Live From NBA Finals: ESPN Operations Weathers South Florida Storms, Cross-Country Travel for Heat-Nuggets Title Bout Covering games 2,000 miles apart requires both a strategy and flexibility By Kristian Hern ndez, Senior Editor
Friday, June 9, 2023 - 12:15 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
The Denver Nuggets played the role of spoiler and ruined the party for Miami Heat fans at Kaseya Center in Game 3 of the NBA Finals. With one more game to go in Southern Florida before shifting back to the Mile High City, ESPN's operations team has withstood the challenges of this nation-spanning championship with logistical know-how and arduous planning.
[The Finals] have gone very smoothly, but a lot of our job is about reducing risk, says Eddie Okuno, senior remote operations specialist, ESPN. We always have to keep an eye on the calendar and the standings to see which cities we'll be going to.
Game of Logistical Chess: Team Maps Out Potential Sites Prior to Finals From an operational perspective, one of the hardest parts about the job is foreseeing where the action will end up. At the beginning of the NBA Playoffs, many teams and their home cities were in the mix to host the NBA Finals, and the crew adjusted its plans as the postseason went along. By the Conference Finals, the potential sites had been reduced to four: Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles and Ball Arena for the Western representative, TD Garden in Boston and Kaseya Center in Miami for its Eastern counterpart. At that stage, Okuno deployed a strategy to alleviate some of the stress that comes with the unknown.
Eddie Okuno is at the helm of ESPN's remote-operations team for the 2023 NBA Finals.
Our strategy is to build City 1 and City 2 infrastructures that are identical between our two mobile-unit providers, NEP Group and Game Creek Video, he says. We stayed with our regular ABC Saturday Primetime strategy for the first two rounds, but, when we got to the Conference Finals, we just didn't have time to set up everything for a big show in one day.
Luckily, the team on the NEP trucks knew fairly quickly that they'd be going to Denver when the Nuggets made relatively quick work of the Los Angeles Lakers. If the Lakers had made a dramatic comeback and the Heat finished off the Boston Celtics, the scenario would have changed, with the West Coast crew having to scramble to Los Angeles since the Lakers would have been the higher seed. When the Heat-Celtics series became a lot more interesting with a winner-take-all Game 7, the East Coast-based team knew that they'd be traveling regardless of the winner. As Boston gained momentum from a 3-0 hole, Okuno and company had to consider both cities as a possibility.
When we got to Game 6, he says, we had to start building out for Boston because the series would have ended on Monday, May 29 and we would have to be ready to go there for Game 1 on Thursday, June 1. Ultimately, Boston lost, and we headed out to Denver.
Game Creek Video 79, Victory, and Gotham are driving productions in Miami.
Sifting through cities and laying out scheduled departures requires moving a lot of parts, and each city has a unique venue. For example, the Milwaukee Bucks play in the four-year-old Fiserv Forum with an updated and broadcast-ready infrastructure. On the other hand, all the teams in the Conference Finals play in venues that opened before 2000.
We needed to know how much land or space would be given to us for our compound [at each venue] and when it would be available to us, Okuno explains. Between the NBA and the venues, there were multiple things that we had to coordinate.
Quick Thinking: Miami Thunderstorms Flood the Compound Playing ball in the Sunshine State comes with a hefty number of unexpected thunderstorms. Typically going as quickly as they come, these pockets of rain can still pack an aggressive punch. When you place these torrential downpours over a broadcast compound with equipment that isn't compatible with water, producing games in Miami can be physically and figuratively slippery. Arriving at Kaseya Center May 30, the operations crew had a few days to construct a compound on a grass field before the surrounding area became too muddy. Although rain is always expected, it's difficult to know when these storms hit, how much of a deluge they will bring, and how long they'll stick around.
The operations crew had to contend with flooding in the broadcast compound.
When we first came here, says Okuno, the entire compound was flooded, and we were pretty much underwater by about almost 2 ft. We had to install pumping stations at the center of our compound and move the trucks out of that area.
Among other efforts to combat the problem, the temporary floor of the compound was built on a slant to enhance runoff and drainage.
[Unforeseen events] like that unfortunately happen, he notes. Fighting Mother Nature at this time of the year is always part of the challenge.
