| Tennis on NBC | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Tennis telecasts |
| Presented by | Seelist of commentators |
| Theme music composer | Clark Gault(opening theme) Keith Mansfield(end theme) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 60 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Don Ohlmeyer |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 180 minutes or until tournament ends |
| Production company | NBC Sports |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | 1955 (1955) – 1964 (1964) |
| Release | 1969 (1969) – 2011 (2011) |
| Release | 1975 (1975) – 1979 (1979) |
| Release | 1983 (1983) – 2024 (2024) |
| Related | |
| Tennis on ESPN Tennis on CBS | |
Tennis on NBC was thede facto branding used for broadcasts ofmajor professional tennis tournaments that are produced byNBC Sports, the sports division of theNBC television network in theUnited States. The network has broadcast tennis events since 1955.
The network's tennis coverage normally airs during the afternoon; however for several weeks in the summer, its Sunday coverage during the morning ofGrand Slam tennis tournaments may start as early as 8:00 a.m., resulting in the pre-emption of regular programming on that day (such as thepolitical talk showMeet the Press).
NBC's relationship with tennis dates as far back as August 9, 1939. While at the amateurEastern Grass Court Championships, inRye, New York, NBC broadcast the first ever televised tennis match. NBC made history again at the1955 Davis Cup, where they televised the first tennis match (United States vs.Australia) incolor.
NBC broadcast theUS Nationals as early as1952 and up until1964.Bud Palmer,Jack Kramer,Lindsey Nelson,Don Budge,Bill Stern andBill Talbert were among the commentators during this period.
NBC broadcastThe Championships, Wimbledon beginning1969, with same-day taped (and often edited) coverage of the Gentlemen's Singles Final..
NBC aired 6.5 hours of taped delayed coverage on Saturday, July 8, 1978, starting with theladies final, and then thegentleman's final. The ladies final was actually played on Friday, July 7, but was tape delayed by a full day. The gentleman's final was aired on same-day tape delay. HostJim Simpson was joined by Hilary Hilton during the Woman's Final.
Americans had made a tradition of NBC's "Breakfast at Wimbledon"[1] specials during the tournament on weekends, in which live coverage (which under the guidance of then-NBC Sports executive producerDon Ohlmeyer[2] and associate producerBob Basche,[3] began in1979 for the men's rounds and in1982 for the women) started early in the morning (as theEastern Time Zone in the United States is five hours behind theUnited Kingdom) and continued well into the afternoon, interspersed with commentary and interviews fromBud Collins,[4] whose tennis acumen and patterned trousers are well known to tennis fans in the United States. Collins was fired byNBC in 2007, but was promptly hired byESPN, which holds the Wimbledon cable rights.
For many years, NBC's primary host wasDick Enberg, who called his 28th and final Wimbledon for NBC in1999 and final one overall in 2011.[5] Enberg regularly concluded the network's coverage of the two-week event with thematically appropriate observations accompanied by a montage of video clips.
The AELTC grew frustrated with NBC's policy of waiting to begin its quarterfinal and semifinal coverage until after the conclusion ofToday at 10 a.m. local, as well as broadcasting live only to theEastern Time Zone and usingtape-delay in all others. NBC also held over high-profile matches for delayed broadcast in its window, regardless of any ongoing matches. In one notorious incident in2009, ESPN2's coverage of theTommy Haas-Novak Djokovic quarterfinal was forced off the air nationwide when it ran past 10 a.m. Eastern, after which NBC showed the conclusion of the match on tape only after presenting the previousIvo Karlović-Roger Federer quarterfinal in full.[6]
The2011 tournament marked the 43rd and final year of NBC's coverage. NBC issued a statement saying it had been outbid for the rights to future broadcasts, and beginning with the2012 tournament, all live coverage moved exclusively to ESPN..[7][8][9] Wimbledon became the secondtennis Grand Slam event (after theAustralian Open) to air live coverage in the United States exclusively on pay television, although replays of the tournament finals have aired on broadcast networkABC. Live Wimbledon matches have since returned to broadcast television with ABC televising middle weekend matches since2022
NBC's coverage of theFrench Open began in1975.[10][11] Other than a three-year stint for the tournament onCBS, NBC has remained the U.S. broadcast television home of the French Open since1983. The network shows weekend morning early-round matches in the afternoon ontape-delay; however, if a match is still being played, it will televise the match live. NBC's current deal for the tournament does not allowESPN2 orTennis Channel to show NBC's tape-delayed matches. NBC also tape-delays the men's semifinal, broadcasting it in the late morning on the same day, however it broadcasts both finals live.
