NBC and Peacock are thinking outside the box heading into the first season of their NBA broadcast contract with a new “On the Bench” format for game announcers. Already, the top NBA game analyst in the media is responding with skepticism — and some jokes.
Reacting to Peacock’s announcement on the latest episode of his Road Trippin’ podcast, ESPN’s Richard Jefferson explained from both a broadcaster and player perspective why the new format will “get old very quickly.”
“I think we have to make sure in effort of trying to get more access, (to) keep the integrity of, there’s two sides,” Jefferson said. “We don’t need to bring the viewer in too much. It’s like, ‘Now you have access to the showers.’ There is a space where you can stop access.”
For 23 Peacock-exclusive NBA broadcasts this upcoming season, Noah Eagle will be on play-by-play while game analysts Robbie Hummel and Austin Rivers will be seated within each team’s contingent along the bench. The analysts will effectively split the difference between color commentary and sideline reporting.
Jefferson, however, worries that players and coaches will bristle at the television broadcast infringing on their huddles and conversations.
“I like this, I like innovation,” Jefferson said. “(But) if I’m pissed coming into a game, I don’t necessarily want to be sitting next to an analyst. Especially because a lot of these things are mental for players, whether it’s frustration or they missed up the play or coach took you out. The mental battles that you’re playing with yourself and most players do … that’s part of it. So I just think that as players, you might not always want someone right there, basically to gather information.”
Addressing this concern in a press release announcing the “On the Bench” format, NBC Sports executive Sam Flood stated that production teams would work hard to thread the needle between gaining intel and bothering team personnel, saying in par that “we will respect the sanctity of the inside information our analysts are able to hear but will always strive to give the audience unique insights that only this type of access can provide.”
Having played on NBA Finals teams throughout his career before working on top local and national NBA broadcasts, Richard Jefferson has to foresee issues for NBC. But if they can pull it off, these Peacock games will feel truly fresh and inventive.