Production Standouts: Broadcast Includes Sony HDC-4800 Cinematic 4K Cameras Inside the venue, the team has a total of 55 camera feeds to choose from for the 1080p broadcast. Leading the way, the Sony HDC-4800 cinematic 4K camera is providing super-slow-motion shots at 8X speed. Sony has a large presence in the productions, with more than 30 cameras deployed in the lower bowl and around the arena, including 18 HDC-4300's (five handhelds at speeds from 4X to 6X), two P-43's above-the-rim robos, two HDC-5500's, and two PXW-Z450's. More important, the camera manufacturer plays a part in the Skycam system with a Sony HDC-P50 and in ESPN's preferred shallow-depth-of-field rig with a Sony Alpha 1.
Kaseya Center and the Miami skyline provide the backdrop for the compound.
In the compound, the efforts of the 85 credentialed personnel is centered
North America Stories
09/05/2025
AJA I/O Gear: The Heart of Broadcast Solutions' VEGO Mobile Editing Solution
Brie Clayton May 8, 2025
0 Comments
When working remotely on broadcas...
09/05/2025
What do they teach in an Advanced Adobe After Effects Course?
Roland Kahlenberg May 8, 2025
0 Comments
There aren't many advanced After Effects co...
09/05/2025
Larry Jordan Sits with Trevor Morgan of OpenDrives at NAB 2025
Brie Clayton May 8, 2025
0 Comments
Trevor Morgan, COO of OpenDrives, shares how the co...
09/05/2025
Berklee Popular Music Institute Announces UK Festival Debut and Tour Dates For the first time, BPMI will bring Berklee-affiliated artists and students to the ...
08/05/2025
A sinister fairy infiltrates a desperate family in Kenneth Dagatan's In My Mother's Skin, which premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Photo co...
08/05/2025
For skyward-bound operators, training focuses on the unique aspects of flying ISR missions, including the management of onboard surveillance equipment and the e...
08/05/2025
The cable industry has told the Federal Communications Commission it supports the National Association of Broadcasters' proposal to allow broadcasters to us...
08/05/2025
WASHINGTON The Consumer Technology Association has continued its opposition to mandates requiring that NextGen TV/ATSC 3.0 tuners be included in new TV sets, sa...
08/05/2025
TAG Video Systems, the leader in software-based IP end-to-end workflow monitoring, deep probing, and real time visualization, has named Paul Maroni as Vice Pres...
08/05/2025
This year's UK Pavilion in hall 5, once again managed by Tradefair, will provide visitors with the unique opportunity to discuss and be involved in cutting ...
08/05/2025
Rohde & Schwarz will showcase its latest energy-efficient transmitters and 5G Broadcast technologies, designed to support network operators and content provider...
08/05/2025
IRVING, Texas Nexstar Media Group has tapped Bill Nardi as vice president of station operations, responsible for overseeing the day-to-day broadcast operations ...
08/05/2025
SEATTLE LumaTouch is partnering with CNN Academy to improve mobile storytelling techniques and support training across all of CNN Academy's training simulat...
08/05/2025
WASHINGTON The Society of Broadcast Engineers has filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission that support a proposal by the National Association ...
08/05/2025
Senior adviser to the United States Agency for Global Media Kari Lake has announced that One America News Network (OAN) will provide newsfeed services for fre...
08/05/2025
EdMon Expands as AI-Driven Post Production Workflows Gains Traction in Sweden an...
08/05/2025
Using Luma Mattes in Adobe Premiere Pro
Graham Quince May 7, 2025
0 Comments
This very quick tutorial shows you how to take an RGB clip and apply its ...
08/05/2025
OpenDrives Unveils Free Your Data' Initiative with New Astraeus Cloud-Nativ...
08/05/2025
Student Spotlight: Grigori Balasanyan The Armenian composer, who was named Boston Conservatory at Berklees 2025 student commencement speaker, talks about his ...
08/05/2025
May 8th, 2025 Press Materials Available Here
Tribeca Festival 2025 Unveils New Premieres Spanning Film and Music
Slick Rick's Victory with Idris Elba a...
08/05/2025
May 8th, 2025 Press Materials Available Here
Tribeca Festival 2025 Announces Lineup for Inaugural Storytelling Summit
11-Day Industry Event Launches with Tal...