On August 5, 2012, NBC announced it had extended its broadcast agreement through 2024. Under the terms of this new deal, NBC would broadcast an additional ten hours of live coverage,[12] including matches onMemorial Day and the women's semifinals.[13] With theUnited States Tennis Association (USTA) agreeing to an eleven-year deal with ESPN for exclusive broadcast rights to the US Open, the French Open was the only tennis tournament on American network television until 2022, when Wimbledon returned to broadcast television on ABC.
In June 2024, it was reported[14] that the U.S. rights to theFrench Open had been acquired byTNT Sports beginning in 2025, as part of an overall deal withWarner Bros. Discovery that also includes a renewal of its pan-European rights with Eurosport.[15][16]
Consequently, themen's singles final betweenCarlos Alcaraz andAlexander Zverev on June 9, 2024 would mark the last French Open match to air on NBC, and the last tennis event overall on the network, for the foreseeable future.[17]
In 2004 and 2006,Bravo carried overnight and morning coverage of theOlympic Games from NBC Sports. In 2008, the channel did not carry any coverage, asNBCUniversal had acquiredOxygen, allowing Bravo to continue to carry its regular entertainment programming schedule during NBC's coverage of the Games. For the2012 Summer Olympics, NBC Sports announced that Bravo would serve as the home of Olympic tennis events, providing 56 hours of coverage.[18]
Jack Kramer commentated for NBC from 1954 to 1962.
From 1968 to 1972,Bud Collins worked forCBS Sports during its coverage of theUS Open tournament, moving toNBC Sports in 1972 in time for itsWimbledon coverage. During the2007 Wimbledon tournament, Collins announced that NBC had declined to renew his contract after 35 years with the network.[33] He insisted that did not plan to retire and would continue to cover tennis forThe Boston Globe.[34] FellowBoston Globe sportswriterBob Ryan ridiculed NBC's decision on ESPN'sThe Sports Reporters. Ryan said that the 78-year-old Collins "still has his fastball" and praised theBostonGlobe for retaining Collins.
Gayle Gardner worked for NBC from 1987-1993. Among the assignments that she undertook included anchoring NBC's coverage of theFrench Open and Wimbledon.
Jimmy Connors did commentary with NBC in 1990 and 1991, during its coverage of the French Open and Wimbledon tournaments.
In May 1992,Hannah Storm leftCNN and was hired by NBC. She anchored NBC Sports' coverage of Wimbledon and French Open.
Mike Gorman calledtennis matches at the1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.
Ted Robinson served as the lead commentator ofNBC'stennis coverage from 2000 through 2018. Robinson called theFrench Open and (through 2011)Wimbledon Championships for NBC. He broadcast theUS Open for 22 years onUSA Network, receiving acclaim for his partnership with John McEnroe, which continued on NBC and Tennis Channel. The pair also called the men's singles Gold Medal match at the2012 Summer Olympics, played atWimbledon.
In May 2003,Mary Carillo joined NBC Sports as an analyst on its French Open and Wimbledon coverage, having made her debut as an analyst on NBC for the 1996Family Circle Cup tennis event. Carillo's candid and insightful commentary has earned her accolades throughout the industry, including the distinction of being called "the sport's top analyst" bySports Illustrated.[35] She is known for her deep voice, quick wit and pointed sense of humor. Like her longtime friend and fellowDouglaston, Queens, New York City native John McEnroe, Carillo is known for her colorful turns of phrase, and is credited with coining "Big Babe Tennis" to describe the era in women's tennis dominated by large, powerful players such asLindsay Davenport,Serena Williams andVenus Williams.[36][37] Carillo's unabashed and opinionated style of commentary has drawn criticism from several top players, notablyAndre Agassi,Serena andVenus Williams, andMaria Sharapova.[38] Nevertheless, she was named Best Commentator byTennis Magazine (1988–91), Best Commentator byWorld Tennis magazine (1986) and Broadcaster of the Year by theWomen's Tennis Association (1981 and 1985).
Barry MacKay (tennis) served as the play-by-play announcer for theNBC Sports coverage of tennis at the2008 Summer Olympics in China.[39] Meanwhile,Jimmy Arias served as an analyst for NBC Sports' coverage ofTennis at the 2008 Summer Olympics.[40]
Maria Taylor served as the host for the men's and women's semi-finals and finals during NBC's coverage of the2022 French Open.[41]
NBC Sports first switched todigital on-screen graphics in 1995, although in a very limited, text-based form. A modernized graphics package for the telecasts rolled out in 1999, based around translucent black rectangles, with beveled gold bars at the top and bottom, with blue accents for most sports (green forgolf, purple for Wimbledon, and orange for the tennis French Open). Scoring bugs were still not a permanent feature, as they disappeared during plays until 2005, when the network introduced horizontal scorebars for its coverage ofcollege football andhockey, which did not match the other graphics. The graphics, which still did not have any animation, were modified in 2002 to feature rounded edges, and the translucent color was changed from black to the color of the accents, which also replaced gold as the border color.
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