NBA reportedly looking to start it’s own version of ManningCast

According to Front Office Sports, the NBA is looking to create a ManningCast-style alternate broadcast. 

ESPN made the decision to air an alternate broadcast of Monday Night Football, hosted by former NFL quarterbacks Peyton and Eli Manning. The ManningCast has been a rousing success thus far, and now the NBA is looking to air similar telecasts.

According to Front Office Sports, the league is expected to announce its own alternate broadcast featuring Jamal Crawford and Quentin Richardson. The telecast will be shown on NBA League Pass, the league’s subscription-based service, for the next 10 weeks starting on Thursday.

NBA looking to create its own ManningCast

The league is not done there. Sources told Front Office Sports that they are “ramping up conversations” with ESPN and Turner Sports to create more alternate broadcasts with the purpose of bringing in more viewers to watch the NBA. One of the formats that they could look into is the similar style that ESPN uses with the Manning brothers.

This week’s edition of the ManningCast for the Kansas City Chiefs against the New York Giants drew 1.96 million viewers on ESPN2, the largest audience it has ever generated.

Crawford played in the NBA for 20 seasons as a prolific player off the bench, as evidenced by his three Sixth Man of the Year awards. Richardson played in the league for 13 years and is the current co-host of The Player Tribune’s “Knuckleheads” podcast alongside Darius Miles.