NBA In-Season Tournament: League, ESPN, TNT Sports Team Up To Roll Out NBA Finals-esque Production for Semis, Championship RailCam, SkyCam, drones, PylonCams, dual onsite studios are part of the show in Vegas By Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Thursday, December 7, 2023 - 4:33 pm
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It isn't often that the annual U.S. sports calendar gets a new tentpole event on par with a major championship, but that's exactly what the NBA In-Season Tournament Semifinal and Championship games are shaping up to be this week in Las Vegas. With that in mind, the league, ESPN, and TNT Sports have combined their efforts to create productions that rival those of NBA Finals and NBA All-Star Game broadcasts.
The NBA In-Season Tournament broadcasts will leverage a total of 39 cameras during the semifinal and championship games.
The competitiveness of these games has set the stage for everything we do, says Paul Benedict, SVP, broadcast content management, NBA. So, shout-out to the players, the coaches, the teams for bringing this to life. That has led us here to Vegas on the cusp of an awesome network crossover with WBD and ESPN that's going to kick off the In-Season Tournament Semifinals in Vegas.
In addition to the two networks' side-by-side studio sets outside T-Mobile Arena, the game productions will feature numerous production technologies, including RailCam, Skycam, drones, and even PylonCams.
The Big Crossover: ESPN, TNT Collaborate in Front of, Behind the Camera The action kicks off tonight during the semifinals with ESPN and TNT each airing one game and producing a studio show live from T-Mobile Arena. TNT's Inside the NBA team will appear on ESPN's NBA Countdown for an extended pregame segment, and ESPN's crew will return the favor by appearing on TNT's NBA Tip-Off later in the evening.
ESPN and TNT have rolled out side-by-side studio sets outside T-Mobile Arena.
We're excited for what's to come, says Benedict. The integrated studio segments, the talent crossovers, Reggie (Miller) and Doc (Rivers) flipping, and a host of enhanced elements and activations for Thursday will take us across an entire night of NBA basketball across TNT and ESPN.
The networks' studio sets are located in Toshiba Plaza, the goal being to put both shows in the middle of the fray outside the arena to help showcase the energy created by the fans in Vegas.
That's the true innovation: the collective integration, says Craig Barry, EVP/chief content officer, TNT Sports. The idea is having dual sets that are operating individually but are together at the same time; being able to jump from set to set; being able to share talent - with Reggie and Doc, specifically; and, I would say, a seamless experience regardless of whether you're on ESPN or TNT. Hopefully, if it works the way it's supposed to, you'll float right from ESPN to TNT, and it will feel like a completely linear broadcast. For us, that's the true innovation, that's where we come together [to create] what's best for the fan.
ESPN's set outside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas
TNT's Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley, and Shaquille O'Neal will appear on ESPN's NBA Countdown for an extended segment within the 4 p.m. ET pregame show. NBA Countdown's host Malika Andrews, Stephen A. Smith, Michael Wilbon, Bob Myers, and Adrian Wojnarowski will appear on TNT's Inside the NBA pregame show for an extended segment in the 7:30 p.m. telecast.
I think the most interesting part, aside from the technology and all the innovative cameras [like the] RailCam, is the big-time personalities on the court and in the studios outside, says David Roberts, head of event and studio production, ESPN. When you have Charles Barkley, Shaq, Stephen A., Wilbon, Bob Myers, Kenny Smith, Ernie, Malika being able to interact, the curiosity factor is going to have a nice, appealing impact for the fans.
Benedict adds that viewers can expect plenty of pomp and circumstance for the red-carpet coverage on Thursday and Saturday.
We're taking it to a new level in terms of what we've done in the past, he says. I don't want to spoil anything, but it's going to be very picturesque. We'll have Richard Jefferson and Allie LaForce grabbing some players and celebrities for interviews, and that will be a great pregame element.
The NBA and its broadcast partners have big plans for the Red Carpet Show in Vegas.
Kitchen Sink of Cameras: RailCam, Skycam, Drones, PylonCams, and More A RailCam will be used in an NBA game for the first time since the pandemic-related 2020 NBA Bubble in Orlando. Working with Fletcher (an NEP company), the league and its broadcasters were able to extend the ground-level system to run the entire length of the court.
We didn't quite have that [full-court length] in the Bubble, notes Benedict. This is going to provide some tremendous pictures and moments for [viewers].
The NBA, ESPN, and TNT Sports worked closely with Fletcher to design a camera-system housing that was approved by both the league's game-operations team and the NBAPA.
A RailCam will be used by the NBA for the first time since the 2020 NBA Bubble in Orlando.
A lot of people have to sign off on something that is right on the court like that, explains Eddie Okuno, senior remote operations specialist, ESPN. We all worked together to ensure it met the necessary standards. We also built a custom structure right behind it, where there is a full-court-length VIP section, as well as both the ESPN and TNT announce tables, and a spot for our center-court handheld camera.
In addition to flying a Skycam as part of all three game productions at T-Mobile Arena, ESPN and TNT Sports will deploy drones both inside and outside
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NBA In-Season Tournament: League, ESPN, TNT Sports Team Up To Roll Out NBA Finals-esque Production for Semis, Championship RailCam, SkyCam, drones, PylonCams, dual onsite studios are part of the show in Vegas By Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S. 
