Bowling on NBC
Bowling on NBC | |
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Sportsworld |
Bowling on NBC is a presentation of professional ten-pin bowling matches from the PBA Tour formerly produced by NBC Sports, the sports division of the NBC television network in the United States.
Historical overview
Championship Bowling
Prior to the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA)'s inception, bowling was broadcast on television sporadically beginning in the early 1950s. NBC began with an early 1950s special telecast entitled Championship Bowling.[1]
Jackpot Bowling
Jackpot Bowling (also known as Phillies Jackpot Bowling[2] and Jackpot Bowling Starring Milton Berle) was a professional bowling program that ran on NBC for two seasons from January 9, 1959, to March 13, 1961.[3] It was the first bowling show on national television since Bowling Headliners. The program aired on Fridays at 10:30 p.m. Eastern Time, following the Cavalcade of Sports Friday Night Fight.
First hosted by Leo Durocher, who left after only two episodes, the program was subsequently hosted by Mel Allen.[3] However, Allen was not popular with viewers as he showed a lack of bowling knowledge.[4][5] He was replaced by Bud Palmer on April 10, 1959,[6] before Allen returned in October 1959, remaining with the show until April 1960; Palmer subsequently returned to the program as host, staying through June.
Jackpot Bowling was put on a brief hiatus by NBC after the June 24 episode. When it returned on September 19, 1960, the program was retooled; the series not only moved to Monday nights at 10:30, but Bayuk Cigars replaced Phillies Cigars as sponsor, the Hollywood Legion Lanes replaced the T-Bowl in Wayne, New Jersey, as the program's venue, and Milton Berle took over as host.[7]
Sportsworld
The NBC sports anthology series
In 1980, NBC aired the "Legends of Bowling"[8] mini-series on three consecutive Saturdays. The game consisted of 7 frames, with a combination of strikes and spare shots, with point values assigned to each frame. The winning team got a chance to make the "big money split" at the end. The play-by-play announcer was Sam Nover while the color analyst was Steve Neff. The off-stage announcer was the legendary NBC voice, Don Pardo.
From 1984 to 1991,[9][10] it had its own series called "The PBA Fall Tour".[11][12][13][14] Jay Randolph and Earl Anthony served as commentators. Unlike ABC's coverage, NBC was the first to introduce uninterrupted coverage of the championship match.
From 1988 to 1990, bowling had its own version of the
Bowlero Elite Series
March 2019, NBC announced that it would air three installments of the Bowlero Elite Series.[18] This these are three single-elimination tournaments sponsored by Bowlero Corporation that feature the top professional and amateur bowlers competing for a total prize pool in excess of $1 million. The first two events, emanating from Chicago, Illinois, and North Brunswick, New Jersey, were scheduled to air on NBCSN on April 9[19] and September 11, 2019, respectively. The final installment, emanating from Jupiter, Florida, would air on December 28 on NBC.
NBC's commentators[20] include Leila Rahimi (host and reporter), Jerome Bettis (guest analyst), Todd Harris (play-by-play), and Chris Barnes (analyst).
See also
References
- ^ "The Game". TenPinBowling.org. Archived from the original on 2006-04-15.
- Internet Movie Database.
- ^ a b "Jackpot Bowling Starring Milton Berle - TV.com". TV.com.
- ^ NewspaperARCHIVE.com - Search old newspaper articles online
- ^ NewspaperARCHIVE.com - Search old newspaper articles online
- ^ NewspaperARCHIVE.com - Search old newspaper articles online
- ^ "C.B.S. POSTPONES BERGMAN TV PLAY; Drama Delayed Indefinitely When Dire... - Free Preview". The New York Times.
- YouTube
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- ^ "NBC SPORTS TO PRESENT COVERAGE OF $1 MILLION BOWLERO ELITE SERIES ON NBC AND NBCSN". Bowlero Corporation. March 5, 2019.
- YouTube
- ^ "NBC SPORTS PRESENTS BOWLERO ELITE SERIES OPENING EVENT WITH MORE THAN $500,000 IN PRIZE MONEY ON THE LINE IN CHICAGO TOMORROW ON NBCSN AT 9 P.M. ET". NBCUniversal. April 8, 2019.