
NBA Playoffs 2025: ESPN's Postseason Run Highlighted by New Cameras, Player Mics, Flagship Mobile Unit After remote/shared operations, Western Conference and league Finals will be onsite production By Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Thursday, April 17, 2025 - 3:15 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
With a particularly dramatic edition of the NBA Play-In Tournament wrapping up tomorrow night, the 2025 NBA Playoffs officially tip off this weekend with ESPN's triple-header of Round 1 coverage on Saturday followed by a blockbuster doubleheader on ABC on Sunday. For ESPN's veteran remote-operations team, the ultra-busy weekend is just the start of a two-month odyssey culminating in the NBA Finals in June.
ESPN plans to have more than 40 camera sources, like this Sony camera with a Canon lens, for its NBA Finals coverage in June.
We have the best and most experienced operations and technical teams returning for this playoffs run, says Eddie Okuno, senior remote operations specialist, ESPN. The same goes for the best crews in our industry that support our NBA games year in and year out.
After relying largely on REMI and REMCO production models for the Play-In Tournament, ESPN will share the load with RSNs in the early rounds of the playoffs before deploying massive onsite operations for the Western Conference Finals and league Finals. In addition to a full arsenal of cutting-edge cameras, audio tools, and AR graphics, ESPN's tech complement will include the new Flagship mobile unit from Game Creek Video, which debuted this month.
Play-In Games Get the REMI PLUS, REMCO Treatment Wednesday's Play-In games exclusively deployed ESPN's REMI PLUS workflow: the broadcaster supplied all cameras/operators for manned and robo positions, as well as for onsite announcers/reporter, and transmitted the feeds to Bristol, CT, for integration at one of ESPN's REMI production-control rooms.
After relying largely on REMI and REMCO production models for the Play-In Tournament, ESPN will share the load with RSNs in the early rounds of the playoffs before transitioning to full onsite production.
Friday's final Play-In game will use ESPN's REMCO workflow with producer/director and on-air talent onsite. The graphics AP, graphics operator, clock and score operator, and up to four EVS replay operators will operate from either Bristol or Charlotte, NC.
REMI Operations is also staffing a Viz Libero operator in Bristol on all matchups for on-screen telestration. The operator works with a producer located at their home.
We at REMI Operations are extremely proud of our teams across Bristol and Charlotte that have been on this project, says Scott Chamberland, supervisor, REMI Operations, ESPN. We documented some amazing stories this season: Luka's return to Dallas, Hubie Brown's last called game, and many more. The technical skills of our operators and the relationships built with our production team puts us in the best position as we head into the playoffs.
ESPN Shares First-Round Load With RSNs, Has Big Plans for Finals All of ESPN's first-round games will be non-exclusive broadcasts with ESPN sharing compound space and camera positions with their home and visitor RSN partners.
ESPN's new Flagship mobile unit features a Calrec Argo Q audio console.
We have had an incredibly cooperative and successful NBA season sharing feeds with our RSN partners and will continue onto the first round of playoff games, says Okuno. All productions benefit from the shared resources as the storytelling resources for game coverage increases.
All first-round games will be produced in 1080p SDR using six hard cameras, four handheld cameras, two above-the-rim robos, and two basket POV cameras. For the second round, ESPN will add more high-frame-rate super-slo-mo cameras and EVS replay channels.
Many playoff games will deploy the newer and smaller Q5X Digital PlayerMic X.
Many playoff games will also have enhanced audio quality highlighted by deployment of the newer and smaller Q5X Digital Player Mic X.
In preparation for the Western Conference Finals and NBA Finals, Okuno adds, ESPN will be testing multiple technology offerings that debuted at NAB 2025.
Once the NBA Finals arrive, ESPN will once again roll out one of its biggest production complements of the year, with more than 40 camera sources planned. The shows will also feature double-digit HFS super-slo-mo cameras, cinema-style high-frame-rate-camera capture and replay, and SkyCam (with AR/VR), and a drone (with AR/VR).
After debuting this month, ESPN's new Flagship mobile unit (A, B, and C units) will be front and center throughout the NBA Playoffs. The once-in-a-generation truck will serve ESPN's A-game for the first and second rounds before working the Western Conference Finals and NBA Finals. Besides Flagship, ESPN will deploy NEP EN1 (A, B, C, D, and E units) in the other city for the Conference Finals and Finals.
ESPN's coast-to-coast NBA operations over the coming months will be led by Chamberland, Shane Smith, Luis Manuel Lopez, Kim Conrad, Kelley Nagi, Christine Rouskas, Kristianna Bryant, Johnathan Williams, Erick Guyton, CJ Chalverus, Heidi Walker, Jason Dorsey, Meredith Fenwick, Kevin Pedersen, Lacey Gandee (Charlotte), and Joe King (Charlotte).
The technical team is led by Okuno, Alan McDonald, Paul Kucharski, Justin McIntosh, Ben Neiger, Ben Ellison, Zaque Meyers, Mike Krivens, Nolan Lynch, Chris Baylis, and Neang Ne.
Crewing and resources are managed by Candice Manning, Stephanie Cannon, Max Morales, Jocelyn Thomas, and Laurie Niziolek.
It's a privilege to carry the responsibility of capturing NBA history and being part of its legacy, says Okuno. We are extremely excited, honored, and proud to start coverage of the 23rd NBA Playoffs run for E
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...
23/07/2026
Staines-upon-Thames, UK, 23rd, JULY, 2026 - Yospace, the trusted leader in Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI), stitched 11.57 billion one-to-one addressable advertisem...
