
East semis, g3: Knicks-Bulls, 1:00, CBS. Dick Stockton, Hubie Brown, Tim Brant
West semis, g4: Suns-Warriors, 3:30, CBS. Greg Gumbel, Quinn Buckner, Dan Jiggetts
Sunday 5/14:
East semis, g4: Knicks-Bulls, 1:00, CBS. Dick Stockton, Hubie Brown, Tim Brant
East semis, g3: Pistons-Bucks, 3:30, CBS regional. Brent Musburger, Bill Raftery, Andrea Joyce
West semis, g4: Lakers-Sonics, 3:30, CBS regional. Verne Lundquist, Tom Heinsohn, Lesley Visser
Monday 5/15:
East semis, g4: Pistons-Bucks, 8:00, TBS. Skip Caray, Rick Barry
Tuesday 5/16:
East semis, g5: Bulls-Knicks, 8:00, TBS. Skip Caray, Rick Barry
West semis, g5: Warriors-Suns, 10:30, TBS. Rod Hundley, Oscar Robertson
Friday 5/19:
East semis, g6: Knicks-Bulls, 8:00, TBS. Bob Neal, Steve Jones
Saturday 5/20:
West finals, g1: Suns-Lakers, 3:30, CBS. Dick Stockton, Hubie Brown, James Brown
Sunday 5/21:
East finals, g1: Bulls-Pistons, 1:00, CBS. Brent Musburger, Bill Raftery, James Brown, Lesley Visser
Tuesday 5/23:
East finals, g2: Bulls-Pistons, 8:00, TBS. Skip Caray, Rick Barry
West finals, g2: Suns-Lakers, 10:30, TBS. Bob Neal, Steve Jones
Friday 5/26:
West finals, g3: Lakers-Suns, 10:00, TBS. Bob Neal, Steve Jones
Saturday 5/27:
East finals, g3: Pistons-Bulls, 2:00, CBS. Dick Stockton, Hubie Brown, Pat O'Brien
Sunday 5/28:
West finals, g4: Lakers-Suns, 3:30, CBS. Brent Musburger, Bill Raftery, James Brown
Monday 5/29:
East finals, g4: Pistons-Bulls, 3:00, CBS. Dick Stockton, Hubie Brown, Pat O'Brien
Wednesday 5/31:
East finals, g5: Bulls-Pistons, 8:00, TBS. Skip Caray, Steve Jones
(Note: May 23 is the last time there was a conference-final DH with neither game “if necessary.”)
JUNE
Friday 6/2:
East finals, g6: Pistons-Bulls, 9:00, CBS. Dick Stockton, Hubie Brown, Pat O'Brien
Tuesday 6/6:
NBA Finals, g1: Lakers-Pistons, 9:00, CBS. Dick Stockton, Hubie Brown, Pat O'Brien
Thursday 6/8:
NBA Finals, g2: Lakers-Pistons, 9:00, CBS. Dick Stockton, Hubie Brown, James Brown
Sunday 6/11:
NBA Finals, g3: Pistons-Lakers, 3:30, CBS. Dick Stockton, Hubie Brown, Pat O'Brien
Tuesday 6/13:
NBA Finals, g4: Pistons-Lakers, 9:00, CBS. Dick Stockton, Hubie Brown, Pat O'Brien
Local Broadcast TV Info
Originally written by garretta
We begin with broadcast TV in the Pacific Division:
Lakers: KHJ-TV is the flagship of a seven-station network, and this is the fourth year of a six-year contract. Chick Hearn, who's returning for his twenty-eighth consecutive year of play-by-play, and Stu Lantz will call the action. KHJ will televise forty road games, three preseason and thirty-seven regular season. KHJ has televised Lakers' games since 1977-78.
Clippers: KTLA-TV has signed a new three-year contract to continue televising Clippers' games. This year, it will air twenty games, sixteen on the road and four at home. Ralph Lawler is back for his second year as play-by-play man; Hubie Brown will handle color.
Suns: KUTP-TV has signed a five-year contract to carry a minimum of twenty-five regular season games a year. Pre- and postseason games are not included. Al McCoy and Dick Van Arsdale will call the action.
Trail Blazers: KOIN-TV will air twenty road games. More details in the cable post below. Pat Lafferty and Steve "Snapper" Jones are your announcers.
