
NBA 2020 Tipoff: It's Nice To Be Back in NBA Buildings' The league will carry lessons from the bubble' into the 2020-21 season By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Tuesday, December 22, 2020 - 11:05 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
The NBA 2020-21 season tips off this week, and Paul Benedict, VP, broadcasting content management, NBA, and the rest of the team at the league are looking to build off of lessons learned in the WWoS bubble earlier this year and get back to the business of playing games in 30 arenas.
NBA's Paul Benedict: We are focused on getting the season off the ground and then adding things as we go along.
We're excited, and it's nice to be back in NBA buildings as it brings some familiarity to the production, he says. Right now, we are focused on getting the season off the ground and then adding things as we go along. Once we get past the Christmas games, across the board, we will look at where we can get more creative and what opportunities we have. The biggest tentpole will be the playoffs.
Health and safety protocols still top the list of priorities, and Benedict notes that some of the arenas will be more challenging than others, given that some will have fans, some arenas will begin to share the building with an NHL team in mid January, and other factors.
Things like announce locations can't have a one-size-fits-all approach, he says, but they will be able to get as close as 30 ft. to the court and will have plexiglass in front and dividers.
There are also continuous conversations with regional sports networks and the national networks concerning things like baseline cameras and minimum camera complement.
Many RSNs want to enhance it. In Phoenix, for example, the network will control three manned cameras, says Benedict. We have health and safety guidelines to allow handhelds to get close to the floor.
He notes that something everybody wants is more access to players, coaches, and even referees.
We had an extremely positive reaction across the board to the ref review system in the bubble, where the crew chief would clarify a call, he explains. We have purchased kits that will be in every arena at the start of the year.
Other enhancements in the NBA bubble - such as the Railcam, Cablecam, and free-throw-line extended courtside camera - are also expected to be carried over to some of the arenas.
Railcam had positive feedback, Benedict says, adding, We will have Railcam at Staples Center in Los Angeles and Barclays Arena in Brooklyn to start the season.
Some of the developments that are making the transition from the bubble to the arenas were decided on with input from the players and the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA).
It has been very collaborative with the players, Benedict notes. They told us to make the crowd audio louder as they liked the sound of it. At the NBA arenas, it will be advantageous: I went to the New York Knicks preseason game, and they crushed it with a soundscape that had the organ and fan chants. Some of the audio will be handled by Firehouse, and they are much more sophisticated.
Virtual fans are expected to be used by some of the teams and also look for the scoreboards to allow for animations, which traditionally have not been allowed.
It's cool creative, says Benedict, and it will add atmosphere in the building.
One innovation in the bubble, touchless postgame interviews, won't make the transition to real-world arenas. In September, the teams were able to start offering headsets to players.
That will make it a little easier, adds Benedict. The team PR and an A2 will have the headset and give it to the player, who will then look at a camera either below the rim or at center court.
Most recent headlines
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
08/07/2025
WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr is applauding the passage of President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill and provision...
08/07/2025
SYDNEY RTS has announced that Channel 7 Sydney has deployed a new comms system from RTS as part of a larger ST-2110 upgrade....
08/07/2025
ATLANTA & CINCINNATI Gray Media, Inc. and The E.W. Scripps Company have entered into agreements to swap television stations across five mid-sized and small mark...
07/07/2025
SBS Farewells Chair George Savvides AM
7 July, 2025
Media releases
Born of Greek Cypriot parents, Mr Savvides joined the SBS Board as Deputy Chair in Febru...
07/07/2025
Advanced vision solutions deliver more than reliable night vision for tactical-edge warfighters. Today's technological advances can provide the capability f...
07/07/2025
BALTIMORE Sinclair has named Narinder Sahai its executive vice president and chief financial officer, effective immediately....
07/07/2025
Riedel Communications today announced the launch of RefSuite, a powerful new Managed Technology solution tailored to professional sports workflows. RefSuite com...
07/07/2025
Regional base will foster client engagement, partner collaboration, and executive touchpoints
Skandha Media Services, a leading provider of cloud-native media ...
07/07/2025
Advanced Systems Group, LLC (ASG), a technology and services provider for media creatives and content owners, announced its Against All Odds - ASG Builds Cutti...
07/07/2025
Agreement secured on the strength of Skandha's proven track record in delivering reliable managed services across the full content life cycle for existing h...
07/07/2025
1-2 Punch: The Cloud, Generative AI, and the Future of Sports-Content Distributi...
07/07/2025
Tests and decisions: Formula E host broadcaster Aurora on launching new AR graph...
07/07/2025
Building tension: Using new AR graphics for storytelling at the Formula E penult...
07/07/2025
Altitude Sports' Matt Krol on the Success of the RSN's In-Arena Postgame...
07/07/2025
SVG Rewind: Four NFL Clubs Bring Us on Set of Respective Media Day Shoots An in-depth conversation with 49ers Laura Johnson, Ravens Jay O'Brien, Las Vegas R...
