Live From NBA All-Star 2026: For NBA Broadcast Operations, There's a Lot of New'

The league is producing its first All-Star with NBC, Intuit Dome, and, once again in-house, NBA TV

With a new broadcast partner, new state-of-the-art arena, and NBA TV back in-house, it's a particularly noteworthy All-Star Weekend for the NBA's broadcast-operations team. In addition to its first All-Star working with NBC Sports, hosting the festivities at Intuit Dome for the first time, and producing all NBA TV studio programming in L.A., the league is once again handling the world-feed broadcast, in-venue production, and a bevy of ancillary media events throughout the weekend.

The NBA worked closely with NBC to find a number of new camera positions at Intuit Dome. There is definitely a lot of new' this year, and it's exciting for everyone here, says Ken DeGennaro, head of media operations and technology, NBA. I couldn't be prouder of the team. The amount of coordination that goes into this - especially with the new partners and the new building - could be overwhelming, but they just constantly deliver time and time again. Our partners, especially NBC in their first year, have been absolutely phenomenal. I think this is definitely one that's going to stick out [in our memories].

NBA All-Star is always one of the busiest times of the year for NBA Broadcasting. This year, that effort has included the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game and the NBA x HBCU Classic at the Kia Forum and the NBA Rising Stars game at Intuit Dome on Friday. Then come NBA All-Star Saturday and the main event on Sunday. Throughout the weekend, the league is also covering a multitude of practices, press conferences, and media-availability events, as well as serving the Red Carpet Show and various NBA Digital broadcasts.

It's hard to understate just how much we have going on here, says Dave Barry, head of broadcast operations and engineering, NBA. And it's all new this year with NBC, which makes it exciting. Last year was more of a celebration of our longstanding partner with Warner Bros. Discovery, and we had every little detail down pat with our counterparts since we had done it for so long. Now NBC has come in with a lot of new ideas, and we've really started fresh, which has been a great experience so far.

New Broadcasting Chapter: NBC Joins the All-Star Party

For the first time in 24 years, the NBA is working with a new broadcast partner for NBA All-Star Weekend. NBC Sports is producing its first NBA All-Star Game since 2002, and it's doing it during the busiest month in company history. However, despite producing a Super Bowl and Winter Olympics this month, the league says NBC has given NBA All-Star the attention it deserves.

The energy that they've had has been impressive, says Paul Benedict, head of broadcasting, NBA. It's no joke what they're trying to pull off in February, but I don't think we feel at all like we're being shortchanged. Honestly, we've seen only the benefits because it makes the event feel even bigger with everything going on around it. Of course, they are master storytellers and best-in-class in terms of making events feel big and grand anyway, so it has been a great first outing.

NBC worked closely with the NBA, which has full oversight over Intuit Dome during All-Star Weekend, to coordinate positions for more than 50 cameras, including a Supracam cabled system overhead. In addition, NBC has opted for a lower, more intimate play-by-play position than the traditional game camera.

The NBA and NBC worked closely with Intuit Dome to determine proper rigging for the SupraCam cabled system that accommodated for the venue's sprawling halo videoboard. They dropped down from the main camera platform, and [NBA on NBC Director] Pierre Moossa is going to use that middle-level camera there for a lot of game coverage, says Benedict. It's going to have a shallower and tighter look, and I think it's going to be great. The flexibility of this building allows us to make those kinds of changes. Plus, the lighting here is absolutely phenomenal, and the halo board is going to be prominently featured [in the broadcast]. It has been great working here.

For today's game, NBC has dedicated six cameras to covering the 10 miked players (the broadcaster is deploying Q5X PlayerMics for the first time this weekend). During the NBA Rising Stars game on Friday, NBC had live mics on the four coaches - NBC talent Carmelo Anthony, Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady, and Austin Rivers - providing a new level of access for the viewer at home.

We obviously have been miking players for a long time, says Benedict, but it's the first time for NBC, and they're very excited about it. It makes [the broadcast] feel more immersive and interactive, and it's some of the best content we get on All-Star Weekend. I don't know if there's another tentpole sporting event that leans as much into the access as All-Star, and it genuinely makes a difference during the show. They're excited to have fun with that.

NBC is also leaning into all-access features with its Courtside Live viewing experience on Peacock and the On the Bench feature that is already a signature element in this season's coverage. For Courtside Live, the NBA has worked with NBC and NEP Specialty Capture for months to find a camera system and position capable of delivering a true courtside-seat perspective to viewers.

For a courtside experience, a Nucleus camera in a padded housing on the scorer's table is mounted on a robotic turntable that rotates the entire structure as play moves between ends of the court. One of the key building designs by Steve Ballmer and the Clippers here was to get as many fans as close to the action as possible, says Barney Carleton, VP/broadcast strategy leader, NBA. You see that with all the camera positions as well. We'

LINK:	https://www.sportsvideo.org/2026/02/15/live-from-nba-all-star-2026-for...
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