Live From NBA All-Star: New Game Format Gives New Energy to Turner Sports Efforts Fourth quarter will be a tribute to Kobe Bryant By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Sunday, February 16, 2020 - 9:43 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
The NBA All-Star Weekend at United Center in Chicago concludes tonight with the main event: the 2020 NBA All-Star Game. And it will be a game unlike any other basketball game ever because the final quarter will be a race to a target score that is 24 points higher than the leading score after the third quarter. It's all part of a tribute to NBA legend Kobe Bryant, who died three weeks ago in a helicopter crash in Los Angeles.
The new format absolutely has an impact on the production, and the devil in in the details, says Chris Brown, VP, operations and technology, Turner Sports. It puts a whole new spin on scoring, the stats feed, and how we manage the scorebug. Everything had to be redesigned because we will not be displaying a clock for the last quarter.
Chris Brown and the rest of the Turner Sports team are looking forward to a new format tonight that will honor NBA legend Kobe Bryant.
Besides the absence of a game clock counting down the seconds until the end of the game (a shot clock will be in use), there will also be no commercials.
The hope is that, by eliminating the game clock, there is a chance for a team that is down by 20 points as they don't have to race the clock, says Brown. They can slow the game down and execute to make shots. The coverage philosophy stays the same, but it will be a more interesting story to tell as there are a lot of unknowns.
A traditional scorebug will have the current score and shot clock, but, during the fourth quarter, a scorebug in the upper right will show the race to the target score, so viewers know how close the teams are to hitting it.
Tech Showcase
The NBA All-Star Game is a great place to showcase things that have gone through an extensive vetting process, Brown says. We hope to bring things in here, and then, by next season or the playoffs, everyone is comfortable with it, so we can put it to use during a real game. It's really the last step in the vetting process for players and coaches; the Summer League is the first step in real-world testing.
New production elements for the weekend include NBA on TNT studio analyst Shaquille O'Neal sitting courtside with a 5G camera phone.
We've been working with LiveU and AT&T to provide those phones so that Shaq can do commentary courtside that is sent through the 5G network, says Brown. We did a lot of playing with it to optimize the picture quality.
The virtual shot clock, provided by Vizrt, makes its All-Star game debut tonight, its biggest stage to date. The virtual clock debuted earlier this year during the regular season and makes the clock appear to be built into the surface of the court.
The compound at 2020 NBA All-Star Game Weekend at The United Center in Chicago
The feedback has been positive, and people want to see it out there, says Brown. We hope it becomes a staple of our coverage and something people expect to see.
The Turner team will also work with CP Communications on Bluetooth IFB units to enable the announce team to talk to talent seated on the bench. Look for it to be used tonight during warmups.
We're looking forward to seeing how those work for us, says Brown.
Team Effort
On hand for the weekend's festivities is 300+-member Turner Sports crew, along with teams from numerous technology and production partners. NEP EN1 A, B, C, and E units will be at the center of tonight's coverage, having produced Friday's Celebrity Game and Rising Stars Game; Supershooter 24 A, B, and C units handled NBA All-Star Saturday Night.
We like having Supershooter 24 here for Saturday night as we needed more edit space this year, says Brown. THUMBWAR this year is providing those nine edit suites as well as four Adobe After Effects systems and a 5.1-surround-sound ProTools audio-editing system.
The entertainment portion of NBA All-Star Game is another important element of both the pregame and halftime shows, and NEP Supershooter 16 will be used for that show.
The Image-Cam courtside jib is an NBA All-Star Weekend staple.
The NBA All-Star Game was last in Chicago in 1988, when hometown hero and NBA legend Michael Jordan won the slam-dunk contest and was MVP of the game. That game was played at Chicago Stadium, which was torn down in 1994. The Bulls and Blackhawks subsequently moved to a new home: the United Center, which is where this year's events are taking place.
It is an older building, Brown points out. In an environment like this, there is a lack of fiber in the building, and we needed to bring in Bexel to run the fiber and headends. It's historic, but those buildings bring their own challenges. We've been working with NBA Entertainment and the rigging folks to make this work in a very confined space.
Bexel handled fiber and cabling at Wintrust Arena, where the NBA All-Star practice and media event took place, as well as camera sheds and Ross Xpression systems at both locations. It also provided player mics for tonight's game, super slo-mo cameras with EVS units, and an IPTV system at the United Center.
A Fletcher robotic in the main camera gantry at NBA All-Star.
Other key partners for the event include Program Productions for crewing; Lyon Video for NBA TV; and AVS for RF Steadicam, RF handheld, and RF POV for the game, Skills, and House of Blues. Fletcher is also on hand with three Sony P1 robotic cameras and Sony P50 super-slo-mo cameras located above the rims. Image-Cam, meanwhile, provides a key jib camera used for the entertainment show and game coverage.
Expanded Studio Shows, Digital Presence
Turner Sports expanded its studio-
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
16/07/2026
June brought stabilization to the television market. Poles spent an average of 3 hours and 36 minutes a day in front of their TV screens exactly the same as i...
