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 ...
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...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
12/06/2026
YES Network and The Gotham Sports App will air seven Athletes Unlimited Softball...
12/06/2026
The United Football League will host its FAST Innovation Suite at the 2026 United Bowl presented by Credit One Bank on Saturday, June 13 at 3:00 p.m. ET at Audi...
12/06/2026
PTZOptics and LayerJot will present live demonstrations at InfoComm 2026 showing how natural-language AI prompting, robotic camera control, and on-device comput...
12/06/2026
MultiDyne Video and Fiber Optic Systems will exhibit at InfoComm 2026, featuring...
12/06/2026
Ateme has announced that Eurovision Services is using Ateme's software-based frame-rate conversion technology for international live event workflows. The de...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin and Simplestream have announced a partnership with Xperi to simplify the launch of OTT streaming services on TiVo OS smart TVs and devices. The collabo...
12/06/2026
Net Insight has announced that a multinational technology company is deploying a...
12/06/2026
MLB Players Inc., the business arm of the MLB Players Association, has announced a partnership with Athletes First to develop and sell brand partnerships across...
12/06/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D) and VuWall have announced the CommandKeyboard-Advanc...
12/06/2026
Comcast Smart Solutions announces a new smart technology deployment with Major L...
12/06/2026
Elevation Worship completed the initial leg of its Elevation Nights 2026 tour ...
12/06/2026
AJA Video Systems has announced KONA IP25 support for Colorfront Transkoder and ...
12/06/2026
Audinate Group Limited (ASX: AD8) will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth C7321, Ce...
12/06/2026
Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould has announced the appointment of Scott Adametz as Chief Technology Officer. The Pac-12 describes the hire as the first CTO appo...
12/06/2026
Grass Valley has announced AMPP Edge Live, a production system combining Grass Valley hardware, NVIDIA Blackwell GPU acceleration, and AMPP OS in a single platf...
12/06/2026
At one time a trailblazer with the launch of the Longhorn Network, the Universit...
12/06/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
12/06/2026
Chyron has announced PAINT 10.4, an update to its illustrated replay and sports ...
12/06/2026
SVP, Production Mark Gross: With the new schedule, with not having every Sunday night, it's given us an opportunity to take a step back and reimagine what ...
12/06/2026
For Televisa Technical Engineering Manager Roberto N nez Ibarra and the small team of 12 technicians and two production personnel at the IBC things are already ...
12/06/2026
Simple Steps to Better Acoustics - Taming The Small Room
Most of us mix in spare rooms and small spaces, where the acoustics fight us at every turn. At Gear...
12/06/2026
Latest addition expands vintage-inspired effects palette
Meris' Ottobit pedal range draws its inspiration from vintage gaming consoles, and the latest a...
12/06/2026
Soundbox-based chamber strings series expanded
Sonora Cinematic have just announced the launch of the second instalment in their Soundbox-based chamber stri...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
AJA Announces KONA IP25 Integration with Colorfront Software
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Collaboration enables uncompressed SMPTE ST 2110 I/O ...
12/06/2026
URSA Cine 12K LF Used to Create Visuals for STUTS' K-Arena Concert
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Organic visuals projected on a giant scre...
12/06/2026
MTI FILM Acquires Mango New Edit, Expanding its Global Post-Production Services ...
12/06/2026
AI Point Tracking Speeds Up Complex VFX Tracks in Mocha Pro
Jessie Electa Petrov June 12, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic point trac...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin, a provider of video streaming solutions, has partnered with Simplestream, a provider of OTT and broadcast solutions, and technology provider Xperi, to...
12/06/2026
Leostream Corporation, creator of the world-leading Leostream Remote Desktop Access Platform, today announced Jigsaw24, a leading B2B IT solutions provider wit...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
How Aussie indie games and screen are levelling up with IP 11 June 2026
Ari Harrison, Pro Jank Footy
Head of Games Joey Egger and Ari Harrison of Umbrella sha...
12/06/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils First-Look Images from Villaflor, Santiago Mitre's New Film
Entertainment
12 June 2026
GlobalArgentina
Link copied to ...
12/06/2026
Back to All News
Cross the Boundaries of the Real World into the Spirit Realm i...
12/06/2026
With John Daro, DI Colourist at Warner Bros. Water Tower Color Tuesday 23 June, 10am-1pm or 3-6pm
Restar Corporation
Tokyo
Register here
John Daro is the ...
12/06/2026
Meet The Grumpy Onion Ireland's newest online sensation, all he wants is to ...
12/06/2026
RT stays Up All Night with brand new daily 2026 FIFA World Cup Vodcast
Adding to the fun around 2026 FIFA World Cup tournament, RT has launched a brand new d...
12/06/2026
A fentanyl countermeasure that adapts to combat future black-market drugs Scripps Research scientists developed a vaccine that teaches the immune system to rapi...
11/06/2026
The immense size of the tourney and its Atlantic-spanning operation also disting...
11/06/2026
Nielsen has released a new soccer fandom consumer research report, The Fans Behind The Game: FIFA World Cup 2026 Edition, examining the soccer audience in the...
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. 
