Expect more of NBC's “On The Bench” innovation for NBA games going forward.
Reflecting on the network's first season back in the NBA business, NBC Sports executive producer Sam Flood touted many highlights Wednesday — including bringing the voices of Michael Jordan,Snoop Dogg,Caitlin Clark and Lenny Kravitz to some broadcasts, plus finding ways to combine the past and the present.
But the big win, in Flood's eyes, might have been how putting analysts on team benches worked out so well — probably better than many imagined.
“We’d love to do more ‘On The Bench’ games. We think that is something that has redefined to a degree how you can consume a basketball game in the NBA," Flood said in an interview with The Associated Press. “So, we want to lean into that a little bit more. We can see adding a few more games of it.”
NBC's original plan for “On The Bench” — which is just what it sounds like, having an analyst on (or basically one seat from) each team's bench for the entire game — was to offer it as part of its Monday night package. A Sunday night game was added, and Flood said teams have cooperated with the format.
It's not a completely new concept; there have been sideline reporters in various sports including the NBA for years, and NBC has had reporters between the benches at NHL games in the past as well. But in the NBA space, presenting “courtside” reporting in that manner was basically unheard of until this season.
“The game that Mike Tirico did in Miami, his one play-by-play for an ‘On The Bench’ game, he loved it. He just had so much fun doing a different kind of telecast,” Flood said. “And again, we found the teams have leaned in and loved it. One of the unwritten benefits for the teams is we don’t ask to speak for those in-game interviews to the head coach. We say: ‘Who’s your guy? Who’s your assistant that you want to put out there to get an opportunity to get this sort of exposure?'”
Prime Video has the rights to the play-in tournament that takes place next week. When the playoffs start April 18, games are on Prime, NBC/Peacock and ABC/ESPN. The NBA Finals are exclusive to ABC/ESPN.
This season — the first of the league's 11-year, $76 billion media rights deal — saw NBC return to the NBA broadcast space and Prime Video become part of it for the first time. NBC and Peacock aired the new U.S. vs. The World All-Star tournament in February, capitalizing on the buzz generated by the Milan Cortina Olympics, and drew All-Star's biggest viewership audience since 2011.
Jordan was interviewed by Tirico for a series that NBC called “Insights to Excellence,” and John Tesh's “Roundball Rock” anthem for NBA on NBC telecasts returned to rave reviews as well.
“Our goal was to under-promise and over-deliver," Flood said. "My feeling is, and the feedback that we’ve gotten is that we delivered what we promised and perhaps exceeded that.”
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark participates in an NBC Sports broadcast before an NBA basketball game between the New York Knicks and the Oklahoma City Thunder, Sunday, March 29, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)
NEW YORK (AP) — Stock markets are surging worldwide, and oil prices are plunging back toward $90 per barrel after President Donald Trump pulled back from his threat to force a “whole civilization” to die in the war with Iran.
The S&P 500 leaped 2.6% after Trump, Iran and Israel agreed to a two-week ceasefire, just hours before a deadline Trump had set for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz and allow oil to flow freely again from the Persian Gulf to customers worldwide. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1,383 points, or 3%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 3.3% higher following even bigger gains in European and Asian stock markets.
To be sure, stock prices are still below where they were before the war. And oil prices are still higher because the threat remains that the war could continue and keep oil produced in the Persian Gulf area blocked in the Middle East.
The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline has already topped $4.16 in the United States, according to AAA. That’s up from less than $3 a couple days before the United States and Israel launched attacks to begin the war in late February. If oil prices stay high for a long time, it would push up the price of nearly everything that’s moved by truck, plane or boat.
“There is a reason to be optimistic, but it is still too early to tell, because, as you know, after all, it is Trump,” said Takashi Hiroki, chief strategist at MONEX.
So far in the war, Trump has set several deadlines for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz and has threatened big repercussions if Iran doesn’t, only to delay them.
It’s similar to a year ago, when Trump initially threatened stiff tariffs on imports from other countries on “Liberation Day.” After a couple delays, his administration eventually negotiated lower tariffs with many countries, though they were still higher than from before his second term.
With uncertainty still remaining, “the mood remains one of cautious optimism rather than outright celebration,” said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade. “The ceasefire is only two weeks long, and markets will be watching closely to see whether shipping through the Strait of Hormuz normalizes as promised and whether the fragile truce can pave the way for a more durable peace agreement.”
Still, financial markets made big moves following the ceasefire announcement.
The price for a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude oil plunged 17.5% to $93.15. Brent crude, the international standard, tumbled 16.6% to $91.11. It had briefly topped $119 when worries about the war with Iran were at their highest.
In Asia, where countries are more reliant on oil from the Middle East, South Korea’s Kospi stock index surged 6.9%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 leaped 5.4%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 3.1%.
European stock indexes rose nearly as much, with Germany’s DAX returning 5.2% and France’s CAC 40 rising 4.9%.
On Wall Street, companies with big fuel bills roared back to trim some of the sharp losses taken on worries about oil prices staying high.
United Airlines soared 13.7%, for example, which would count as a decent year for the stock. It cut into its loss for the year that came into the day at 20.1%.
Delta Air Lines climbed 11% after it also reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Norwegian Cruise Line Holding steamed 11.9% higher to trim into its 16.1% loss for the year so far.
In the bond market, Treasury yields eased as worries about high inflation and oil prices ebbed.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.25% from 4.33% late Tuesday. That’s a notable move for the bond market, and lower Treasury yields give a boost to prices for stocks, bonds and all kinds of other investments.
The drop should also help ease some of the quick recent rise in rates for mortgages and other loans taken out by U.S. households and businesses, which have been slowing the economy.
AP journalists Yuri Kageyama, Matt Ott, Mayuko Ono and Jon Gambrell contributed to this report.
Currency traders work at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, April 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
U.S. President Donald Trump is seen on a screen as traders work at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, April 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
A person walks by an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index in Tokyo Wednesday, April 8, 2026. (Yuya Shino/Kyodo News via AP)
John Mauro works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Ed Curran works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