SuperSonics: KIRO-TV holds the rights to twenty-seven road games and three home games, which it airs on KTZZ-TV. KIRO's contract with the team ends after this year. Jimmy Jones and Jim Marsh will call the action.
Kings: KRBK-TV has signed a new three-year contract to take over TV coverage. It will air thirty regular season games; last year. KOVR-TV aired only twenty. No announcers were mentioned in the article. Taco Bell, Burger King, and Budweiser will sponsor both the radio and television broadcasts; additional sponsors for television include Coca-Cola, Jack in the Box Restaurants, Toyota, and AMC/Jeep/Eagle.
Warriors: The team's TV package is split; KICU-TV, which has a contract for two more seasons, has reduced its number of games from thirty to twenty-two. The other half belongs to CBS affiliate KPIX-TV, which is owned by Group W. It has signed a two-year contract and will air eighteen games this season. This means that the total package has increased from thirty games to forty.
The team produces its own broadcasts and keeps roughly one-fourth of the twenty-seven minutes of advertising per game. Under this agreement, it controls sales in the beer, auto, and soft drink categories, with the stations selling the rest as they see fit. Among the sponsors this year are Miller Beer. Subaru, the local Ford Dealers, and Jack in the Box, which is also a radio sponsor
Now let's look at the Midwest Division.
Nuggets: After fourteen years on KWGN-TV, the team will split its games over two stations: KTVD-TV will broadcast thirty riad games, while KMGH-TV will air ten road games. Eddie Doucette and Dan Issel will call the action. In Colorado Springs, all forty telecasts will be seen on KXRM-TV.
Spurs: KSAT-TV is carrying the team's games on a year-to-year basis for the second year in a row. Fifteen games will be aired. Announcers have yet to be determined.
Rockets: KTXH-TV will air thirty-nine road games plus five preseason games. Ron Franklin, Bill Worrell and former Rockets coach Tom Nissalke will call the action.
Jazz: KSTU-TV has signed a new three-year contract to be the team's over-the-air broadcaster. This year, it will carry twenty road games and six home games. Rod Hundley will call play-by-play over all three media; on KSTU he'll be joined by Jazz director of broadcasting Carl Arky. The team and KSTU will also co-produce a weekly show and a highlights special.
Mavericks: KTVT-TW has signed a contract with the team to carry sixty-three regular season games over the next three seasons, at least twenty of them this year. Last year the team put together a six-station network covering Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana; this year. the team has signed at least seven stations, with more possible. KTVT itself serves 3.5 million homes throughout the region. Allen Stone and former NBA player and coach Bob Weiss will call the games.
Heat: WBFS-TV will head a seven-station network in Florida, Georgia, and Alabama that carries four preseason and twenty-one regular season games. Sam Smith will call play-by-play, while Eric Reid provides color.
Now let's discuss OTA television in the Atlantic. Announcers are the same as cable unless otherwise noted:
Bullets: WDCA-TV is in the first year of a two-year contract. It will carry twenty-eight road games this year. Mel Proctor and Phil Chevrier will call the games. The station sells as revenue in conjunction with the Capital Center (the Bullets' home arena) and shares revenues after expenses.
Nets: None
76ers: WPHL-TV is in the fourth year of a six-year contract and will carry all away games that don't conflict with CBS telecasts. Neil Funk and Hubie Brown will call the games; former Sixer Steve Mix will fill in for Brown when Hubie has ither assignments, Miller Beer is the main advertiser on the telecasts; it sponsors the tipoff, the MVP award and a fourth-quarter shootout (?). Radio station WMMR-FM sponsors a thirty-second health tip at halftime.
Celtics: WLVI-TV heads a three-state, five-station network and is in the fourth year of a five-year contract. It will carry all road games not picked up by CBS, Gil Santos and Bob Cousy will be on the call.
Hornets: WCCB-TV is the flagship of a nine-station network covering North Carolina and Virginia that will carry the season opener at home plus thirty road games. College sports syndicator Creative Sports Marketing helped set up the network. Gary Sparver will call the play-by-play, while Mike Pratt provides color.
Knicks: WWOR-TV will broadcast twenty-four regular season road games. One additional road game will be picked up by CBS, and another is being played in a CBS-exclusive window and cannot be televised. The three remaining road games are at New Jersey and are part of the Nets' television package.
