
NBA Tipoff 2021: Turner Sports Brings Back Onsite Productions, Debuts Vibrant NBA on TNT Graphics Package NBA coverage joins NHL, MLB Postseason productions during Turner's busiest time ever By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor
Tuesday, October 19, 2021 - 3:19 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Turner Sports is in the midst of the busiest stretch in its history. Its first-ever NHL season and the return of the MLB Postseason are in full swing. And tonight, the broadcaster welcomes back its longest-running property: NBA on TNT.
There have definitely been growing pains because we have had to stretch our team in ways that they haven't been stretched before, says Chris Brown, director, technical operations, Turner Sports. While we have been able to increase our headcount and hire more people, we haven't filled all those positions yet, so we do have a number of people doing double or even triple duty. Everybody - myself included - has to step up and pitch in to make sure we're giving all three properties their just attention. It has definitely been a team effort across the board to get to this point.
Turner Sports will tip off the league's 75th-anniversary season tonight with an opening-night double header featuring the Nets-Bucks in Milwaukee and Warriors-Lakers in L.A. And with it, the iconic NBA on TNT brand will have a brand-new look - a wrap-around graphics package - and plenty of new production technologies to bring the hardcourt action to fans.
Productions Are Onsite After REMI-Heavy 2020-21 Season After centralizing the bulk of its productions at its Techwood Campus in Atlanta and remoting from a truck to the facility for nearly 60 NBA games last season, Turner Sports is hitting the road again for NBA broadcasts. Deploying NEP TS2 and Supershooter 8 mobile units, Turner plans to deploy nearly all announcers and crew onsite at the arena.
Last year, COVID accelerated a lot of concepts that we were already thinking about, says Brown. However, because of COVID, we had the unique opportunity to have a lot of space that I don't anticipate will be available as we push into the new year and start returning to the office. While we're excited about the technology and I think there's going to be a time and a place for us to eventually move to that as one of many different production options, we're just not quite there yet in terms of core infrastructure and space [in Atlanta].
Diamond motif in Turner Sports' new graphics package for NBA on TNT celebrates the league's 75-anniversary season.
What we were able to do last year was prove a concept, he continues. I think that was significant because, if and when we have the available infrastructure at the facility in Atlanta to manage things like this on a full-time basis, we now know we can do that. I think there are definitely ways that we can look at being more efficient, particularly with basketball. But, for now, the plan is to get back to a pre-COVID type of operation.
Turner Sports' current use of REMI production workflow will be limited to the virtual-shot-clock operator, who will be located in Atlanta. All other crew, however, will be onsite in the truck.
The production team has made very clear to us that they are much more collaborative when they're in the same room and that makes the product better, says Brown. That's the approach that we're taking for now. From an operations standpoint, the execution of the physical remote is going to look a lot more familiar, and everybody is going to be a lot more comfortable in terms of how they execute. I think that is going to continue to improve the broadcasts and bring the audience experience back to what they're used to seeing and hearing, which is a big win.
New Graphics Package Celebrates NBA's 75th-Anniversary Season Turner will roll out a brand-new graphics package for wraparounds tonight, debuting its revised NBA on TNT look. The package is built on a diamond motif, matching the league's special diamond-shaped logo for its 75th season. In addition, viewers will see refracted light on many graphics elements as if they were looking through a diamond.
We're coming from a package that was very monochromatic and dark with everything desaturated to a very vibrant, colorful, juicy package, says Jordan Shorthouse, VP, creative director, Turner Sports. I think it's phenomenal, and it's going to play perfectly into this year's telecasts. We loved the [previous package], but we've been living with that dark package for four or five years and were definitely ready for a change. We just wanted something with more vibrancy, more color, more fun, and that's what you're going to see when this package hits air.
Although the insert, scorebug, and virtual-shot-clock graphics will not change, the new wraparound package will give NBA on TNT broadcasts a wholly revamped look. The LED monitors in the Inside the NBA studio have also been updated with the new graphics look.
After opening with Tuesday and Thursday games this week, TNT will primarily carry games on Tuesday nights before transitioning to both Tuesdays and Thursdays in mid January. At that point, the Tuesday-night telecasts will also be updated to reflect the diamond-motif package but with a twist: all elements will be black and gold.
Tuesday night is more about the culture, fashion, and style of the NBA, says Shorthouse. We're trying to be a bit sleeker and play into that whole culture concept so that is why everything is black and gold. We did that last year, and now we're updating the package to reflect that same color scheme but with the new design style.
As soon as Opening Night is over, he continues, we're going to start working on the Tuesday-night package to get everything turned blac
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
19/06/2026
Data from May shows seasonal outdoor trends triggers lower viewing
Warsaw, Pola...
19/06/2026
Buttons is best control system in the rAVe Best of Infocomm Awards 2026...
19/06/2026
Mavis Studio Makes iPad Production More Powerful
Brie Clayton June 19, 2026
0 Comments
InfoComm update brings new NDI Preview, PTZ control, USB audio ...
19/06/2026
Immersive Studio Metaverse Stage Tackles Post with Blackmagic Design
Brie Clayton June 19, 2026
0 Comments
New narrative projects rely on DaVinci Reso...
