ESPN returns to the hardwood on Tuesday night to tip off its coverage of the NBA regular season, the last in its current rights deal before its massive new agreement takes effect next season. ABC and ESPN will combine to televise 90 games this season, including a new eight-game NBA Saturday Night on ABC package beginning in January. The networks will once again roll out a host of high-tech tools and workflows, including increased connectivity to ESPN's Bristol, CT, headquarters via The Switch.
Our transmission schemes are getting more complex this season in order to allow us better access to Bristol, says Wendell Grigely, coordinating director, event operations, ESPN. We are utilizing The Switch as our transmission provider in all our NBA venues, which gives us the high bandwidth we need for bidirectional feeds both to and from Bristol while onsite.
This season, ESPN will send iso feeds, the program feed, and other content to Bristol and receive return feeds via The Switch's fiber network at every NBA arena. This allows the onsite production team to instantly feed content to Bristol for quick-turnaround highlight packages and other pieces to be integrated into the telecast. As the season progresses, ESPN plans to send content for high-end analysis tools available only in Bristol.
There are some other technologies that, down the road, we will likely be using more with this [workflow], says Grigely. This will eventually allow us to use [specialty production tools] efficiently several times in one evening [for] multiple games or across multiple sports.
ESPN will also continue to use Aspera and Signiant file transfer to speed the process of sending postgame melts to Bristol. The network also uses the NBA's HSAN (high-speed arena network) to send video for official review to the NBA Replay Center in Secaucus, NJ.
Juggling Trucks During a Busy Season
ESPN will be housed in a mix of Game Creek Video and NEP mobile units this season, with six primary trucks working the majority of the 90-game slate.
In the first two months, we have about four games per week, says Grigely. This time of year is always difficult because we have college football every weekend and so much going on in addition to NBA, but we try to stay as consistent as possible in the trucks we utilize.
Come 2016, thanks to the new Saturday Night NBA on ABC package, ABC and ESPN will televise NBA games four days a week (Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday) January-April, including three in primetime. ABC previously aired doubleheaders on Sundays as part of its NBA Sunday Showcase and will now air one exclusive game on Saturday nights and one on Sunday afternoons. Meanwhile, ESPN will continue to televise weekly primetime doubleheaders on Wednesdays and Fridays.
The only difference [with Saturday Night NBA on ABC games] will be that you're in primetime so you have a little more time that day to get set up, says Grigely. From the standpoint of facilities and [equipment] levels, it will be about the same as we have on Sunday-afternoon games.
Camera Highlights: Sony HDC-4300, Grass Valley LDX 86
ESPN deploys between seven and 13 cameras on its NBA productions, depending on the matchup. The network continues to use Sony HDC-3300 3X slo-mos at all games and will add Grass Valley LDX 86 6X slo-mos in a robotic configuration above the rim and behind the glass for higher-profile games.
They were able to provide the Grass Valley LDX 86 in a box-camera form that we use on the above-the-rim and through-the-glass robos, says Grigely. We used it a lot during the playoffs, and we will use those during the season because it has been successful and everyone loves that shot.
ESPN also debuted Sony HDC-4300s on its NBA Playoffs coverage last season and plans to use the 8X slo-mo (4K-capable) camera when it's available for regular-season coverage this year.
From left: Sage Steele, Doug Collins, and Jalen Rose on the NBA Countdown set
It will depend on the truck we have on a given game, since some of the trucks are running with the Sony 4300s on board right now, says Grigely. We did have success with the 4300 in the playoffs, and we will certainly try to take advantage of those cameras more as we get into the season.
ESPN will also bring back its wired-for-sound audio package, outfitting willing coaches, players, and refs with wireless microphones provided by Quantum5X through Bexel.
NBA Countdown Back at LAPC
Sage Steel, Jalen Rose, and Doug Collins return for their third season on ESPN's NBA Countdown pregame show, which will emanate from ESPN's Los Angeles Production Center (LAPC) across the street from STAPLES Center for the fifth consecutive year. Newcomer Chauncey Billups joins the party on Wednesday editions alongside Rose and Doris Burke (now in her second season on Countdown).
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
28/11/2025
Nadia Fall attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Brides at the Egyptian Theatre on January 24, 2025, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Donyale West/...
28/11/2025
It's easy to ignore those little red update available badges. But when it ...
28/11/2025
WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission has released a tentative agenda for the December Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, December 18, 2025 ...
28/11/2025
The Professional Fighters League is looking to super-serve fans of mixed martial...
28/11/2025
Fubo has released in beta on select Roku devices a new feature that lets users display up to four simultaneous streams at once....
28/11/2025
The WNBA playoffs and Week 4 of the NFL regular season highlight the list of live sports events airing on television this weekend....
28/11/2025
The 32nd class of honorees to the B+C Hall of Fame took to the stage at New York's Ziegfeld Ballroom on September 26 for a gala induction event. Click below...
28/11/2025
We hold in our hands the very last Next Text for Next TV, the weekly back-and-fo...
28/11/2025
DirecTV said it made a deal with EchoStar to buy EchoStar's video businesses, including satellite-TV provider Dish TV and virtual MVPD Sling TV, for $1 plus...
28/11/2025
The Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame, the premier industry event paying tribute to the influencers, innovators and shining lights of broadcast, cable and streami...