16/07/2026
Glensound returns to IBC with a major new addition to its intelligent loudspeaker range, the Greater Divine Supernal studio monitor, alongside recent developmen...
16/07/2026
33 leading exhibitors are taking part in the GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland Pavilions and linked locations across IBC2026 (Amsterdam RAI, 11 14 September)...
16/07/2026
Hitomi Broadcast will introduce Spectra, a new HDR colour verification solution measured in picture, not using VPID, at IBC2026 (Hall 10, Stand A40). Expanding ...
16/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/07/2026
Zixi, a leader in live video delivery and workflow orchestration, and Comcast Technology Solutions (CTS) today announced a strategic new integration to deliver ...
16/07/2026
Blackmagic Design Cameras Capture Immersive Flight for New Cirrus App
Brie Clayton July 15, 2026
0 Comments
Leader in Personal Aviation taps URSA Cin...
16/07/2026
XenData Announces LTO Archive Appliances with both File and S3 Object Storage In...
16/07/2026
Onimusha: Way of the Sword is coming to GeForce NOW at launch, with the playable...
16/07/2026
Together the semi-finals had a combined reach of 1.98 million unique individuals...
15/07/2026
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is a big deal for DAZN, which has distribution rights in three markets: Italy, Spain, and Japan. Each requires a different editorial app...
15/07/2026
As sports-media organizations manage rapidly growing content libraries and incre...
15/07/2026
HBS director of digital Johannes Franken talks SVG Europe through the operation built to serve FIFA World Cup 2026 rights holders remotely from Stratford, east ...
15/07/2026
IBC has unveiled the conference program for IBC2026, with this year's event ...
15/07/2026
Software-defined wideband RF platform supports 96-kHz monitoring, streamlined fr...
15/07/2026
New AI-powered module enables broadcasters and content owners to extract dialogu...
15/07/2026
Weeklong gathering at EBU headquarters will test new IPMX capabilities and expand certified product ecosystem...
15/07/2026
Force Tech has announced the appointment of Bryan Adams, CTS, as Vice President of Integration. Adams will oversee AV and broadcast integration project delivery...
15/07/2026
USA Sports has announced an exclusive English-language agreement with the Bundes...
15/07/2026
ITV Sport's FIFA World Cup 2026 coverage has been produced from one of the m...
15/07/2026
Program will provide professional camera kits, training, and technical support to participating local newsrooms...
15/07/2026
San Francisco church becomes first U.S. deployment of the 2 M/E production switcher...
15/07/2026
Former ESPN and NFL Network executive to advise startup league on media, distribution, technology, and fan engagement...
15/07/2026
The Houston-based RSN is the live-game home of the Astros and Rockets...
15/07/2026
Launched alongside new FreqSoft installer
Designed to bridge the gap between hardware and software, Freqport's FreqInOut FO1 unit provides a simple way ...
15/07/2026
Save up to 55% on software until 23 July 2026
Expressive E have just launched their Summer Offer sale, with discounts of up to 55% now applied across their ...
15/07/2026
Real-time stem-separation tool updated
zplane have recently released a new and improved version of their real-time stem-separation plug-in which they say ma...
15/07/2026
A new benchmark in bass enhancement
Described as a new benchmark in bass enhancement , Baby Audio's latest release has been designed to augment the lo...
15/07/2026
DMC Production's AR 1 and AR 2 units reverse the conventional OB workflow, keeping all production-critical processing at the venue while operators work remo...
15/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/07/2026
GigaCloud, a leading Ukrainian cloud service provider, and Cubbit, the first geo-distributed cloud storage enabler, today announced a new Business Alliance Part...
15/07/2026
SMPTE, the global society for media professionals, technologists, and engineers, has announced the launch of the SMPTE 110th Anniversary Campaign, a fundraising...
15/07/2026
Studio Technologies, a leading manufacturer of high-quality audio, video, and fiber-optic solutions, unveils the new StudioComm Model 762 Stereo Level Control, ...
15/07/2026
COW Jobs: Producer, Virtual Events - Hybrid, Full Time, Salaried
Brie Clayton July 15, 2026
0 Comments
Producer, Virtual Events (Hybrid | Full-time | ...
15/07/2026
Brazilian media organization builds nationwide CDN with Broadpeak's high-performance software for low-latency streaming and new content distribution service...
15/07/2026
DHD announces a new utility designed to increase the efficiency of its audio mixing systems during initial installation and subsequent configuration.
Anyone w...
15/07/2026
BCNEXXT Brings Next-Generation Vipe to IBC2026, Breaking the 1:1 Channel-to-Server Ratio New innovations liberate broadcasters from legacy playout infrastructur...
15/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/07/2026
General-purpose robots and autonomous machines are moving from research labs to ...
Live From NBA All-Star: New Game Format Gives New Energy to Turner Sports Efforts Fourth quarter will be a tribute to Kobe Bryant By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director 
