NHL Playoffs 2025: With 16 Games in First Six Days, ESPN Deploys Variety of Remote-Production Models in U.S., Canada With two countries and multiple broadcasters involved, the effort requires precise planning By Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Friday, April 18, 2025 - 11:00 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
ESPN jumps out of the gate for this year's NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs, with 16 first-round games over the first six days on ESPN and ESPN2 beginning on Sunday. That means plenty of planning and cooperation by ESPN's operations team - both within the company and with other broadcasters.
ESPN's NHL studio show, The Point, will air regularly as a lead-in to games throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Steve Levy, Mark Messier, and PK Subban - shown here prior to the season opener - will be among the rotating on-air talent featured. (Photo: Al Powers/ESPN Images)
Round 1 of NHL Playoffs is always a time of meticulous planning and cooperation, says Brock Wetherbee, remote productions operations specialist, ESPN. This round is a full market share - or side-by-side - for all invested broadcasters. Not only are we working across teams internally to line up execution models with dates and game series, but we're also having simultaneous collaboration calls with the other local and international rightsholders on logistics and equipment shares.
First Round Madness: All About Cooperation - Both Within and Without Depending on matchups, as many as four broadcasters may cover a single game of any seven-game series, and all parties must be aware of each other's trucks, camera positions, and production priorities.
Several dedicated REMI production-control rooms in Bristol will serve as home to ESPN's NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs first-round productions. (credit: Jaime Ramirez)
ESPN will deploy a mix of three main models during Round 1: REMCO, REMI, and EWF (enhanced world feed, which will be used for games played in Canada). ESPN's remote-production and REMI Operations teams work hand in hand to ensure that the onsite facilities are fully in sync with the REMI production teams in Bristol.
I would be remiss if I did not mention the amount of communication and planning that has helped every aspect of our production, says Jaime Ramirez, technical operations manager, REMI Operations, ESPN. Working on an almost daily basis with our onsite operations team as well as our partners in Toronto has been outstanding. I have all the confidence in the world that, when the puck drops, this team can handle whatever may be on the horizon. It is very evident that our goal is a shared goal to deliver the best product we can to our NHL fans.
ESPN will roll a mix of NEP and Game Creek Video mobile units for its NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs productions. (Credit: Danny Chi)
Given the complications of regional play across North America and the cadence of the schedule, both NEP and Game Creek Video provide a cascading supply of trucks to meet the needs of ESPN and the other broadcast partners. NEP has made available EN2 A and B, Supershooter 6 A and B, Supershooter 63, and Supershooter 62; GCV has provided 79 A and B, Victory A and B, Larkspur, Justice, and Gemini.
ESPN has made a concerted effort to level-set the look and feel across all its NHL coverage, regardless of the production model being used. Although the bells and whistles may vary, The standard first-round complement will comprise five hard cameras, five handhelds, two robos, and four to six POV cams. In addition, ESPN will be sharing feeds with/from the other broadcasters, potentially doubling the camera count once the puck drops.
It's a collaborative effort from all to share and make the coverage feel as big as possible for all the entities, says Wetherbee.
Aside from camera sharing, ESPN and local broadcasters also work closely together to reserve compound parking space for all the trucks and divide arena-supplied power connections and transmission equipment, along with other onsite resources/services.
Looking Ahead: Big Plans for Conference Finals After the first round, ESPN will enhance its shows with each subsequent round, increasing the player iso cams, robos, and specialty cameras. Super-slo-mo in-net cams, RF skate cams, SkyCam, and virtual-graphics elements will be among the highlights.
ESPN's NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs coverage will culminate iin the Conference Finals. (Photo: Al Powers/ESPN Images)
Although ESPN won't have the Stanley Cup Finals this year, its Conference Finals productions will be plenty massive, with upwards of 24 cams, seven super-slo-mos, and six POV cameras; a full audio submix suite; and upgraded microphone coverage around the ice.
Playoffs are exciting by definition, Ramirez notes. Not only is the play on ice raised, but so too is our approach and execution amongst partners.
The last-minute nature can add a bit of intrigue too, he continues. Last minute is the name of the game come playoff time. Sometimes we stage truck/equipment halfway between cities. Sometimes folks board planes and land in one city to find that team has won/lost and changed the landscape of [the production]. It's all part of the adventure and excitement that is any playoff race.
Looking Back: Another Regular Season in the Books With the puck dropping on the playoffs on Sunday, it's a perfect time for ESPN's remote and REMI Operations teams to reflect on their fourth NHL regular-season campaign. With five technical-production models - mixing REMI and onsite workflows -- in the arsenal for NHL productions, ESPN Remote Production Operations Manager Paul Horrell believes ESPN has truly hit its stride: The five technical-production models deployed throughout the season and the sheer volume of games speak to the level of efficiency, experience, and capabilities
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...
13/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
YES Network and The Gotham Sports App will air seven Athletes Unlimited Softball...
