MIAMI, October 17th – FOX Sports Sun, the exclusive regional television partner of the Miami HEAT, begins their extensive coverage of the 2017-18 season with the opening game Wednesday, October 18th as the HEAT travel to Orlando to take on the Magic. Coverage kicks off with a half hour edition of HEAT Live beginning at 6:30 p.m. The game is the first of a record-tying 81 regular season telecasts that will air on the network.
The veteran announce team of Eric Reid, Tony Fiorentino and Jason Jackson begin their 14th season together. Reid and Fiorentino are true HEAT Lifers, having both been with the club since its inception. A three-time Emmy award recipient in the field of play-by-play, Reid begins his 30th season of broadcasting HEAT games. Fiorentino, the longest tenured analyst in team history, begins his 15th and final campaign as the HEAT’s television color analyst. The multi-talented Jackson, who remains one of the game’s most entertaining and energetic hosts will once again anchor pre, half and post-game coverage for all home games from the Biscayne Bayside studios.
Joining the HEAT’s talented trio of game broadcasters on the FOX Sports Sun telecasts are a host of experienced studio analysts, hosts and reporters. Ron Rothstein, the original HEAT Head Coach, returns for his fourth season as a halftime and post-game studio analyst for home games and fans can look forward to “Ron’s Rewinds.” Former HEAT point guard John Crotty, who enters his 14th season as a broadcaster with the team, will continue his dual role as both a television and radio analyst. Crotty will join Jackson and Will Manso throughout the season providing insights and his popular “Crotty’s Cuts” during pre and post-game editions of HEAT Live. Manso, who enters his fifth season as a member of the FOX Sports Sun HEAT broadcast team, will continue to host the majority of road pre, half and post-game shows from the FOX studios in Ft. Lauderdale. Kristen Hewitt returns for her eighth season and along with Manso will contribute as a reporter during the broadcast of several home games.
HEAT fans will continue to enjoy extensive live content before and after every game with expert analysis, post-game press conferences, player interviews and more during HEAT Live. A half hour edition of the show will air before each of the regular season games with an extended post-game edition to return immediately following every broadcast. A special one-hour pre-game will precede the home opener on Saturday vs. Indiana, with coverage beginning at 7:00 p.m.
Several popular initiatives that have become staples of the award-winning Miami HEAT broadcasts on FOX Sports Sun will continue this season including: “Hot Seconds with Jax,” a month-long tribute to Black History, Full Timeouts with Kristen Hewitt, and the Tenth Annual Kids’ Day special, which is scheduled to take place on Sunday, January 14th when the HEAT host the Milwaukee Bucks at 1:00 p.m.
Highlights of the 2017-18 FOX Sports Sun schedule include:
- Each of the two meetings with reigning NBA Finals MVP, Kevin Durant, and the defending NBA Champion Golden State Warriors.
- Two of the three pairings vs. LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
- All four meetings vs. Kyrie Irving and the new-look Boston Celtics.
- Both games vs. Western Conference contenders, the San Antonio Spurs and the Houston Rockets.
- Each and every matchup vs. Eastern Conference playoff contenders in Toronto, Milwaukee and Washington.
The entire regular season will once again be delivered to fans in high definition. FOX Sports Sun HD games will be available to fans in South Florida with HD service from cable and satellite systems offering FOX Sports Sun HD. All regular season games scheduled to be televised on FOX Sports Sun will also be streamed live on the FOX Sports GO app and FoxSportsGo.com. For a complete listing of channel locations for FOX Sports Sun in your area, please visit FOXSportsFlorida.com. Spanish-language audio for the games on FOX Sports Sun will be available via secondary audio programming (SAP).
790 AM The Ticket
Complete radio coverage of every HEAT game during the 2017-18 regular season can be found on the team’s flagship station in English, 790 AM The Ticket and 104.3 HD2. Mike Inglis returns for his 20th season to handle the call and will be joined on all home games by former HEAT point guard and current radio and TV analyst, John Crotty.
Every Saturday morning, HEAT fans can catch veteran HEAT Radio Network host, Tommy Tighe on HEAT Weekly, an action packed one-hour program featuring interviews with HEAT broadcasters, players, coaches and basketball front office personalities. The show will air during its normal 10:00 a.m. time slot, expanding to its full two-hour length later in December. HEAT programming throughout the season can also be heard throughout the weekend on the member stations of the HEAT Radio Network. The HEAT Radio Network includes ESPN 106.3 FM in West Palm Beach, 1590 AM in Port St. Lucie and Keys Radio WKWF AM 1600 and WAVK 97.7 FM “The Wave.”
Radio Mambí 710 AM
The man who has broadcast more games than any announcer in HEAT history, La Voz—José Pañeda—begins his 29th season of calling the action in Spanish. Pañeda will be joined by long time broadcast partner Joe Pujala as HEAT Basketball returns once again to Radio Mambí 710 AM.