NBA Finals 2021: ESPN Deploys More Robotics, Two Shallow-Depth-of-Field Rigs for Robust Onsite Championship Production Game Creek Video and NEP Broadcasting anchor compounds in Milwaukee and Phoenix By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital
Tuesday, July 20, 2021 - 12:39 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
At this time last year, production and operations crews for NBA on ESPN were in the early stages of a completely unprecedented project: the NBA Bubble.
Nearly one year to the day after the first exhibition game at the ESPN Wide World of Sports In Orlando, ESPN will be onsite at a raucous Fiserv Arena in Milwaukee for Game 6 of the NBA Finals (9 p.m. ET, ABC), as the Milwaukee Bucks look to secure the franchise's first title since 1971.
For those keeping score, that's well over 365 straight days of planning and execution for an ESPN operations team dedicated to bringing the NBA to the global sports-viewing masses. And the stretch actually won't end until the conclusion of the NBA's Summer League in August.
We're concerned with our people front and center, says Mike Foss, senior director, remote operations, professional sports, ESPN. It has been a non-stop freight train. This is a tremendous level of commitment: time on the road, time away from families. It's a positive, uplifting experience to see the level of dedication from our teams [onsite]. While we celebrate where we are and where we've been, I'm always concerned about the fatigue and the personal situations of the hundreds of people who support this event.
The unique set of circumstances of last year's Bubble allowed ESPN to experiment with some cool production enhancements, such as embedding microphones into the playing surface and installing a rail cam at courtside, which are not (currently, anyway) replicable in an NBA arena full of fans. Some takeaways from that experience, according to Foss, have been applied to overall NBA broadcast operations: most notably, more-aggressive deployment of robotic cameras. The overall camera complement for the game broadcast features 15 robos, positioned in such places as under the basket and in the bowels of the arena for player entrances and exits.
It's not that we haven't used robotics before, Foss points out, but I think we learned angles and are finding ways to leverage them more.
The main arsenal includes high-end cameras, including a small increase in the number of Sony 4300's and a combination of Sony P43's and P50's capable of shooting in 4K.
Also garnering attention at this year's Finals is increased use of ESPN's version of the shallow-depth-of-field camera whose use has been exploding across live U.S. sports television. ESPN's rig - which has been deployed on other recent events, such as the College World Series and the MLB Home Run Derby - is a Sony Alpha1 mirrorless camera outfitted with a Canon EOS C500 lens. Both models have a M VI stabilizing mount.
ESPN has mixed it up, not only using that rig for dead-ball shots of players on the floor but turning the camera around and pointing at fans in the stands. Having fans back in the arenas is a celebration for all of us, says Foss. To engage them in that way and provide that kind of angle for our audience is a real positive thing.
The return of fans to NBA arenas has certainly given this Finals television project a shot in the arm, and the matchup between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Phoenix Suns has fueled ratings success. And much of ESPN's behind-the-scenes crew and all of its on-air talent are onsite for this series, which wasn't the case when the playoffs began in mid May.
The broadcaster, however, is still regularly offering COVID-19 tests to its crew members and adhering to social-distancing protocols within the arenas and the adjoining production compounds.
That means that more facilities are needed to support the distanced personnel. Each arena has a four-truck setup dedicated to game production. Tuesday night, for Game 6 in Milwaukee, the compound features the A and B units of both Game Creek Video 79 (named for the founding year of ESPN and built for big-time events just like this) and Game Creek Video Spirit. The behind-the-scenes crew in Milwaukee is led by Senior Operations Specialist Eddie Okuno. Standing by in Phoenix - in case of a Game 7 on Thursday evening - are the four units of NEP EN1. Operations Specialist Phil Abrahams is holding down the compound there. Senior Operations Manager Patty Mattero, meanwhile, oversees both sites.
For the 14th consecutive year, the NBA Finals' front bench is manned by producer Tim Corrigan and director Jimmy Moore. This series marks the final live event for longtime ESPN vet Moore, who is retiring.
We're thrilled for him, says Foss, but we're certainly sad. We're losing a legend.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
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...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
13/05/2026
New Adobe Premiere Color Grading Mode Accelerated on NVIDIA GPUs
Joel Pennington May 13, 2026
0 Comments
New NVIDIA RTX-accelerated features streamlin...
13/05/2026
Grass Valley announced that dB Broadcast has delivered new IP-based outside broadcast (OB) trucks for Cloudbass, featuring Grass Valley LDX 100 Series cameras a...
13/05/2026
Ikegami will exhibit the latest additions to its wide range of broadcast production cameras, control units, viewfinders and monitors on stand 5D3-1 at Broadcast...
13/05/2026
FISE, working with the founding members of the XR Sports Alliance (XRSA), Accedo, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and HBS, have collaborated to develop an immersive...
