What was the point? When NBC Sports began its upfront as the NBA returned to the network last year, the first face seen was the biggest headline. His Airness. The GOAT. Michael Jordan welcomed everyone in attendance and sports media pundits everywhere to the NBA on NBC.
“I’m so excited to see the NBA back on NBC,” Jordan said. “I’m excited about being a special contributor to the project.”
Now, more than a year later, did Jordan expose the truth and we just didn’t realize it? Was the “project” literally what the plan was all along? That’s why yesterday’s news that Jordan is not expected to return to NBC Sports this season shouldn’t have been a surprise. It leads me to the question once again:
What was the point?
Over time, there have been some giant disappointments in sports media. Barstool Van Talk’s one-episode run at ESPN. Gus Johnson calling World Cup soccer on FOX Sports. Bob Knight providing commentary for college basketball games. An honorable mention in the non-sports media category goes to the David Lee Roth radio show following Howard Stern.
Michael Jordan’s singular interview series with NBC Sports is the biggest disappointment in sports media history.
Airball For The Ages
To be fair, in the ramp-up to Jordan’s debut with the network last year, NBC Sports didn’t truly give away the plot. For months, there was silence. Plenty of conversation about what could be, but never any details.
But it was Jordan. The hero for an entire generation. The pinnacle of the greatest-of-all-time debate on hot-take shows around the world. The Last Dance exposed the world to a different side of Jordan. Motivated, hungry, transparent and cocky.
He represented the old guard from the greatest generation of superstars. If Charles Barkley is beloved, the world waited with bated breath to see how Jordan would perform and entertain.
Instead, fans got “Insights to Excellence.”
It was a one-on-one sit-down with Jordan and lead network play-by-play voice Mike Tirico. The lone discussion touched on a number of topics. None of them truly current to what mattered to NBA fans, all providing a new definition of evergreen content. Then the discussion was sliced into five bite-sized moments that aired throughout the season.
The Reaction
The reaction was predictable. It was terrible. Not just from critics, but from the audience as well. Fans didn’t want “Insights to Excellence.”
Tracking views on YouTube alone, the debut gained more than 720,000 views. The next installment didn’t even eclipse 250,000. By the fourth installment, the number had fallen to just under 95,000 views.
What was the point?
Michael Jordan said signing up with NBC Sports was attempting to pay it forward as an obligation to the game that made him who he is. He also felt that as an entertainer, it’s his duty to entertain if people are paying to watch.
Isn’t the entire act of taping an interview to be dribbled out like it was its own version of “load management”?
That’s where the hypocrisy was with Jordan’s approach to his work with NBC Sports. Surely, if Jordan felt the obligation to give back to the game and be available to perform for the paying public on NBC and Peacock, wouldn’t he have done more with the platform he signed with?
NBC leaned into the nostalgia factor the NBA on NBC has always carried. The greatest moments for a generation lived on NBC Sports, with Jordan at the forefront. All the promotion, Roundball Rock and flashbacks to NBC Sports’ glory days continued to feed the hype machine, including Jordan’s role.
The problem was clear: The plotting, strategy and execution failed.
“I think it’s been positive for Michael and his team. He’s able to have an outlet that’s out there,” NBC Sports President Rick Cordella said to the Sports Media podcast in December of last year. “Certainly, it’s been positive for us. [He’s been able] to sit down with Mike Tirico and talk about various topics that interest him. It’s been fantastic.”
Was it? That’s the question NBC Sports should have to answer.
A First And Last Dance
Michael Jordan’s return to the NBA on NBC was supposed to be one of the network’s biggest weapons. Instead, it became a reminder that nostalgia only works when there’s something worth being nostalgic about. Jordan’s NBC Sports run was the biggest disappointment in sports media history because the expectations were unlike anything else. This was Michael Jordan. The face of the NBA’s greatest era. The man who helped make the original NBA on NBC a cultural phenomenon.
The opportunity to put him back in that environment should have been impossible to screw up. And somehow, NBC did.
The irony is that NBC Sports probably won’t feel much of an impact from Jordan’s departure. There won’t be a meaningful audience decline. There more than likely won’t be viewers wondering where his next interview is coming from. There’s no void to fill, because there wasn’t much interest to lose in the first place.
That may be the biggest indictment of all.
So, what was the point?
Perhaps that was the lesson all along. You can bring back the logo, play Roundball Rock, revisit the memories and put Michael Jordan at the front of the room. But nostalgia can’t carry a product forever. Especially when the greatest basketball player of all time has almost nothing to say.
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John Mamola is Barrett Media’s sports editor and daily sports columnist. He brings over two decades of experience (Chicago, Tampa/St Petersburg) in the broadcast industry with expertise in brand management, sales, promotions, producing, imaging, hosting, talent coaching, talent development, web development, social media strategy and design, video production, creative writing, partnership building, communication/networking with a long track record of growth and success. He is a five-time recognized top 20 program director in a major market via Barrett Medi’s Top 20 series and has been honored internally multiple times as station/brand of the year (Tampa, FL) and employee of the month (Tampa, FL) by iHeartMedia. Connect with John by email at John@BarrettMedia.com.