NBC Aims to Bring Back Iconic NBA Theme Song as Network Is Rumored to Be Edging Out TNT for Rights

Composer John Tesh revealed Tuesday that NBC has reached out to him to bring back “Roundball Rock” in anticipation of the league’s return to the network.

With the NBA’s current media rights deal set to expire at the end of next season, it has begun negotiations to determine who will carry the rights beginning in 2025. It was previously reported that the league would put greater emphasis on streaming, with Amazon the most likely suitor. Disney will likely renew its contract to keep NBA games on ESPN and ABC.

That leaves one spot remaining for either Warner Bros. Discovery — the owner of TNT — or NBC.

Recent reports indicate that NBC will place a bid of $2.5 billion annually, more than twice the price Warner Bros. Discovery paid in the last deal.

Now, Tesh plans on re-recording NBA on NBC’s iconic theme.

“They have, actually,” Tesh said when Dan Le Batard asked if the network reached out to him. “Nothing firm, but they said, ‘Hey, can you stay frosty on this?’ like a Navy SEALs thing… We’re actually talking right now about licensing it to them for the Olympics in Paris, which is always great. So we’re actually going in — at the end of June, we’re heading to Nashville. We got a full orchestra on hold. We’re gonna re-record. I think it still sounds great, but I wanted to make a few changes, maybe open up the middle. Maybe we’ll send it to you guys. You can turn it into an EDM track.”

Although NBC is the frontrunner to land the final spot, TNT isn’t completely out of it. According to a report from Front Office Sports, neither Amazon nor NBC have made official offers. Additionally, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav has previously stated his company has the right to match any offer from its competitors.

Watch above via The Dan Le Batard Show.

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