Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

ESPN To Make History With Its First All-Black-Staffed NBA Production

05/02/2025

ESPN To Make History With Its First All-Black-Staffed NBA Production The game is part of the broadcaster's ongoing Black History Always initiative By Mark J Burns, SVG Contributor

Wednesday, February 5, 2025 - 10:32 am

Print This Story | Subscribe

Story Highlights

ESPN is set to make history tonight when the Atlanta Hawks and the San Antonio Spurs take to the court at 7 p.m. ET: it will be the broadcaster's first NBA game produced by an all-Black crew. The broadcast, part of ESPN's ongoing content commitment dubbed Black History Always, will feature dozens of Black staffers both on-air and behind the scenes.

The Black History Always initiative plays a crucial role in emphasizing the significance of representation and inclusion across every part of our organization, says Justin McIntosh, remote operations producer, ESPN. Personally, it will be a meaningful experience to stand alongside a dedicated team of individuals who share similar backgrounds and have faced many of the same challenges. This event and initiative represent the cultural progress within our company and, ideally, will solidify these efforts for the long term.

Tonight's game will be a 1080p SDR REMCO (remote control) production, according to McIntosh, with a majority of the crew, both production and operations, onsite in Atlanta. Graphics will be integrated remotely, and two EVS operators at ESPN's Bristol, CT, facility will control replay servers in the onsite production trucks.

Those trucks will be Game Creek Video Nitro A and B units. NEP Broadcasting-owned Bexel is providing fiber and fiber transport, RF reporter kit, RF coaches' microphones, lighting, and additional gear.

According to McIntosh, the production has 15 total transmission paths - 11 J2K fiber and four IP-MPEG encoded paths - for primary transport to Bristol. Additionally, ESPN will use seven JPEG feeds and CMSI file transfer for EVS/replay archiving.

Among the cameras deployed will be eight manned Sony HDC-2500's in hard and handheld configurations, one Sony HDC-4300 handheld in 6X super-slo-mo at midcourt, Fletcher Above the Rim robotic cameras at each basket, and multiple Marshall POVs.

In Atlanta, an estimated 60 people will be onsite. Supporting the production efforts from offsite, McIntosh says, will be a contingent of EVS operators, graphics operators, producers, communication support, and other broadcast personnel in Bristol and other locations.

Heading the production crew will be lead producer Paul Ervin, producer Rodney Vaughn, and director Adam Bryant. The on-air team for the game will comprise play-by-play announcer Mark Jones, analyst Richard Jefferson, and sideline reporter Lisa Salters.

Prior to the primetime broadcast, host Malika Andrews will lead an all-Black group on NBA Today, starting at 3 p.m. ET, and NBA Countdown. at 6:30 p.m. Located at ESPN's Los Angeles production center, he will be joined by analysts Chiney Ogwumike, Udonis Haslem, and Kendrick Perkins on both shows.

Having the opportunity to celebrate Black History for a national audience will always be important, especially to people of color in this industry, McIntosh says. I hope this game serves as a reflection of the incredible talent and diversity that drives every sports broadcast behind the scenes. Across the industry, there are so many skilled individuals who dedicate themselves to this demanding yet fulfilling career. For me, this game is a tribute to that dedication and a celebration of the diversity that unites the world of sports broadcasting. I'm honored to play a part in bringing that vision to life at ESPN.

Additionally, ESPN's Black-led media platform, Andscape, will publish several pieces on key figures in the sports-media industry as part of the Black History Always initiative, including an essay on Jones's broadcasting career.

Meanwhile, through a commitment to developing future sports business and media leaders from the Black community, the broadcaster is partnering with Clark Atlanta University to provide students in its mass-media program an opportunity to get a glimpse behind the scenes.

Vaughn, who is playing an integral role in the partnership with the school, expanded the scope of the students' tour and fine-tuned details to ensure the experience would be as enriching as possible, McIntosh says. The experience will include a tour of the production's mobile units, introductions to technical-department leaders, and conversations with ESPN's production team. Students will also have an opportunity to meet on-air talent and NBA executives.

Opening the door to the future generation of broadcast-sports professionals holds tremendous significance and is a responsibility that our team here in Atlanta approaches with great care and dedication, says McIntosh. The idea to incorporate a Clark Atlanta University student tour into the show emerged naturally through conversation. As these discussions evolved, so too did the importance of the concept.

We hope this opportunity inspires those who might one day find themselves in our roles.
LINK: https://www.sportsvideo.org/2025/02/05/espn-to-make-history-with-its-f...
See more stories from svg

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

04/07/2026

Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in Dolby Cinemas Across Japan, Presented in Dolby Atmos and Dolby ...

