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NBA TV Gives Fans a ChoiceTuesday’s Fan Night lets fans pick who they want to watch.

by Kyle Stack / @KyleStack

NBA TV thinks the customer is always right — at least on Tuesday nights. That’s when the 12-year-oldchannel, which is available in more than 55 million US households, airs Fan Night, in which fans get to selectthe game they would like to watch.

In this era of TV networks battling not just each otherbut online channels for viewership, permitting thecustomers to determine content has taken on higherpriority. MTV used to do it with Total Request Live, ata time when they still aired music videos. CNN nowairs iReports and other videos from viewers. NBA TVhas opted to become the first sports channel topractice this method of fan integration.

The rules behind Fan Night are simple. EachTuesday morning fan voting is opened up for gamesplayed the following Tuesday night. Fans have untilmidnight on Thursday night (technically Friday morning) to vote on NBA.com for their preferred match-up.

Once that Tuesday night comes around, Fan Night host Ernie Johnson and analysts Kevin McHale and ChrisWebber break down the chosen game in depth, providing commentary during commercial breaks in the game,which is broadcast live on teams’ local regional sports networks. “It’s a fun, lively debate over what we see andwhat’s working and not working,” McHale said of the type of analysis conducted by Webber and him.

Johnson, McHale and Webber also interview a Fan of the Night during the show — usually a long-time seasonticket holder or a rabid fan of the home team — and McHale and Webber answer Twitter questions from fans.The night is capped by the studio crew interviewing one of the players from the night’s highlighted game.

The show’s format appears to run by the book more than its cousin show — Thursday’s five-time EmmyAward-winning Inside The NBA on TNT, which still has Johnson at the controls yet offers Charles Barkley andKenny Smith as the analysts. McHale or Webber typically appears as a guest analyst. Inside The NBA is moreoff-the-cuff, as Johnson noted when asked about the difference between working with McHale and Webber onFan Night versus Barkley and Smith.

“Nothing prepares you for working with Charles,” Johnson said dryly of Barkley’s typically off-topicobservations. While Inside The NBA is celebrated for its chemistry among Johnson, Barkley and Smith, FanNight has a chemistry unique to itself. Scooter Vertino, NBA Digital’s Vice President of Content, made it clearthe Johnson helps drive the show.

“EJ is the quintessential point guard/traffic cop/quarterback, in that he can work with anyone,” Vertino said.“He’s never gonna get rattled because he is overly prepared, which is fantastic. He’s really the producer’s bestfriend, and he makes everyone around him better.”

Vertino and Johnson conceptualized the idea for Fan Night during a brainstorming session in the summer of

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2009. Vertino noted it was something for them to “strike out on our own.” They wanted a show that would givethe NBA TV crew the freedom to delve deep into analysis of one game.

“The idea you see right now is the idea we walked out of the room with,” Vertino said before noting that someof the show’s details, such as Fan of the Night, were thought up by producers and the managing editor.

What the show offers the 387,000 viewers and 295,000 households that tune in per week is a level of analysisthat runs more in-depth than most other NBA shows. This one is fixated on a single game.

McHale said that he and Webber’s analysis is vital, since it offers an objective look at each team. “I thinksometimes the home announcers really see things through rose-colored glasses for their teams,” McHale said.

McHale and Webber have no qualms about calling outplayers or teams, if need be. Many times, McHale will usehis research from research outfits StatsCube and Synergyto make a quantitative-inspired point, to which Webber willcounter with a comment such as, “I don’t see that at all,”McHale said. But McHale enjoys the research even if itdoesn’t always align with Webber’s thoughts.

“I’m a basketball junkie, so I watch games all the time,” hesaid. “I have NBA TV and there’s the NBA package…I endup watching basketball too much. [Laughs] I should havemore of a life sometimes.”

McHale also noted local broadcasts are still important because the analysts there might have information on aplayer or a coach to which he is not privy. He emphasized research is the backbone of what he offers to theshow. Johnson reiterated that point by noting “homework is the foundation for the whole thing.”

Johnson explained he prepares all week for everything he does for Turner Sports, which includes coverage forthe PGA Tour on TNT and MLB on TBS. During the NBA season, he updates a notebook daily of each game’swinner and loser and notable individual performances, such as 30 points, 15 rebounds, assist totals in theteens and winning and losing streaks.

He arrives at Turner’s Atlanta studios at least six hours ahead of the on-air start time. He’ll update player’sindividual statistics and pluck quotes from various articles about that night’s games — particularly thefan-selected contest. “I’ve got that down to a routine,” Johnson said.

Many of each night’s viewers are in the desired 18-34 male bracket, although there have been initiatives toexpand the show’s primary viewership, according to Christina Miller, the Senior Vice President ofStrategy/Marketing/Programming for Turner Sports. A partnership has been formed with Cartoon Network, ofwhich a target demographic is boys aged 6 to 14, to promote Fan Night.

Social media plays a vital role in attracting a broader fan base and notifying people where they can vote foreach Tuesday night game. NBA TV has its own 50,000-follower Twitter feed, and a separate account has beencreated solely for Fan Night. The NBA and NBA TV Facebook accounts also provide interaction with fans.“Core to our strategy is to know our fans and where they socialize,” Miller said.

And the network understands that fans like to be given a choice to help determine what they watch. McHalenoted that’s a good thing, emphasizing that fans have picked the Playoff-contending teams more often thannot. “The fans have been phenomenal.”

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