23/07/2026
This Spring 2026 graduate from Honolulu found a home at SoonerVision as a live-production star and is ready to enter the industry as a replay op on Prime Video&...
23/07/2026
As the AUSL postseason begins tonight, listening in to players during games enhances fan engagement for the young organization
Ballplayers chatting with announ...
23/07/2026
Snap Inc. and the Esports Foundation have announced Snap's activations at the Esports World Cup 2026 in Paris, running July 6 through August 23. For the fir...
23/07/2026
Sony has announced the FX5, a full-frame Cinema Line camera built around a newly developed fully stacked Exmor RS CMOS image sensor and BIONZ XR2 image processi...
23/07/2026
TNDV (a division of Live Media Group) provided technical production support for the Pickleball Slam 4 live broadcast from Seminole Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, ...
23/07/2026
LTN has announced it has completed satellite-to-IP migrations for more than 3,00...
23/07/2026
Daktronics has announced the winners of the 2026 DakClassroom Student Showcase, a national competition recognizing student work in media production, storytellin...
23/07/2026
The French Tennis Federation (FFT) and beIN Media Group have announced a five-ye...
23/07/2026
Clear-Com provided the communications infrastructure for the Fryderyk Awards Gal...
23/07/2026
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is, on paper, an unparalleled financial success. Total t...
23/07/2026
Standing inside HQ3 at MediaCity Studios during the FIFA World Cup 2026, it quic...
23/07/2026
Having attracted upwards of 17 billion views throughout the tourney, the broadca...
23/07/2026
Quickly creates reverse reverb effects
Low End Candy have recently released a new plug-in that offers a quick and simple way to create reverse reverb effect...
23/07/2026
New engines, resonators, effects & more
Expressive E's versatile soft synth has just been treated to an update that greatly expands its sonic range. Noi...
23/07/2026
SGL Carbon has further expanded its photovoltaic capacity at its Ort im Innkreis site in Austria. With the commissioning of new PV carports, the sites solar sys...
23/07/2026
NITV launches new By Mob For Mob series in partnership with NRMA Insurance
23 July, 2026
Media releases
National Indigenous Television (NITV) has launched ...
23/07/2026
Rohde & Schwarz presents new software for three-phase power analysis on MXO seri...
23/07/2026
In our latest blog, Laura Rognoni explores how the launch of Play Snooker reflects a wider shift in sports economics - from monetising peak broadcast audiences ...
23/07/2026
Download Now!
To receive a short case study showcasing Vivid Broadcast's audio setup, please enter the following details:
--
First Name* First Name ...
23/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
23/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
23/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
23/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
23/07/2026
Witbe brings its AI-native testing and monitoring infrastructure to Amsterdam: demonstrations on real devices, a peer-reviewed technical paper in the conference...
23/07/2026
Quickplay, Caretta Research, Evergent, and Yospace have announced that the renowned IBC Pride Happy Hour will once again bring the vibe and fun back to IBC on F...
23/07/2026
At IBC2026, Interra Systems will present this year's focus: operational AI at scale for QC, monitoring, and captioning workflows. The industry has moved pas...
23/07/2026
Illusionfx is finally coming!
Alex Perea July 23, 2026
0 Comments
The new website is now live to mark the occasion.
Since the last update, feedback h...
23/07/2026
Evergent (5.A86) will showcase its Agentic Revenue Orchestration Platform for streaming services, sports leagues, pay-TV operators at IBC2026 (RAI Amsterdam, 11...
23/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
23/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
23/07/2026
David Dvir, 2D founder (left), Sundeep Reddy (center), and Jean-Marc Bouchut (right), both of Zeiss...
23/07/2026
Screen Australia announces new national documentary accelerator program 23 July 2026
Screen Australia has today announced the Above the Line Documentary Accel...
23/07/2026
X-Rite Pantone and Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) Partner to Advance Digi...
23/07/2026
Thursday 23 July 2026
New Samsung Galaxy Foldable range available now to pre-order on Sky Mobile
Sky Mobile, the award-winning network voted this year by Expe...
23/07/2026
Thursday 23 July 2026
Jason Statham leads Sky Original action thriller MUTINY in explosive new trailerTurn on cookies to view this content. Go to Privacy optio...
23/07/2026
Wuppertal July 23, 2026
Riedel Implements RefCam and Easy5G for the First Time...
23/07/2026
RT Commercial has today announced Centra as the official food partner once again of The Traitors Ireland, coming to RT One and RT Player later this year.
Ce...
23/07/2026
RT Commercial today announced Honda as sponsor of Today with David McCullagh RT Radio 1, weekdays 9am 11am.
Broadcasting directly after Morning Ireland in ...
23/07/2026
RT News is pleased to announce Barry Gallagher has been assigned as the new journalist covering news from Cork, Kerry and the wider Southern region
Working al...
23/07/2026
Lock in and load up the cloud. GFN Thursday brings fresh updates and new adventu...
22/07/2026
Among other tweaks to coverage, the broadcaster added announce positions in the ...
22/07/2026
The Australian Sports Technologies Network (ASTN) has reported a sharp acceleration in Australia's sportstech sector, with revenue growth rising from 10% in...
22/07/2026
From a retrofitted broadcast bus to packed Match Day Live! events, Bennett detai...
22/07/2026
TMRW Sports has named Brendan Donohue as President, Flag Football, where he will lead the company's professional flag football business in partnership with ...
22/07/2026
Stephen Arnold Music (SAM) designed and produced soundtracks for nine projection...