Kevin Harlan on his ‘exhilarating’ Amazon Prime Video job and future broadcasting plans

Kevin Harlan’s voice makes any game better, and now, he’s got a new broadcasting gig.

The longtime play-by-play announcer is taking his vocal talent to Amazon for its inaugural season of NBA basketball on Prime Video. In June, Harlan signed off on the final call of NBA on TNT after three decades at the network. With his latest job, he expects to call 30 to 35 games and is scheduled to make his Amazon debut on Oct. 24 for the Minnesota Timberwolves vs. the Los Angeles Lakers.

We recently caught up with Harlan, the winner of the 2024 Awfulie Award for Best Play-by-Play Announcer, to ask him about making this change at the age of 65.

Note: This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.

Awful Announcing: How do you feel about doing something a little different?

Kevin Harlan: “I’m beyond excited to join Amazon and be a part of their sports production. They’ve been incredible to work with. I think their excitement for the NBA and the amount of effort they’re putting into each broadcast will be very evident. They’ve got all hands on deck, some incredibly creative and talented people who are running the show, producing the games, and going to, I think, make it for every NBA viewer a great experience. Their enthusiasm for this product and this brand-new venture is contagious. It’s exhilarating.”

What differences will the viewer notice?

“I think that the average NBA fan will see the product as it’s been presented before, but with the touches that make a prime broadcast special, with added statistics and analytics, and even more cameras. It’ll make the league sparkle even more than it sparkles. I think the league is going to be thrilled. They’ve worked hand-in-hand with the NBA, from what I understand, in developing the right kind of culture.”

You’re reducing the games you’re calling. Can you elaborate on that?

“I still have many good years left in me. It wasn’t necessarily that the schedule was wearing me down. It was challenging, but I was always proud that I was able to meet that challenge. With the Amazon opportunity, it was to perhaps reduce the schedule a little bit in the fall when I’m pretty busy with the NFL. When it winds down that first week of January, with CBS in particular, trade that opening in my weekly schedule with a full-time Amazon schedule. (Amazon has) been wonderful to work with in terms of putting together a schedule that makes sense for me at this stage.”

Do you have an idea how much longer you’ll be broadcasting?

“I’m going to let my performance guide me. If I feel like I’m still able to make my employers feel good about being on the air, and my own heavily critiqued way of looking at my work. If I feel like I’m keeping up to the standards that make me feel like, yeah, I’ve still been able to meet the challenges and meet them head-on and do the kind of work that I expect of myself, I’d like to go as long as that feel is there.”

What advice would you give to someone who wanted to be the next Kevin Harlan?

“You can’t look too far ahead and think that if I don’t hit a certain level by a certain age, it’ll be a loss. You get into the business to begin with because you love the business of broadcasting. If you’re into that world and sink into it pretty deep, I think it will continue to bring you challenges to evolve and get better. But if you’re constantly worried about what’s next, and not willing to put the work in to even have that chance to see what’s next, then it’s not a business for you. The competition is too great.”

Is there a sport you haven’t done but would like to do?

“I’ve had some chance to do Major League Baseball a couple of times. I think radio might be a fun challenge. I’ve had a chance on a couple of occasions to do that. I enjoy listening to some of the great national voices doing baseball. I’m so far along now that that probably doesn’t make sense. I embrace the summers with my wife and family, and I wouldn’t want to intrude on that. That was really the reason why I never got into it back in my 20s. I didn’t want that kind of life. My dad was in baseball with the Cardinals as their media relations director and got out of baseball because it meant so much time away. I’ve followed my dad’s footsteps in that regard. I’ve stayed with more sports that make sense to a family. This is just my own personal taste.”

How often does somebody recognize you strictly from your voice?

“Well, that does happen with more frequency than I can even understand. If I’m talking to an airline ticket agent, ordering in a restaurant, or saying hello, then there may be some recognition. But rarely am I recognized, which is great. You’re not into it, at least I’m not, for that reason. You’re into it because you love the work, the games, and the chance to get better. But sometimes when I say something, people will say, ‘Hey, I know that voice.'”

Has anyone ever asked you to lend your voice to a wedding or other special event?

“I’ve done some of those. People have asked if I could do a tape, and I’ve done it for a handful of family, friends, or acquaintances. I’m introducing perhaps the groomsmen, the bridesmaid, and then the bride and groom. Or they’ve got my voice saying, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the brand new married couple, Mr. and Mrs. Grant!’ Just something like that. But it doesn’t happen that often. I don’t get many requests for it, which is fine.”

Are you compensated for your time?

“No, no, no. I’ve always thought how nice that someone would think it would be a part of their special day to have that little feature, whatever kind of recording I’d make. I’m more honored than anything else that they’d want me to be a part of it. So, that part has been fine. I’ve enjoyed that and always flattered.”

Could you tell us a little more about your famous call ( ‘I’m wet. I’m dirty.’) during the Pacers-Knicks game in May?

“Somebody spilled (a drink) on the floor. It was on our briefcases, our shoes. The floors are not very clean, so that’s where the dirty part came up, because I looked down and had junk on my shoes. Then (Jalen Brunson) comes barreling into our broadcast position and spilled more water all over our notes. I must have been wearing khaki pants or something like that because I could see the stains from the water on my clothes. So it was like, ‘Are you kidding me?’ It just got to be one thing after another. We were laughing about that whole sequence.”