13/05/2026
Canon Unveils New EOS R6 V Full-Frame EOS Camera and RF20-50mm F4 L IS USM PZ Bu...
13/05/2026
Boston Conservatory at Berklee Honors Beth Morrison and Moses Pendleton at Comme...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Creative software developer Foundry today announced the latest developments on Nuke Stage. A purpose-built application for end-to-end virtual production and in-...
13/05/2026
A definitive portrait of one of Ireland's most influential musicians
New TV documentary airs Monday 18 May on RT One and RT Player at 9.35pm
Watch the...
13/05/2026
Agentic AI is changing the way users get work done. Following the success of OpenClaw, the community is embracing new open source agentic frameworks. The latest...
13/05/2026
Reinforcement-learning agents - AI systems that learn by trial and error - can c...
12/05/2026
Beyond the Hype: A Strategic Post-Hoc Analysis of NAB 2026 If NAB Show 2026 had an underlying theme, it was a quiet, industry-wide pivot from the high-energy sp...
12/05/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D), a Panoptec Technologies Group company, and CT Square, led by Chandresh Shah, have announced a joint venture to distribute G&D and V...
12/05/2026
With 30 days until the start of the FIFA World Cup 2026, Telemundo, the exclusive Spanish-language home of the tournament in the United States, has announced th...
12/05/2026
The NHL has announced the return of Stanley Pup for its third consecutive year, a 90-minute special featuring adoptable rescue dogs competing on a miniature rin...
12/05/2026
NBCUniversal presented its 2026 Upfront to advertisers at Radio City Music Hall, detailing upcoming programming across NBC, Peacock, Bravo, and Versant properti...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced funding for the Fandom and Social Connection Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Publ...
12/05/2026
TNDV and Live Media, both divisions of Live Media Group, supported live broadcast coverage around NCAA Final Four weekend in Indianapolis, including the March M...
12/05/2026
The European Football Alliance (EFA) has announced a content distribution agreement with Fubo Sports Network, the free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel ...
12/05/2026
For the first time, Spanish-speaking fans in the U.S. will have two separate tel...
12/05/2026
CP Communications led a comprehensive spectrum management initiative on behalf of Churchill Downs during Kentucky Derby week, coordinating RF assets across the ...
12/05/2026
LiveU has announced a strategic partnership with DRONERESPONDERS, a 501(c)3 non-...
12/05/2026
Open Broadcast Systems has announced that BMC TV, a specialist in IP transport of broadcast content, has selected the Open Broadcast Systems 5G Flyaway solution...
12/05/2026
NEP Europe, part of NEP Group, has announced it will deliver broadcast solutions...
12/05/2026
Grass Valley has announced continued collaboration with Ravensbourne University ...
12/05/2026
Stats Perform has announced the launch of Opta Pulse, an AI-assisted video creation and distribution platform for leagues, rights holders, and broadcasters. The...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced a collaboration with Sesame Workshop to integrate Sesame Street characters into FOX Sports' FIFA World Cup 2026 programming. Conten...
12/05/2026
To date, NHL Productions has produced 19 broadcasts with commentary in American Sign Language
NHL in ASL (American Sign Language) may be just one show, but the...
12/05/2026
Google's Brian Albert: creators, athletes, highlights, nostalgia, second-scr...
12/05/2026
A still from Past Lives by Celine Song, an official selection of the Premieres program at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of Sundance Institute | p...
12/05/2026
Spotify is where fans and artists come together, turning discovery into somethin...
12/05/2026
Features patented Marco-MMC clocking technology
Black Lion Audio's latest release combines the company's expertise in clocking with their renowned p...
12/05/2026
New Track Panel, sequencer upgrades & more
Following their recent public beta release, Reason Studios have announced the full release of Reason 14. With the...
12/05/2026
One month to go! SBS reveals expansive FIFA World Cup 2026 lineup beyond the pi...
12/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz presents its advanced solutions for power electronics testing at...
12/05/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, has developed a modified fund raising p...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Tyrell Corporation, specialists in high-end live sports and entertainment broadcasts, was tasked with delivering compelling broadcast coverage of premier equest...
12/05/2026
Registration is now open for IBC2026 as the global media, entertainment and technology community prepares to converge on the RAI Amsterdam from 11 14 September ...
12/05/2026
Ross Video, a global leader in live video production technology, will present its latest innovations and integrated production workflows at BroadcastAsia 2026, ...
12/05/2026
500 selected leaders from around the world across start-ups, corporates, and venture capital. Over 50bn in assets under management among attending investors, a...
NBA Finals 2021: ESPN Deploys More Robotics, Two Shallow-Depth-of-Field Rigs for Robust Onsite Championship Production Game Creek Video and NEP Broadcasting anchor compounds in Milwaukee and Phoenix By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital 