08/05/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Vizrt's Nicholas Jameson on AI in Workflows, Pushing Boundarie...
08/05/2025
Creating Alternative Brand Experiences: Live Sports in the Age of Fortnite, Meta...
08/05/2025
PGA TOUR's David Piccolo: Advanced Graphics and Virtual Production Tools are...
08/05/2025
Tech Focus: Advancing Immersion in Sports Broadcasting with AR and Virtual Produ...
08/05/2025
Back to All News
Now in Production: Comedy Action Film Husbands in Action'...
08/05/2025
Artificial intelligence is helping identify and treat diseases faster with better results for humankind. Natural disasters like wildfires are next.
Fires in th...
08/05/2025
Calling all wiseguys - 2K's acclaimed Mafia franchise is available to stream...
08/05/2025
As AI use cases continue to expand - from document summarization to custom software agents - developers and enthusiasts are seeking faster, more flexible ways t...
07/05/2025
Warsaw, Poland - April 28, 2025 - Nielsen, a global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics, has released its latest March All Screens Video Landscap...
07/05/2025
LONDON Movie fans hoping to save money by waiting until their favorite new films appear on streaming services will have to wait a bit longer now, according to a...
07/05/2025
MECCA, Saudi Arabia Saudi Broadcasting Authority (SBA) has selected Grass Valley to provide a major technology upgrade of its broadcast facility here....
07/05/2025
Sony and Nevion provide guidance on IP network architecture options for live pro...
07/05/2025
Media Pioneer Publishing AG Expands Editorial Capacity
Brie Clayton May 7, 2025
0 Comments
Pioneer 2 boat production environment powered by Blackmagic...
07/05/2025
LONDON Movie fans hoping to save money by waiting until their favorite new films appear on streaming services will have to wait a bit longer now, according to a...
07/05/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Media Bureau is seeking public comment on a Petition for Rulemaking from HC2 Broadcasting Holdings asking...
07/05/2025
WASHINGTON Following a decision by U.S. Department of Education to terminate its 2020-2025 Ready To Learn to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, CPB has in...
07/05/2025
NEW YORK Fox's ad-supported streaming Tubi made a series of product and partnership announcements during IAB NewFronts in New York, including the launch of ...
07/05/2025
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. Google Fiber (GFiber) has announced a redesigned app that the company said will simplify how customers set up service, manage devices, and...
07/05/2025
WASHINGTON NASAs on-demand streaming service, NASA+, has launched a FAST (Free Ad-Supported Television) channel on Prime Video....
07/05/2025
NEW YORK The WNET Group, parent company of the PBS station Thirteen, has announced the appointment of Randall T. Decker to senior director, technology, effectiv...
07/05/2025
Atomos announced an executive leadership transition as the Company continues to evolve and expand its strategic focus.
Peter Barber, currently serving as Chie...
07/05/2025
Steve Wagner, Jerry Holway and Robert Orf at the 2024 Scientific and Technical Awards at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on Tuesday, April 29, 2025.
The ...
07/05/2025
nxtedition, the Swedish company behind the leading integrated platform for news and program production, and TASCAM, the iconic Japanese manufacturer of professi...
07/05/2025
Signiant is bringing its Camera-Raw-to-Any-Cloud workflow to the UK for the first time at the Media Production & Technology Show 2025 (Booth# M69) with a live d...
07/05/2025
MNC Software Inc., a global leader in software and network solutions tailored to the broadcast and media industry, has appointed Gencom Technology as an officia...
07/05/2025
Rise AV, the award-winning advocacy group championing gender diversity and professional development in the AV sector, is proud to announce 31 mentor-mentee pair...
07/05/2025
Test & measurement innovator, Leader Electronics of Europe, is to bring a selection of its leading products for IP, SDI and hybrid workflow requirements to this...
07/05/2025
The Global Media and Entertainment Talent Manifesto announces that the World Skills Caf will return at IBC2025 with an expanded skills and diversity programme,...
Live From NBA Finals: ESPN Operations Weathers South Florida Storms, Cross-Country Travel for Heat-Nuggets Title Bout Covering games 2,000 miles apart requires both a strategy and flexibility By Kristian Hern ndez, Senior Editor 