Now let's look at OTA television in the Central. Announcers are the same as above unless otherwise noted:
Pacers: WXIN-TV heads a three-station network that will televise twenty-three road games. Bill Hazen is in his first year of doing play-by-play; he'll be joined by former Pacers coach Bob "Slick" Leonard, who's in his fourth year of color commentary. Major advertisers include Coca-Cola and Miller Beer.
Cavaliers: WOIO-TV Shaker Heights will televise twenty road games. Former NBA forward Jim Chomes will provide color commentary alongside Joe Tait.
Pistons: WKBD-TV, which has covered the team since 1973-74. is in the second year of a two-year contract. Two other stations receive the package of twenty-five games. George Blaha will call the play-by-play; a color commentator had not been named at press time.
Hawks: WGNX-TV has a one-year contract to televise thirty-two road games. John Sterling and Walt "Clyde" Frazier are your announcers.
Bucks: WCGV-TV is the flagship of a four-station network that will carry thirty road games and an undetermined number of playoff games. This is the first year of a three-year contract. Jim Paschke will call the play-by-play alongside Jon McGlocklin.
Bulls: WFLD-TV is in the third year of a six-year contract. It will televise thirty-four road games. In addition, six "wild card" home games could possibly be televised if enough tickets are sold. (The article doesn't say which games are under consideration or how many tickets need to be sold in order for a game to be televised.)
Local Cable TV Info
Originally written by garretta
Now for cable TV in the Pacific. Announcers are the same as broadcast TV unless otherwise noted:
Warriors: None
Kings: None
SuperSonics: None
Suns: Dimension Cable will carry fifteen home games and five road games. George Allen and Joe Gilmartin will call the action.
Lakers: Prime Ticket, which is owned by team owner Dr. Jerry Buss, will televise thirty regular season games plus all non-CBS postseason games.
Clippers: The team has signed a two-year contract with Z Channel, which will carry twenty-eight games this year: twenty-two at home, six on the road, with an option to pick up five more. Lawler will be joined in the booth by former Lakers commentator Keith Erickson.
Trail Blazers; The team will distribute fifteen home games to eleven cable systems in Oregon and southwest Washington. Three of those systems that don't carry KOIN-TV will also receive the KOIN telecasts as part of their cable package, The team charges cable systems on a per-game, per-subscriber basis.
Now let's look at the Midwest Division.
Mavericks: HSE (Home Sports Entertainment) has signed to carry forty home games (one preseason, thirty-nine regular season). The other home game will be televised by CBS. This is a one-year contract.
(The numbers used in the article for numbers of games televised don't add up to eighty-two for a lot of teams, even when they should. I'm going to go with the article's numbers just to save myself the headache of figuring out how far to go in trying to fix them.)
Rockets: HSE will carry thirty-nine home games. The others will be covered by CBS. Bill Worrell will be joined by McCoy McLemore on color.
Nuggets: None.
Jazz: The Jazz Cable Network, a joint venture of the team and TCI, will televise twenty-six games. Zelmo Beaty, who played for the ABA's Utah Stars, will do color alongside Rod Hundley.
Heat: SportsChannel Florida has signed a five-year contract. This year, it will televise one preseason game, thirty regular season road games, and ten regular season home games.
Spurs: The team will split seventy-four telecasts across two services owned by Rogers Cable. SportsChannel, the regular cable service, will air thirty-nine road games. First Choice. a pay-per-view service, will air thirty-five home games at a price of $17.95 per game. Dave Barnett will call the play-by-play.
(To put that price into perspective, in 1988 the World Wrestling Federation was charging $19.95 for three of its four major pay-per view events and $24.95 for their biggest event of the year, WrestleMania. I could see the Spurs charging eighteen bucks a pop for a second-round playoff game, but not for one regular season game on a schedule of eighty-two. Does anyone out there know what kind of business those games ended up doing?)
Now to the Atlantic Division. We begin with cable TV:
Celtics: SportsChannel New England is in the second year of a ten-year contract and its eighth consecutive year of covering the team. It will televise one exhibition game and thirty-nine home games to over 975,000 subscribers in six states. (The other home games will be televised by CBS.) Mike Gorman and Tom Heinsohn will call the action.
Hornets:No agreement has been made at press time, but the team was in discussions with Washington's Home Team Sports to televise twelve home games.
Nets: SportsChannel New York, which serves 1.3 million homes, is in the third year of a long-term agreement. It will televise thirty-nine home games and twenty-one road games, plus any postseason games not picked up by CBS or TBS. Steve Albert and Bill Raftery will be on the call.
