NESN, SportsNet Pittsburgh Debut New-Look Scorebug, Graphics for NHL Season

Design reflects feedback on graphics introduced for MLB Red Sox and Pirates games

Boston Bruins games on NESN and Pittsburgh Penguins games on SportsNet Pittsburgh will feature a redesigned scorebug and graphics package this NHL season. The graphics will display new on-screen stats, courtesy of NESN's switch to Xpression software for game broadcasts.

The new insert graphics follow the regional sports networks' updated graphics for Boston Red Sox and Pittsburgh Pirates games this past MLB season, which were produced via Ross Video Xpression. Friday's opener on NESN will mark the network's first major Bruins on-air refresh in seven years. NESN and SportsNet Pittsburgh are majority-owned by Fenway Sports Group.

Hockey is a completely different animal than baseball, notes Bethany Marshall, director, creative services, NESN and SportsNet Pittsburgh. There are fewer natural pauses within the game. With the scorebug, [the goal is] to provide fans with deeper layers of context, like shift time on-screen. We're able to still make the game the hero but provide deeper layers of context for trends that might be going on in the game.

The scorebug will be integrated with such stats as time on ice and shot speed, as well as showing team lines during 3-on-3 play.

Besides shifting to Ross Video Xpression, NESN is working with design agency Gameday Creative and the Academy of Lower Thirds to enhance its graphics visuals and broadcast production. Stats will be powered by Sportradar and NHL OASIS data.

We looked at screen real estate much differently with this new package, Marshall explains, using both the very top of the screen, where the scorebug sits, and the very bottom. You'll see a bottom-of-the-screen execution for things like shift time.

Shot speed will appear as part of the scorebug near the top of the screen. When NESN launched its new scorebug for Red Sox games this spring, some fans complained online that the scorebug was too big and that ads took up too much of their screen. Software platform TV Graphics worked with NESN to design its new scorebug.

It has been several years here at NESN since we've had a new scorebug, says Marshall. We anticipated that fans would react to the change. We certainly heard it from MLB fans and took that feedback and looked at how we could improve our execution. We're carrying that through both in size and the clarity of the text as we move into NHL.

NESN's new graphics will appear across 67 Bruins game telecasts and studio shows, with new theme music as well. All upgrades will also carry into the NESN+ streaming service.

The product that you see on our streaming apps is the product that you would see with our linear feed, says Marshall. That was a real part of the consideration as we were developing the package: knowing that it would be seen on various screen sizes and wanting to make sure it had a clarity of information and colors that could adapt regardless of whether you're watching on your phone or an 85-in. TV.

LINK:	https://www.sportsvideo.org/2026/10/02/nesn-sportsnet-pittsburgh-debut...
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