19/06/2026
How to Run the Original 1993 After Effects
Graham Quince June 19, 2026
0 Comments
How to the original After Effects v1 in an emulator, and you don'...
19/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/06/2026
SMPTE , the home of media professionals, technologists and engineers, has announced that its entire Standards catalog is now freely available to the global medi...
19/06/2026
nsign, the digital signage SaaS platform built around its core principle of Simplify Complexity, has announced a partnership with BrightSign , expanding the dep...
19/06/2026
Visual Productions announces the availability of its new RdmRelay2 at InfoComm 2026 (ACT Entertainment, Booth N6813). A networked, four-channel DMX relay, it is...
19/06/2026
Adobe Unveils Major Expansion of Creative Agent Across Firefly and Creative Clou...
19/06/2026
Immersive Studio Metaverse Stage Innovates Storytelling with URSA Cine Immersive
Brie Clayton June 18, 2026
0 Comments
Two new narrative short films c...
19/06/2026
Catch up on the latest developments across Baselight and Daylight v7, Nara and FilmLight API Wednesday 8 July, 5pm onwards
Firehouse: DCTV, 87 Lafayette St, Ne...
19/06/2026
Lab studies explain how new cancer drug works as it enters patient testing Immunologists at Scripps Research show how a new, experimental drug revives immune ce...
18/06/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
18/06/2026
PTZOptics has unveiled new Visual Reasoning demonstrations at InfoComm 2026 (Boo...
18/06/2026
IBC2026 will take place at the RAI Amsterdam from September 11-14, bringing toge...
18/06/2026
InfoComm 2026 held its first-ever Media Day on June 17, providing journalists an...
18/06/2026
FOR-A America has announced a Trade Agreements Act (TAA)-compliant LED display solution combining Alfalite's Litepix LED displays and Brompton Technology...
18/06/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level have one major thing in common: the intensity and attention to detail ramps up dur...
18/06/2026
The International Federation of American Football (IFAF) and TMRW Sports have an...
18/06/2026
AJA Video Systems has unveiled Io Xpand, a Thunderbolt 5-enabled PCIe expansion ...
18/06/2026
ESPN has announced its coverage plans for the 30th anniversary of the WNBA's...
18/06/2026
FOX Sports' Big Noon Kickoff will broadcast live from Wembley Stadium in Lon...
18/06/2026
InfoComm 2026 opened on Wednesday at the Las Vegas Convention Center, bringing t...
18/06/2026
As media companies look to deliver more live, VOD, and snackable sports content ...
18/06/2026
Top L-R: Take Me Home, The Lake
Bottom L-R: TheyDream, Union County
Free Summer Screening Series Announced
Screenings for the Local Utah Community at...
18/06/2026
Improvements & new IR content
iamReverb Audio have just launched a free update that kits their convolution reverb plug-in out with some new features and int...
18/06/2026
Modelling suite gains improved captures, iOS support & more
Two notes Audio Engineering have just announced the launch of Genome 2.0, a significant update t...
18/06/2026
New AI assistance feature, video overhaul & more
VSL have just announced the launch of Vienna Ensemble Pro 8.1 and 8.1V, a pair of major updates to their ev...
18/06/2026
The average daily TV screen time in May was 3 hours and 36 minutes, marking a clear decrease of 15 minutes compared to April. This trend proved to be much stron...
18/06/2026
Integration embeds Gracenote content intelligence, including contextual segments...
18/06/2026
AJA Video Systems unveiled Io Xpand, a high-performance Thunderbolt 5-enabled PCIe expansion chassis for AJA KONA and Corvid video and audio I/O cards. As dema...
18/06/2026
New NVRT-driven workflow enables on-demand traffic mirroring and guided troubleshooting for AV teams, integrators, and support organizations ahead of InfoComm 2...
18/06/2026
At InfoComm 2026, Mavis announced a major update to Mavis Studio, its live production app for the iPad, with new features designed to make professional AV produ...
18/06/2026
Transaction Positions Harmonic as a Pure-Play Broadband Company
Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ: HLIT), the worldwide leader in virtualized broadband solutions, today a...
18/06/2026
ACT Entertainment and NETGEAR have announced a strategic partnership that establishes verified interoperability between NETGEAR Switches and key technologies fr...
18/06/2026
IBC2026 is set to bring the global media, entertainment and technology community together at the RAI Amsterdam from 11 14 September, enabling industry players f...
18/06/2026
Pliant Technologies is proud to introduce CrewCom Flex , the world's first frameless matrix intercom system and the only complete matrix IP-based intercom s...
18/06/2026
The XR Sports Alliance (XRSA) has announced that a new cohort of members has joined the strategic initiative: ActionStreamer, Antigravity, Creative Artists Agen...
18/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
18/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
18/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
18/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
18/06/2026
Linda May Han Oh Receives Guggenheim Fellowship The Berklee professor, bassist, and composer will use the fellowship to debut Dreams of Knowing, an interdisci...
18/06/2026
In a consequential grid infrastructure decision, the Federal Energy Regulatory C...