A wealth of innovations mark both broadcast and streaming
This year has been one of tectonic transition for the NBA Broadcast Operations team. Most notably, the league has welcomed two new rightsholders in NBC Sports and Prime Video and has “reimagined” its NBA TV and NBA App products after taking over operations from TNT Sports.
Among the many enhancements, the NBA has launched a next-gen highlight-creation system, boosted internal operations and fan-facing aspects of its NBA Replay Center, furthered SMPTE 2110 workflows across its arenas, and expanded its slate of international games.
“We are extremely excited for this season and incredibly proud of our team and partners for the outstanding work that has gone into getting us this far,” says Dave Barry, SVP, head of broadcast engineering and operations, NBA. “We continue to operate on the cutting edge of broadcast technology, and this year is especially exciting as we begin long-term relationships with our new broadcast partners.”
Welcome to the Party: NBC, Prime Join ESPN as NBA Rightsholders
The NBA is back on NBC for the first time since 2002, Prime is a new addition to the NBA party, and ESPN is returning for its 24th straight season.
NBC will deploy a sextet of NEP mobile units for its various NBA productions this year.
NBC/Peacock, which opened the season with an unforgettable doubleheader on Tuesday, will broadcast 100 regular-season games plus NBA Playoffs and NBA All-Star Weekend. NBC has worked with the league to introduce a variety of enhancements: one “On the Bench” analyst for each team on selected games, Peacock Performance View and Courtside Live, and a flexible REMI/onsite production model to cover NBC’s slate of Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday games.
Meanwhile, Prime will broadcast 66 regular-season games (including Emirates NBA Cup Knockout Rounds and the Championship Game), the SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament, and Playoffs. For its part, the streaming service is launching a new state-of-the-art studio in L.A., rolling out Game Creek Video’s latest mobile units (Bird and Magic), and adding a variety of high-end cameras and other elements to its game coverage.
“What makes this season truly unique is the opportunity to reimagine how we work with our broadcast partners,” says Barney Carleton, associate VP/broadcast planning and strategy leader, NBA. “There’s a real energy around the start of the season. With everyone aligned and prepared, we’re excited to carry that momentum forward and deliver an incredible viewing experience for fans.”
Working with NBC and Prime Video alongside ESPN has allowed the league to streamline several production workflows from the ground up. One standout example is the collective commitment to capturing games in 1080p HDR, with an unprecedented number of high-frame-rate cameras.
Aligning these advanced production standards across a diverse ecosystem — including venues and local broadcasters operating with different technical specifications — has required increased collaboration and attention to detail, which the NBA is embracing as it “aims to continue driving innovation,” Carleton says.
Prime Video has a brand-new studio for its brand-new NBA package.
“This will elevate the visual experience for fans in ways we’ve never seen before,” he adds. “At the heart of it all is a shared goal: to enhance storytelling. Each broadcaster is pushing for new and unique perspectives, with expanded access to players, coaches, and behind-the-scenes moments. Whether it’s through immersive video, richer audio, or dynamic graphics, fans will feel closer to the game than ever before.”
From early virtual planning sessions to in-person meetings at NBA Summer League, the league and its rightsholders’ technical-operations and production teams worked closely to align on goals and execution. According to Carleton, the collaboration hasn’t been limited to the league and its media partners but also includes NBA teams, venues, and key vendors shared across the ecosystem.
“Preparation for this season has been a true collaborative effort across all our media partners: ABC/ESPN, NBC/Peacock, and Prime Video,” he notes. “It all starts with communication, and we’ve been fortunate to have strong, consistent engagement with each group.”
Carleton credits NBC and Prime Video with bringing in experienced individuals with deep NBA knowledge that helped accelerate integration and build trust. In addition, both media partners held their own production bootcamps during the offseason to ensure that their teams were equipped and ready to deliver from Opening Night.
“The scale of this season — in terms of both volume and ambition — is significant,” says Carleton. “Together, we’ve set a high bar for technical excellence and storytelling innovation.”