Knicks: Madison Square Garden Network, which serves 2.4 million homes. will televise two preseason games and fifty-three regular season games (thirteen away, forty-two home) plus any postseason games not picked up by CBS. Marv Albert and John Andariese are your announcers.
Bullets: Home Team Sports has had an agreement with the team since it launched in April 1984. This year, it will carry thirty regular season games plus any playoff games not carried by CBS. Mel Proctor and former Bullets guard Phil Chevrier will call the action. Another former Bullets guard, Kevin Grevey, will function as what the article calls a "third announcer". (That's probably what we now call a sideline reporter.) Chevrier and Grevey will host a half-hour pregame show called Merchant's The Bullets Report, which will feature interviews with coaches and fan call-ins. (Merchant's is a local financial services company.)
76ers: PRISM has the rights to all 76ers home games but can't televise at the same time as CBS. PRISM has been covering the team since for twelve years and is in the fifth year of a ten-year contract. Jim Barniak and Hubie Brown will call the action; when Brown is away, former 76ers coach Matt Guokas will substitute.
Cavaliers: None.
Pacers: None.
Bucks: None.
Pistons: Pro Am Sports (PASS) is in the first year of a muti-year deal. It will carry forty games. Fred MacLeod and Tom Wilson are your announcers.
Bulls: SportsVision, which serves 1.4 million homes. will televise two preseason games and thirty-eight regular season games (thirty home, eight road).
Hawks: No decision has been made on a possible pay-per-view package until February of 1989, Last year, Prime Cable televised fifteen games ti approximately 157,000 homes. (What sense does it make to announce a pay-per-view package in February when the season is over in early May even if you count the first two rounds of the playoffs?)
Local Radio Info
Originally written by garretta
Now for radio in the Pacific. Advertisers and announcers are the same as in earlier posts unless otherwise indicated:
SuperSonics: KJR-AM, which is owned by team owner Barry Ackerly, will head an eight-station network that will carry all scheduled games, including seven exhibitions. Bob Blackburn and Kevin Calabro will call the action.
Kings: KFBK-AM has signed a three-year contract. It will air all eighty-two regular season games and five of the seven exhibition games this season. BMW is an additional sponsor. No announcers were named in the article.
Trail Blazers: KGW-AM heads a thirty-station network that will air all eighty-two regular season games. Games will be distributed by the team's audio satellite network. Bill Schonley will call the play-by-play, with Geoff Petrie handling color.
Suns: KTAR-AM heads an eight-station network. The team produces its own radio broadcasts. Television announcers Al McCoy and Dick Van Arsdale also call the games on radio.
Warriors: The team has bought time on KNBR-AM San Francisco to broadcast its games. Sponsors include Chevron, Michelin, American Airlines, Foot Locker, and the California Lottery. No announcers were named in the article.
Lakers: KLAC-AM, which has been broadcasting Lakers games since 1977, is in the fourth year of a five-year contract. It heads an eighteen-station network that will carry all games. The team will also be heard in Spanish for the first time ever this year on XPRS Tijuana, Mexico.
Clippers: KRTH-AM will carry all preseason and regular season games. Its contract with the team is renegotiated yearly. The article has Ralph Lawler listed as the only broadcaster, so I'm going to guess that he worked radio-only games by himself and KRTH ran a simulcast when he was on TV.
Let's conclude our examination of the Midwest in 1988 with a look at radio:
Mavericks: WBAP-AM is the team's sole radio outlet. Ted Davis will call the play-by play; no color commentator is listed.
Rockets: The team buys time from KTXH-AM to broadcast its games. There are occasional conflicts with Houston Astros baseball; the Astros take priority, but the article doesn't mention what happens to Rockets games. Gene Peterson and Rockets director of communications Jim Foley will describe the action.
Nuggets: KOA-AM will broadcast eight preseason games and all games in both the regular season and postseason. Jeff Kingery and Bob Martin will call the games. The station will receive no ad revenue.
Jazz: KISN-AM will head a fifteen-station network that will carry eight preseason games as well as all regular season games. This is the first year of a two-year contract. All televised games will be simulcast; for those games that are on radio only. Dave Blackwell will do color alongside Rod Hundley.
Heat: WQAM-AM has signed a five-year contract to carry all regular season games in English; WACI-AM has signed a two-year contract to carry all regular season games in Spanish. No Spanish-language announcers were listed in the article.