April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

28/04/2026

Sound for the NFL Draft Show Balances Often Conflicting Goals

The audio team for the entertainment event must blend speech intelligibility with full-range music reproduction while considering the broadcast Last week's...

28/04/2026

Pac-12 Releases New Primary Mark Ahead of 2026-27 Season

The Pac-12 Conference has released an updated primary mark and logo as the starting point of the new league's brand identity. The mark was soft-launched acr...

28/04/2026

DP World Tour to Become First Professional Sports Organization to Use Amazon Leo Satellite Connectivity

The DP World Tour and Amazon Leo have signed an agreement making Amazon's lo...

28/04/2026

Pixellot and HELIOS Announce Automated Hockey Shift Video Integration

Pixellot and HELIOS have announced an integration that automatically converts full-game hockey video into individualized shift videos for each athlete, without ...

28/04/2026

Daktronics Installs New LED Video Display at Asheville Tourists Ballpark

Daktronics has partnered with the Asheville Tourists to manufacture and install a new LED video display. The installation was completed in late 2025 and is now ...

28/04/2026

Eutelsat and PCTV Renew Long-Term Video Distribution Partnership in Mexico

Eutelsat has announced the renewal of its partnership with PCTV, a content aggregation and distribution company in Mexico and part of Megacable Holdings, for co...

28/04/2026

Gary SouthShore RailCats Install New Daktronics LED Display at U.S. Steel Yard

Daktronics has partnered with the Gary SouthShore RailCats to install a new LED video display at U.S. Steel Yard, replacing the previous Daktronics display inst...

28/04/2026

Telos Alliance and College Radio Foundation Award Omnia.11 Processor to Wright State Universitys WWSU-FM

Telos Alliance and the College Radio Foundation have announced that WWSU-FM of W...

28/04/2026

Inside the Mix: A1s Florian Brown and James Deason on Golfs Biggest Broadcasts

Golf viewership is growing. The 2025 Ryder Cup drew five million viewers in the UK, a 45% increase over the 2023 event. The US Open was the most streamed golf e...

28/04/2026

The CW Network Acquires Exclusive Broadcast Rights to WWE NXT Premium Live Events

The CW Network and WWE, part of TKO Group Holdings (NYSE: TKO), have announced t...

28/04/2026

NAB 2026: AIMS Wins NAB Show 2026 Product of the Year Award for IPMX

The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) has announced that the Internet Protocol Media Experience (IPMX) suite of standards and specifications has been named...

28/04/2026

NAB 2026 SportsTechBuzz in Review: A Look Back at the Big News From 150+ Companies in Vegas

The 2026 NAB Show is in the books and the show once again served up a cavalcade ...

28/04/2026

Gray Media, RAJ Sports Launch New Womens Sports RSN in Portland - Rose City SportsNet

Gray Media and RAJ Sports have announced Rose City SportsNet (RCSN), a new netwo...

28/04/2026

Spotify Reports First Quarter 2026 Earnings

Today, we announced our First Quarter 2026 earnings, starting the Year of Raising Ambition with strong momentum across the business and continued innovation acr...

28/04/2026

Spotify rapporterar resultat fr frsta kvartalet 2026

I dag presenterade vi v rt resultat f r det f rsta kvartalet 2026. Vi inleder ret med starkt momentum i hela verksamheten och fortsatt innovation p plattforme...

28/04/2026

Mojave introduce the MA-C vocal mic

New handheld promises studio performance for the stage Mojave have just introduced a new live-focused handheld vocal mic created by award-winning designer D...

28/04/2026

VSTOPIA announce Dynamic Split Module for Ableton

Max for Live device offers AI-powered stem separation Dynamic Split Module (DSM) is a new Max for Live device created by Ostin Solo, a developer and musican...

28/04/2026

Focusrite unveil the ISA C8X

First interface equipped with ISA preamps Focusrite have just announced the launch of a new high-end audio interface that features a pair of their legendary...

28/04/2026

Nielsen and Triton Digital Collaborate to Bring Greater Visibility to Podcast Audiences in Nielsen's Media Impact Tool

Triton Digital's Podcast Metrics Demos+ Data Integration Enables Comprehensi...

28/04/2026

Paramount Skydance Will be 49.5% Foreign Owned After WBD Merger

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

28/04/2026

KEET PBS Deploys PMVG TechBundle Services To Modernize Operations

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

28/04/2026

TAG Video Systems Lens Wins Industry Awards for Cutting T...