07/07/2025
Cosm To Build Fifth Shared Reality Venue in Cleveland as Part of Bedrock's ...
07/07/2025
Back to All News
She Walks in Darkness, Agust n D az Yanes New Film, Premieres ...
07/07/2025
CULVER CITY, CALIFORNIA As Apple Music marks its 10th anniversary this year, Apple unveils its most ambitious creative project to date: a brand-new state-of-the...
07/07/2025
RT has announced that Mark Bignell has been appointed Commissioning Editor for Comedy following a public competition. This senior editorial position will drive...
05/07/2025
Back to All News
Superestar, the Story of a Star Who Never Changed. Premiering July 18
Entertainment
05 July 2025
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
Dis...
04/07/2025
By Lucy Spicer
Editor's note: We are deeply saddened by the passing of Robe...
04/07/2025
The Summer Reading Challenge has inspired children across the U.K. to embrace a ...
04/07/2025
Introducing CVP Auctions: Trusted Tech, At Auction-Only Prices
Brie Clayton July 4, 2025
0 Comments
A New Destination for Film and Broadcast Gear at U...
04/07/2025
Unveiling China's Ecological Wonders with URSA Mini Pro 12K
Brie Clayton July 4, 2025
0 Comments
Nature Documentaries Freeze Epic Momentsin Extrem...
04/07/2025
Create Any Planet in After Effects
Graham Quince July 4, 2025
0 Comments
The Advanced 3D renderer in After Effects makes it really easy to import 3D o...
04/07/2025
Custom Gradient Colorize for Resolve Fusion
Simon Ubsdell July 4, 2025
0 Comments
Digging into the theory of the gradient colorize process to build ou...
04/07/2025
Watching live sports on TV these days is a delicate balance for broadcasters how much information is too much?...
04/07/2025
WASHINGTON As Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr works to achieve his goal of a very busy, productive summer at the FCC, the agency has rele...
04/07/2025
Other World Computing Launches OWC Guardian USB-C Hardware-Encrypted Portable SS...
04/07/2025
CANAL Brings MotoGP to Vision Pro with Blackmagic URSA Cine Immersive
Brie Clayton July 3, 2025
0 Comments
Experience MotoGP like never before as CA...
04/07/2025
Friday 4 July 2025
Watch the trailer here https://youtu.be/Od5WpvWmDr8
Further...
04/07/2025
The Pitch comes to RT Radio 1 airwaves this Sunday at 7pm. The Pitch is a brand...
03/07/2025
For our Vario-Jib, as well as for a repertoire of weights, we now have carts that make transport easier...
03/07/2025
One of our latest innovations: Slider Drive Unit!
Our Vario Slider not only comes with improvements and new features, but also with its own drive unit!
Our i...
03/07/2025
The 360 EVO lives up to its name: 360-degree rotation not only on the pan axis, but also on the roll axis, enables filmmakers to take their creative visions eve...
03/07/2025
What a buzzing few days at BSCExpo in London!
We were thrilled to connect with so many talented professionals from the world of cinematography.
A huge thank ...
03/07/2025
ADOLESCENCE - Shot with Panther Tower"The whole rig had to be detachable mid-episode
Netflix limited drama series Adolescence has been gaining attentio...
03/07/2025
To achieve a true level of decisive overmatch, communication systems must be as ...
03/07/2025
The Broadcasters Foundation of America has named Ray Hopkins, president of U.S. distribution at Paramount Global, to its board of directors....
03/07/2025
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. In his first major policy speech, Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr outlined his Build America Agenda for the agency'...
03/07/2025
As the industry is making a major push to transition to NextGen TV and develop new businesses that will fund the next generation of broadcasting, TV Tech's ...
03/07/2025
Despite enabling its subscribers to watch films and TV shows in the highest possible resolution, Netflix has revealed it is taking things old school with the in...
03/07/2025
WASHINGTON In response to news that Paramount Global has agreed to pay $16 million to settle a lawsuit by President Donald Trump, Democrats and other administra...
03/07/2025
WUPPERTAL, Germany Riedel Communications today launched RefSuite for professional sports workflows....
03/07/2025
WEITERSTADT, Germany LYNX Technik, a provider of modular signal processing solutions, has announced that founder and longtime CEO Winfried Deckelmann is steppin...
03/07/2025
WASHINGTON Representatives from six trade groups representing tech, pay TV, broadband, LPTV and other sectors recently met with Federal Communications Commissio...
03/07/2025
PLYMOUTH, Wis. Dan Whealy has acquired Heartland Video Systems and will be its new owner and president, the systems integrator said....
03/07/2025
Acclaimed filmmaker, educator, and industry veteran Jay Holben has released his most ambitious work to date: The Director's Guide to Everything a sweeping...