Spurs: WOAI-AM is the flagship of an eight-station network that will carry eight exhibition games as well as all eighty-two regular season games. I'm confused about who's calling the games; the article states that Dave Barnett will call all games except those on KSAT-TV, which should mean that his calls on cable should be simulcast on radio. But did he work those other fifteen games alone on radio, or was there a simulcast with KSAT?
KSAH-AM will carry forty-three games in Spanish. Armando Quintero will call the play-by-play; no color commentator is listed.
Now let's discuss radio in the Atlantic:
76ers: All-sports radio station WIP-AM is the flagship of a twenty-station network. John Gurevitch will call the play-by-play; there was no color commentator named at press time. There are nineteen games that conflict with Philadelphia Flyers hockey games; since the Flyers own WIP, they take priority, and the 76ers' games move to WDAS-AM.
Bullets: WWDC-AM leads an eight-station network. This is the final year of a three-year contract. All eighty-two regular season games plus three exhibition games will be aired. Charlie Slowes will call the play-by-play; no color commentator was named in the article. (In the article, it says that Slowes will "provide commentary".)
Celtics: WEEI-AM leads a network of between fifty-five and sixty stations spread over fourteen states. It will broadcast every game; this is the second year of a seven-year contract. Johnny Most and Glenn Ordway are your announcers.
Nets: The team holds its own rights, produces its own broadcasts, and also markets them. It has purchased time on WNEW-AM New York and WBUD-AM Trenton to ensure coverage of the entire Nets market. All regular season and postseason games will be broadcast. Howard David and Jim Spanarkel will call the games; Mike O'Koren will contribute features and provide additional color.
Hornets: All preseason and regular season games will be broadcast on a thirty-six-station network headed by WBT-AM. WBT sports director Steve Martin will call play-by-play; Gil McGregor will be the color commentator.
Knicks: Former flagship WNBC-AM no longer exists; WFAN-AM has taken over its frequency and its ten-year contract to broadcast Knicks games. It will carry one preseason game, sixty-nine regular season games, and any playoff games. Thirteen regular season games conflict with New York Rangers hockey games; these games will be moved to WMCA-AM. Jim Karvellas and Ernie Grunfeld will call the action.
Now it's time to examine the Central Division. Let's begin with radio:
Hawks: WGST-AM is the flagship of a thirty-station network. It will carry all scheduled games beginning October 14 when the Hawks face the Celtics in Worcester, Massachusetts. John Sterling will call the non-televised games; when he's busy on TV, Steve Holman will take his place,
Bulls: WLUP-AM is the team's new flagship station, replacing WMAQ-AM. The radio broadcasts will be simulcasts if the team's television broadcasts, with Jim Durham and Johnny Kerr calling the action.
Bucks: WTMJ-AM, which has been covering Bucks games since the team came into the league in 1968, is the flagship of a twenty-four-station network in two states that will carry five exhibition games and all regular season and postseason games. The team's contract with WTMJ is renewed on a yearly basis. Jim Irwin will call the play-by-play. Jon McGlocklin will provide color on non-televised games; his replacement when he's on television is unknown at press time.
Pacers: WIBC-AM heads a twenty-five-station network. This is the final year of a three-year contract. Mark Boyla and Clark Kellogg will call the action.
Cavaliers: The team's flagship station has moved from WWWE-AM to WRMR-AM. The radio network numbers thirty stations and will carry wight preseason games and all regular season games. Joe Tait has moved with the rights and will call play-by-play; no color analyst was mentioned in the article. When Tait is calling a game on television, Howard Kellman takes his place on radio.
Pistons: WWJ-AM is the head of an eighteen-station network; it will carry Pistons games for the fourth straight year. George Blaha, who has called the team's games for the past thirteen years, will remain behind the microphone; his color commentator was not known at press time. WWJ's potential conflicts between Pistons broadcasts and University of Michigan men's basketball broadcasts have yet to be resolved.
National TV Info
Originally written by garretta
Here's how national TV looked in 1988-89:
TBS: Regular season coverage begins on Friday, November 4 at 8PM Eastern, when the Lakers travel to Dallas to take on the Mavericks. Coverage continues on Tuesdays and Fridays through April 21. There will be ten doubleheaders throughout the year, with the second game tipping off at 10:30 PM Eastern. Two of these will be on Wednesdays, including a Thanksgiving Eve special on November 23 and another on March 15 that will be TBS' only coverage of the week. There will also be a special Christmas Night game beginning at 7PM Eastern (Bullets-76ers). Play-by-play announcers are Skip Caray, Pete Van Wieren, and Bob Neal; Al Albert will call Rockets-Suns April 21. Analysts are Rick Barry and Steve "Snapper" Jones.