NBA TV and EverWonder Studio are producing a new weeknight studio show, The Association, with on-air talent (from left) James Koh, Rudy Gay, and John Wall.
In addition to the new relationships with NBC and Prime Video, the NBA is entering its 24th straight season on ESPN. ABC and ESPN will broadcast 80 regular-season games (including NBA on Christmas Day), plus the NBA Playoffs and Finals.
“We’re also excited to build on our long-standing partnership with ESPN as we look to further elevate broadcasts and engage viewers,” says Carleton. “We’ve been very focused on finding synergy with all three media partners, who have been eager to collaborate and share new ideas.”
Going In-House: League Takes Over NBA TV Ops, Launches Streaming App
The NBA has brought operations for NBA TV and the NBA App in-house following the end of its 17-year partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery’s TNT Sports after last season. The league has also taken over operations of its NBA League Pass out-of-market game package and launched a multiplatform- offering within the NBA App streaming platform.
NBA TV and the NBA App will feature 60 non-exclusive live games (games not carried by other national rightsholders but shown in local markets), along with a mix of WNBA and G League games, international and high school games, studio programming, game highlights, and original content.
The league is also launching a flagship studio show on NBA TV and the NBA App. Dubbed The Association, the new weeknight primetime “basketball-cast” is produced by Everwonder Studio in Los Angeles and features MJ Acosta-Ruiz, David Fizdale, Rudy Gay, Chris Haynes, and John Wall, and other contributors.
“NBA TV and the NBA App are designed to be a connected, global hub for basketball coverage, delivering nonstop access to live games, original programming, and exclusive behind-the-scenes content,” says NBA SVP/Head of NBA App Sara Zuckert. “The NBA App streaming platform will provide a seamless, always-on digital experience for fans to access 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.”
More Innovations: Highlights Creation, Replay Center, 2110 Workflows
Of course, the league’s offseason was extremely busy beyond working with new broadcast partners. Leading the offseason innovations was the launch of a next-gen highlight-creation system that integrates statistical data with video to automate clip generation, enabling faster, more context-rich content for broadcast, digital, and social platforms.
The league’s new highlight melt process further streamlines content ingest and distribution, leverages metadata tagging, and enables near real-time access with NBA broadcast partners.
The NBA Replay Center continues to enhance its capabilities each season.
Meanwhile, significant improvements at the NBA Replay Center include enhanced referee communications, native use of high-frame-rate video, and increased transparency for broadcasts and fans on how each call is made.
And, behind the scenes, Barry and his team have expanded SMPTE ST 2110 workflows across arenas; its Secaucus, NJ, broadcast facility; and remote data centers connected via the NBA’s HSAN network, delivering greater resiliency and scalability for media services through a fully distributed architecture.
“During the preseason,” Barry notes, “we got valuable time to prepare for the new systems in live production, ensuring everything is ready for tip-off.”
NBA Global Games: Abu Dhabi, Australia, China, Puerto Rico, Mexico
Speaking of preseason, the league’s slate of international games in the leadup to Opening Night continues to increase each year. This preseason, games were played in and broadcast from Abu Dhabi; Melbourne, Australia; Macao, China; and San Juan, PR. Plus, the Detroit Pistons and Dallas Mavericks will face off in Mexico City on Nov. 1.
This preseason, the NBA returned to China for the first time since 2019.
Over the past few years, the NBA partnered with ProTV to produce the world feed and manage the technical operations for the NBA Abu Dhabi Games. For this year’s NBA China Games in Macao, the league engaged GreatSports/SMG to oversee the technical aspects of the broadcast; CCTV was responsible for the above-the-line production.
“Over time, the production of NBA Global Games has expanded in both scale and innovation,” says Francesca Martinelli, SVP, broadcast operations distribution and events, NBA. “As new broadcast requirements are introduced for NBA games in the U.S., they must also be mirrored in international markets to maintain consistency and quality across all events. The NBA’s Broadcast Operations team’s ability to coordinate across time zones, languages, and production standards has been key to delivering seamless broadcasts.”