ABC, ESPN set NBA broadcasting teams; Barkley stays at TNT
7/25/2002 16:13
NEW YORK (AP/Boston Herald) -- Bill Walton and Tom Tolbert are heading from NBC to ABC and ESPN to call NBA games, while Charles Barkley signed a new deal with TNT that also will put him on CNN.
Barkley's multiyear agreement with AOL Time Warner includes weekly appearances on CNN's ''TalkBack Live.''
Walton, a Hall of Famer, will team with play-by-play announcer Brad Nessler for ABC and ESPN, which, along with TNT, are starting a six-year, $4.6 billion TV rights deal with the NBA next season.
Tolbert, who played in the league from 1988-95, will join Mike Tirico as an ABC studio analyst and also will be a game analyst.
Walton and Nessler will be the lead duo for ABC's coverage and for ESPN's Wednesday games.
''With the NBA returning to ABC Sports for the first time in nearly three decades, we have assembled an announce crew that provides credibility and instant name recognition,'' ABC Sports president Howard Katz said Thursday.
7/25/2002 16:13
NEW YORK (AP/Boston Herald) -- Bill Walton and Tom Tolbert are heading from NBC to ABC and ESPN to call NBA games, while Charles Barkley signed a new deal with TNT that also will put him on CNN.
Barkley's multiyear agreement with AOL Time Warner includes weekly appearances on CNN's ''TalkBack Live.''
Walton, a Hall of Famer, will team with play-by-play announcer Brad Nessler for ABC and ESPN, which, along with TNT, are starting a six-year, $4.6 billion TV rights deal with the NBA next season.
Tolbert, who played in the league from 1988-95, will join Mike Tirico as an ABC studio analyst and also will be a game analyst.
Walton and Nessler will be the lead duo for ABC's coverage and for ESPN's Wednesday games.
''With the NBA returning to ABC Sports for the first time in nearly three decades, we have assembled an announce crew that provides credibility and instant name recognition,'' ABC Sports president Howard Katz said Thursday.