NBA Tip-Off: Amazon Prime Video Debuts Cutting-Edge Studio, Mobile Units, Globally Distributed Production EcosystemThe streamer will rely on new Culver City studio and GCV Bird and Magic mobile unitsBy Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S. Friday, October 24, 2025 - 2:44 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Amazon Prime Video has been no stranger to live sports production over the past decade, but tonight marks the dawn of a new era for the streamer when it comes to in-house production capabilities. For the first game of a new 11-year NBA rights deal, Prime Video will christen its own state-of-the-art production studio in Los Angeles, two brand-new mobile units on the East and West Coast, and an intricate globally distributed production ecosystem to serve NBA fans throughout the world.
The NBA on Prime studio features an LED regulation half court and basketball hoop surrounded by ultra-high-resolution LED walls totaling 550 sq. ft. (2,300 LED tiles total).
The most important thing we can do is provide a high-quality show with the best resources possible to have an entertaining and insightful presentation for fans, says Jared Stacy, VP/head of worldwide live sports production, Prime Video. This NBA package - with the volume of games, the number of nights, and the doubleheader nature - gave us an opportunity to build a studio here in L.A. [and new mobile units]. It has been an amazing process. The work the team has done in a short amount of time is amazing.
Tonight's festivities kick off with the live NBA on Prime pregame show from the sparkling new facility at Amazon MGM Studios, which also hosts the halftime and postgame shows. The action officially tips off a 7:30 p.m. ET with Game Creek Video's new Bird mobile at Madison Square Garden when the Boston Celtics visit the New York Knicks; GCV's new Magic mobile unit will handle the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Los Angeles Lakers at 10 p.m. Two production-control rooms (PCRs) in London will also be lit up to help Prime bring its NBA coverage to more than 220 countries in 12 languages.
Most important, all our remote game productions, studio productions, and international broadcasts work cohesively, says John Ward, head of global tech ops, Prime Video. We share content and resources between the mobile units, the studio [in L.A.], and the PCRs [in London]. This is by far the biggest build I've ever been a part of, and I've been honored to be a part of a bunch of builds in my career. I could not be prouder of this team.
Cutting-Edge Studio: Prime Gives NBA on Prime a Hollywood FeelLocated at Stage 11 on the Amazon MGM Studios lot in Culver City, CA, the 13,000-sq.-ft., two-story NBA on Prime studio features an LED regulation half court and basketball hoop surrounded by ultra-high-resolution LED walls totaling 550 sq. ft. (2,300 LED tiles total) to create an immersive experience for viewers.
Located at Stage 11 on the Amazon MGM Studios lot in Culver City, CA, the two-story NBA on Prime studio is a whopping 13,000-sq.-ft.
Very rarely do you get a true greenfield opportunity like this and also have this much stage space to work with, says Ward. Typically, you have to fit everything into a little box; we're grateful to not be working with those constraints. That allowed us to bring in this stunning LED volume with unbelievable resolution to the point where it looks like you're in real life when you're standing on the set.
The 1080p HDR studio's 64- x 42-ft. LED regulation half court/ hoop is the largest high-resolution studio floor in America and serves as the centerpiece of the sprawling set. The entire LED environment can instantly transform to show different NBA arenas, city skylines, or data visualizations. In all, the facility features a whopping 72,688 x 41,708 pixels (more than 3 billion in total).
The LED demo floor in our studio in L.A. is going to allow [our analysts] to get out there and diagram plays and show how things happen and break down hot zones of players, says Stacy. Technology is going to allow us to help tell those stories.
The main anchor desk will be used for the pregame show and shot from the second-level mezzanine of the multilevel set.
Ward notes that Stacy and the leadership team knew they wanted a studio facility of their own on the Amazon MGM Studios lot almost immediately after the rights deal was finalized. Once we had that [directive], director David Fowler set the vision for what it was going to look and feel like.
Jack Morton Worldwide was enlisted to bring this vision to life with SVP/Executive Design Director Andre Durette leading the design. In addition, Prime Video brought in Airtime Lighting Group for lighting, Killswitch for rigging, Mystic Custom Fabrication for building, and NEP Integration as the systems integrator.
First and foremost, David wanted it to be comfortable and inviting, says Ward. The whole vibe of the studio is that it's a good hang. At the same time, we wanted to showcase the latest technology and that was a big driver for a lot of the decisions we made for the studio.
The lounge area on the ground floor will be used primarily for the NBA Nightcap postgame show, which aims to create a more casual, inviting atmosphere.
Each level of the studio serves a specific purpose for NBA on Prime studio programming. The main anchor desk will be used for the pregame show and shot from the second-level mezzanine of the multilevel set, ensuring depth and constant view of the court. The lounge area on the ground floor will be used primarily for the NBA Nightcap postgame show, which aims to create a more casual, inviting atmosphere.
The studio's 22-camera complement includes 10 Sony F5500 cinema-style cameras with Canon cinema lenses, two ceiling-mounted Agito Motion Impossible track camera systems, a wire
