NBA TV to Tip Off Schedule With Premiere Week Doubleheader

[Gregg Lengling]

NBA TV will televise 96 regular season games and tip off the 2005-06 season coverage with its first ever Premiere Week doubleheader on Saturday, Nov. 5. The first game of the doubleheader will feature All-Star forward Jermaine O'Neal and the Indiana Pacers as they host perennial All-Star guard Allen Iverson and the Philadelphia 76ers at 8 p.m. (ET), followed by former MVP Kevin Garnett and the Minnesota Timberwolves taking on Elton Brand and the L.A. Clippers at 10:30 p.m. (ET). NBA TV will televise more than half of its regular-season games in High Definition.
NBA TV's Premiere Week coverage continues with Phil Jackson and the Los Angeles Lakers hosting Carmelo Anthony and the Denver Nuggets on Nov. 6 at 9:30 p.m. (ET), and concludes with Shaquille O'Neal and his Miami Heat teammates hosting Jason Kidd and the New Jersey Nets on Nov. 7 at 7:30 p.m. (ET). Other key games airing during NBA TV's first week of coverage include the Eastern Conference champion Detroit Pistons taking on the Sacramento Kings on Nov. 8 at 10 p.m. (ET), followed by the Washington Wizards hosting Tim Duncan and the 2004-05 NBA champion San Antonio Spurs at 7 p.m. (ET) on November 12.

Key match-ups airing on NBA TV during Rivalry Week include a Western Conference showdown between MVP Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns vs. All-Stars Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady of the Houston Rockets on Feb. 27 at 8:30 p.m. (ET), followed by a rematch of the 2004 NBA Finals as Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers host Rip Hamilton and the Detroit Pistons on Saturday, March, 4 at 10:30 p.m. (ET).

NBA TV will also feature key regular season contests such as the Indiana Pacers taking on the New York Knicks on Saturday, Dec. 17 at 7 p.m. (ET), a New Year's Day showdown between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Miami Heat at 6 p.m. (ET), and the Los Angeles Lakers vs. the New York Knicks on Jan. 31 at 7:30 p.m. (ET).

Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Houston, L.A. Lakers, Miami, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix and San Antonio top NBA TV's appearances with nine each.

Launched in 1999, NBA TV is a fan's all-access channel for everything basketball. NBA TV offers exciting new technology such as High-Definition and VOD; more than 20 original series programs; more than 200 games including 100 NBA regular season and Playoff games; major International competitions and weekly Euroleague games; exclusive access to NBA events; news from around the world of basketball; nightly highlights; Top 10 Plays of the Day; interviews with the game's insiders; real-time statistics; and, the latest fantasy basketball and video game news. NBA TV has more than 30 national advertisers on board, is available to 67 million U.S. homes including unprecedented carriage through seven of the nation's top 10 cable and satellite companies -- Comcast, Time Warner, Cox, Cablevision, Bright House, Buckeye Cable, Blue Ridge Cable, DIRECTV and DISH Network.