Playoff coverage begins with a doubleheader April 27, with at least one game each weeknight through the first two rounds, including four consecutive doubleheaders May 9-12. Coverage ends May 31 with Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals (Bulls-Pistons). Rod Hundley joins TBS as an extra play-by-play man for the postseason; additional analysts include John MacLeod, Oscar Robertson, and Walt "Clyde" Frazier.
On February 11, TBS will present "All-Star Saturday", live from Houston. The three-hour special will feature the Schick Legends Game (an old-timer's game), the American Airlines-Sheraton Long Distance Shootout (a three-point shooting contest), and the Gatorade Slam Dunk Championship,
In the preseason, TBS will carry first round of the McDonalds Open from Madrid, Spain. This year, the NBA will be represented by the Celtics. On Friday, October 21, they'll take on the Yugoslavian National Team, with tipoff at 8:05 PM Eastern. Skip Caray, Rick Barry, and Steve Jones will be on the call. TBS will also carry the Hall of Fame Game from Springfield, Massachusetts on Tuesday, November 1 as the Clippers take on the Pistons. Tipoff is again at 8:05 PM Eastern, with Caray and Barry describing the action and Craig Sager action as a sideline reporter. (Note: Steve Jones may have also been in the booth for this game, but our research has been inconclusive so far.)
Miller Beer will be the official beer sponsor of TBS's NBA coverage. Wendy's will serve as its official fast-food sponsor.
CBS: Regular season coverage begins November 26 with a special Saturday night telecast, as the Rockets host the Lakers. Tipoff is at 8:30 PM Eastern. There will be a special Christmas Day telecast, as the Lakers travel to Salt Lake City to take on the Jazz, with tipoff at 3:30 PM Eastern. Regular Sunday coverage begins January 15, when the Bulls host the Celtics at 3:30 PM Eastern.
Sunday afternoon games continue every week through the end of the season, with the exception of a two-week break for the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament on March 19 and 26. Dick Stockton and Hubie Brown will call the action, with Pat O'Brien acting as a sideline reporter for selected games. There will be a special President's Day telecast on February 20, when the Cavaliers host the Rockets. Tipoff is at 1:30 PM Easter, with Verne Lundquist and Tom Heinsohn on the call.
The All-Star Game will take place in Houston on February 12. Coverage begins at 3:16 PM Eastern. Dick, Hubie, and Pat will be joined by James Brown (no relation to Hubie) as a second sideline reporter.
Playoff coverage begins Saturday, April 29. There will be Sanday doubleheaders on April 30 and May 7 and doubleheaders on both days the weekend of May 13 and 14. The second half of the Sunday doubleheaders will be regionalized. Exclusive coverage begins on Friday, June 2 with Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals in prime time at 9PM Eastern, NBA Finals coverage begins on Tuesday, June 6 at 9PM Eastern from the Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan, as the Lakers take on the Pistons. Games 1, 2, and 4 will be telecast in prime time, with Game 3 at 3:30 PM Eastern on Sunday, June 11.
Dick Stockton and Hubie Brown are the number one broadcast team; they'll call the Finals, with Pat O'Brien roaming the sidelines for Games 1, 2l and 4 and James Brown doing the same in Game 3. Other play-by-play men include Verene Lundquist, Brent Musburger, and Greg Gumbel. Other analysts include Tom Heinsohn, Bill Raftery, and Quinn Buckner, Other sideline reporters include Lesley Visser, Andrea Joyce, Tim Brant, and Dan Jiggetts.
ABC: For the second year in a row, ABC will carry the finals of the McDonalds Open, as the Celtics face the host team, Real Madrid. Coverage begins on Sunday, October 23 at 3:30 PM Eastern. Gary Bender and Dick Vitale will again call the action, with Cheryl Miller reporting from the sidelines,
ABC Radio: ABC is the only American radio network carrying the NBA this year. It will broadcast the All-Star Game and the NBA Finals. Fred Manfra, Dick Vitale, and Earl Monroe will call the Finals. Manfra will act as a sideline reporter for the All-Star Game, which will be called by Marv Albert and Rod Hundley.