28/11/2025
Friday 28 November 2025
Sky Sports x Slawn drop limited-edition football jersey...
28/11/2025
Rohde & Schwarz shows resilience in a challenging environment, revenue exceeds t...
28/11/2025
Unwrapped: The Toy Show Appeal - airing this Sunday on RT One and RT Player- s...
27/11/2025
LONDON Vizrt has added several AI-driven advanced features offering improved speed, intelligence and accuracy in the newest version of its media asset managemen...
27/11/2025
Prime Video has launched AI-powered video season recaps in a beta version for select English-language Prime Original series in the U.S., a move Amazon is callin...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Netflix's Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders Marks a Grand...
27/11/2025
27 Nov 2025
GSMA brings M360 Eurasia 2026 to Samarkand in partnership with VEON...
27/11/2025
Tahar Rahim and Izuka Hoyle star in the gripping six-part Sky Original from Acad...
27/11/2025
Thursday 27 November 2025
Sky Arts Reveals the Nation's Greatest Basslines - and Queen Reign Supreme
The UK's most iconic basslines have been revealed...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things 5': Prepare for One Last Adventure With O...
27/11/2025
The media industry has a paradox at its core. It's an industry built on light, color and imagination, yet behind the scenes, it's powered by one of the ...
27/11/2025
Rating reflects rating progress across areas including policies, diversity & inclusion, health & safety and Net Zero leadership
Winchester, UK, 27 November 202...
27/11/2025
What are the industry standards for Retail Media? Kathryn explains that certification is based on the IAB Europe Retail Media Measurement Standards and the IAB ...
27/11/2025
World champion boxer and Irish sporting icon Katie Taylor will be in studio this...
27/11/2025
Roblox, one of the world's most popular online gaming platforms for primary ...
27/11/2025
Black Friday is leveling up. Get ready to score one of the biggest deals of the season - 50% off the first three months of a new GeForce NOW Ultimate membership...
26/11/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Prime Video EP Mike Muriano Previews Massive Black Friday Slate Fe...
26/11/2025
A cinematic snow sculpture at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival. Photo by Randall Michelson...
26/11/2025
Book podcasts are booming. On Spotify, you'll find everything from celebrity book clubs to deep dives with bestselling authors. And in markets where audiobo...
26/11/2025
Mumbai, November 24, 2025: In a first-of-its-kind initiative, JioStar, in collab...
26/11/2025
LONDON Factual content producer ITN Productions has launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins....
26/11/2025
MIAMI TelevisaUnivision said it struck a new multiyear distribution agreement with YouTube TV that includes distribution of TelevisaUnivision's U.S. network...
26/11/2025
OpenDrives, Inc., a leader in software-defined data storage and data services, today announced the launch of the Atlas Corporate Creative Solution. This new Atl...
26/11/2025
Disguise, the industry-leading company powering the world's biggest live performances, is partnering with pioneering LED wall manufacturer DVS to give atten...
26/11/2025
HighField AI, the pioneer in agentic and multimodal automation for broadcast and media production, today announced the expansion of its global channel partner n...
26/11/2025
As high-stakes Premier League fixtures approach and additional premium content launches, with MONO positioning themselves to dominate Thailand's sports stre...
26/11/2025
Hosting a wide variety of events from high-intensity NHL games to complex live music concerts and major entertainment productions, Montreal's 21,000 capacit...
26/11/2025
Vizrt, the leader in live production technology revolutionizing viewer engagement and experience, releases AI-driven advances focusing on speed, intelligence, a...
26/11/2025
ITN Productions, an award-winning factual content producer, today launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins. Responsible for delivering a leading...
26/11/2025
Ikegami reports ongoing advances throughout 2025 in developing and delivering coordinated television production solutions that maximize quality, versatility and...
26/11/2025
Following the Nov. 21 blackout of NBCUniversal channels on Fubo, the two sides have traded barbs about their inability to reach a new carriage deal....
26/11/2025
LONDON As TV sports rights become increasingly important for both broadcasters and streamers, Ampere Analysis predicts global investment in the genre will surpa...
26/11/2025
LOS ANGELES Vubiquity said it has achieved the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Media & Entertainment Competency as part of the AWS Partner Network (APN). This designa...
26/11/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau said it has entered into a consent decree with Comcast calling for the cable company t...
26/11/2025
Berklee Named to the Hollywood Reporters Top Music Schools List The publication highlights the college's screen scoring program, industry partnerships, and ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
Animated Series Love Through a Prism' Casts New Light on ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
NALIP Unveils Fifth Cohort of Director Incubator
Social Impact
26 November 2025
United States
Link copied to clipboard
The National Assoc...
26/11/2025
YouView Achieves Greenly Gold Certification for SustainabilityNov 26, 2025
YouView is proud to announce a Gold Certification award from Greenly for our perform...
ESPN returns to the hardwood on Tuesday night to tip off its coverage of the NBA regular season, the last in its current rights deal before its massive new agreement takes effect next season. ABC and ESPN will combine to televise 90 games this season, including a new eight-game NBA Saturday Night on ABC package beginning in January. The networks will once again roll out a host of high-tech tools and workflows, including increased connectivity to ESPN's Bristol, CT, headquarters via The Switch.