12/06/2026
The United Football League will host its FAST Innovation Suite at the 2026 United Bowl presented by Credit One Bank on Saturday, June 13 at 3:00 p.m. ET at Audi...
12/06/2026
PTZOptics and LayerJot will present live demonstrations at InfoComm 2026 showing how natural-language AI prompting, robotic camera control, and on-device comput...
12/06/2026
MultiDyne Video and Fiber Optic Systems will exhibit at InfoComm 2026, featuring...
12/06/2026
Ateme has announced that Eurovision Services is using Ateme's software-based frame-rate conversion technology for international live event workflows. The de...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin and Simplestream have announced a partnership with Xperi to simplify the launch of OTT streaming services on TiVo OS smart TVs and devices. The collabo...
12/06/2026
Net Insight has announced that a multinational technology company is deploying a...
12/06/2026
MLB Players Inc., the business arm of the MLB Players Association, has announced a partnership with Athletes First to develop and sell brand partnerships across...
12/06/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D) and VuWall have announced the CommandKeyboard-Advanc...
12/06/2026
Comcast Smart Solutions announces a new smart technology deployment with Major L...
12/06/2026
Elevation Worship completed the initial leg of its Elevation Nights 2026 tour ...
12/06/2026
AJA Video Systems has announced KONA IP25 support for Colorfront Transkoder and ...
12/06/2026
Audinate Group Limited (ASX: AD8) will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth C7321, Ce...
12/06/2026
Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould has announced the appointment of Scott Adametz as Chief Technology Officer. The Pac-12 describes the hire as the first CTO appo...
12/06/2026
Grass Valley has announced AMPP Edge Live, a production system combining Grass Valley hardware, NVIDIA Blackwell GPU acceleration, and AMPP OS in a single platf...
12/06/2026
At one time a trailblazer with the launch of the Longhorn Network, the Universit...
12/06/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
12/06/2026
Chyron has announced PAINT 10.4, an update to its illustrated replay and sports ...
12/06/2026
SVP, Production Mark Gross: With the new schedule, with not having every Sunday night, it's given us an opportunity to take a step back and reimagine what ...
12/06/2026
For Televisa Technical Engineering Manager Roberto N nez Ibarra and the small team of 12 technicians and two production personnel at the IBC things are already ...
12/06/2026
Simple Steps to Better Acoustics - Taming The Small Room
Most of us mix in spare rooms and small spaces, where the acoustics fight us at every turn. At Gear...
12/06/2026
Latest addition expands vintage-inspired effects palette
Meris' Ottobit pedal range draws its inspiration from vintage gaming consoles, and the latest a...
12/06/2026
Soundbox-based chamber strings series expanded
Sonora Cinematic have just announced the launch of the second instalment in their Soundbox-based chamber stri...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
AJA Announces KONA IP25 Integration with Colorfront Software
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Collaboration enables uncompressed SMPTE ST 2110 I/O ...
12/06/2026
URSA Cine 12K LF Used to Create Visuals for STUTS' K-Arena Concert
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Organic visuals projected on a giant scre...
12/06/2026
MTI FILM Acquires Mango New Edit, Expanding its Global Post-Production Services ...
12/06/2026
AI Point Tracking Speeds Up Complex VFX Tracks in Mocha Pro
Jessie Electa Petrov June 12, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic point trac...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin, a provider of video streaming solutions, has partnered with Simplestream, a provider of OTT and broadcast solutions, and technology provider Xperi, to...
12/06/2026
Leostream Corporation, creator of the world-leading Leostream Remote Desktop Access Platform, today announced Jigsaw24, a leading B2B IT solutions provider wit...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
How Aussie indie games and screen are levelling up with IP 11 June 2026
Ari Harrison, Pro Jank Footy
Head of Games Joey Egger and Ari Harrison of Umbrella sha...
12/06/2026
AgentPerf from Artificial Analysis, the industry's first agentic AI benchmark, gives developers, enterprises and infrastructure providers a clear way to com...
12/06/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils First-Look Images from Villaflor, Santiago Mitre's New Film
Entertainment
12 June 2026
GlobalArgentina
Link copied to ...
12/06/2026
Back to All News
Cross the Boundaries of the Real World into the Spirit Realm i...
12/06/2026
With John Daro, DI Colourist at Warner Bros. Water Tower Color Tuesday 23 June, 10am-1pm or 3-6pm
Restar Corporation
Tokyo
Register here
John Daro is the ...
12/06/2026
Meet The Grumpy Onion Ireland's newest online sensation, all he wants is to ...
12/06/2026
RT stays Up All Night with brand new daily 2026 FIFA World Cup Vodcast
Adding to the fun around 2026 FIFA World Cup tournament, RT has launched a brand new d...
NHL Playoffs 2025: With 16 Games in First Six Days, ESPN Deploys Variety of Remote-Production Models in U.S., Canada With two countries and multiple broadcasters involved, the effort requires precise planning By Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S. 