TAG Video Systems, the leading IP-native Realtime Media Platform, today announced that Lens, its visual service health interface for broadcast operations, recei...

28/04/2026

AIMS Wins NAB Show 2026 Product of the Year Award for IPM...

Open AV-over-IP Standard Recognized in IT Networking/Infrastructure and Security Category The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) today announced that the ...

28/04/2026

VFX History: Slit Scan

VFX History: Slit Scan Graham Quince April 28, 2026 0 Comments How did 2001: A Space Odyssey, Star Wars, Doctor Who and Star Trek: The Next Generation...

28/04/2026

These DaVinci Resolve Effects Will Make You a More Creative Colorist

These DaVinci Resolve Effects Will Make You a More Creative Colorist Kasia Jarco April 28, 2026 0 Comments Creativity in color grading is not about ha...

28/04/2026

A Simple Introduction to Cavalry: Indexed Circle

A Simple Introduction to Cavalry: Indexed Circle Simon Ubsdell April 28, 2026 0 Comments In this new introductory tutorial for Cavalry we're going...

28/04/2026

Rise Upskill - Applications Now Open for Free Global Trai...

Rise, the award-winning advocacy group for gender diversity in the broadcast and media technology sector, is pleased to announce a new global training programme...

28/04/2026

Clear Com Announces New Roles for Brian Grahn and Ben Tur...

Clear-Com has appointed Brian Grahn as Market Outreach Manager of the Americas and Ben Turnwell as Business Development Manager for EMEA live, expanding their ...

28/04/2026

LiveU Steps into the Future at MPTS 2026 with the Introdu...

LiveU is inviting MPTS visitors to step into the companys new Q Era on Stand D32, at The Grand Hall, Olympia, London (May 13-14). The company will showcase its ...

28/04/2026

IBC launches 2026 Innovation Awards to spotlight real-wor...

IBC today announces the launch of the IBC2026 Innovation Awards, with nominations now open for projects, programmes and initiatives that exemplify breakthrough ...

28/04/2026

WNBA to Stream All Preseason Games for Free

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

28/04/2026

Nexstar Media Charitable Foundation Sets 30 Days of Giving'

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

28/04/2026

Sinclair's Chief Compliance Officer Jeff Lewis to Retire

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

28/04/2026

Nielsen Introduces Predictive Sales Lift' Tool

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

28/04/2026

Sencore's VB440 Monitoring, Analysis Tool Debuts at NAB Show

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

28/04/2026

Pinterest Makes a Major Push into CTV Advertising

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

28/04/2026

Introducing Nx 3-Strip v2 - A Physics-Based Technicolor Reconstruction for DaVinci Resolve

Introducing Nx 3-Strip v2 - A Physics-Based Technicolor Reconstruction for DaVin...

28/04/2026

Tribeca Festival Marks 25 Years With Star-Studded Talks, Reunions & Retrospectives

April 28th, 2026 Press Materials Available Here TRIBECA FESTIVAL MARKS 25 YEAR...

28/04/2026

Sky Documentaries announces Savage Mountain, the controversial true story behind Kristin Harilas record-breaking 14 Peaks climb

In 2023, Norwegian climber Kristin Harila set out to break a mountaineering reco...

28/04/2026

LinkedIn Top Companies 2026: Where Career Growth Is...

LinkedIn Top Companies 2026: Where Career Growth Is Happening Now Published on Apr 28, 2026 Categories: Data and insights LinkedIn Corporate Communication...

28/04/2026

Into the Omniverse: Manufacturing's Simulation-First Era Has Arrived

Editor's note: This post is part of Into the Omniverse, a series focused on how developers, 3D practitioners, and enterprises can transform their workflows ...

28/04/2026

NVIDIA Launches Nemotron 3 Nano Omni Model, Unifying Vision, Audio and Language for up to 9x More Efficient AI Agents

AI agent systems today juggle separate models for vision, speech and language - ...

28/04/2026

RT NEWS ANNOUNCES SEAN WHELAN AS NEW LONDON CORRESPONDENT

RT News is pleased to announce the appointment of Sean Whelan as its new London Correspondent. Sean has held the role of Washington Correspondent for the last...

28/04/2026

Six well-known figures delve into the 1926 Census archive

Joseph O'Connor, Eileen Walsh, Louise Duffy, Mick Lynch, Gormfhlaith N Thuairisg and Dermot Bannon take a personal look at life 100yrs ago in new TV docume...