Behind the Scenes of ESPN's Graphics-Laden Marvel's Arena of Heroes' Alternative NBA Broadcast Unlike past ESPN efforts, this was a standalone production with dedicated truck and crew By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor
Tuesday, May 4, 2021 - 3:34 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Last night, in an effort to bring new audiences to its NBA broadcasts, ESPN debuted its first-ever Marvel-themed alternative presentation during the Golden State Warriors-New Orleans Pelicans game. The broadcast featured Marvel-themed 3D virtual characters, custom graphics and animation packages, and a custom-designed Avengers-esque studio set at its Bristol, CT, headquarters, where a dedicated team of announcers called the Marvel's Arena of Heroes presentation.
ESPN's Creative Studio group produced the Marvel Arena of Heroes graphics package.
The Marvel-centric broadcast - carried on ESPN2, ESPN+, and ESPN Deportes alongside the traditional broadcast on ESPN - follows ESPN's MegaCast efforts and marks its latest attempt to appeal to demos outside the traditional sports fanbase. However, unlike most of the past efforts, the Marvel's Arena of Heroes NBA show was a full side-by-side production alongside the main broadcast production, with its own truck and crew onsite at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans.
ESPN transformed Studio Z into a Marvel-themed set for the broadcast.
This is a bit of a departure from [ESPN's MegaCast and other alternative presentations]: as big a show as the main telecast vs. what we normally would do with MegaCast and other [alternative presentations], which is to add to the existing resources and present it in a different way, ESPN Senior Coordinating Producer Ed Placey said before last night's game. This is a true side-by-side production, so it's a very different undertaking and required a very different mindset.
The Narrative: Avengers Seek New Members Via Marvel Hero Points' System At the top of the broadcast, ESPN's pregame show set the scene from the Marvel-themed set in Bristol: the Avengers are looking to recruit a new member for their team from the NBA elite and are observing the battle between the Warriors and the Pelicans, focusing on three star players from each team (the Warriors' Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Andrew Wiggins and the Pelicans' Zion Williamson, Grandon Ingram, and Lonzo Ball).
Each of these players gained Marvel Hero points during the game (based on points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks, as well as missed field goals, free throws, or turnovers plus 10 points for the winning team), and the player with the most Marvel Hero points - which ended up being Draymond Green - was crowned Marvel's first Champion.
ESPN's Creative Studio group created the look and feel of the broadcast, working alongside the Marvel Creative Team and technology providers SMT, Second Spectrum, and Girraphic. Among the highlights were comic-book-style insert graphics and scorebug; player- and shot-tracking graphics; Marvel-themed animations overlaid on the basket at each made field goal; and other augmented-reality elements, including a viewing deck above the floor where the Avengers (as 3D virtual renderings) monitored the action on the court.
All insert graphics were given a new comic-book-style look for the alternative presentation.
Our amazing ESPN Creative Studio group built everything, says Placey, and the Marvel Creative Team worked side by side with us, providing the assets, giving feedback, and guiding us every step of the way. It has been a wonderful collaboration between ESPN and Marvel, and we couldn't be happier with it. It has taken our previous projects and stepped [them] up to a new level.
Marvel Broadcast Is a Full-Fledged Standalone Production ESPN rolled out NEP EN3 mobile production unit and a dedicated crew in New Orleans (graphics operators were located in Bristol) to produce the Marvel broadcast. The production controlled its own complement of nine cameras (including the Above the Rim robos), shared eight other camera feeds from main telecast and the six cameras provided to both shows by the arena.
The production team set up a low corner camera to serve this angle featuring 3D virtual animations of Marvel characters like Black Panther.
This is a true side-by-side, so we're down in New Orleans with our own truck separate from the game truck, says Placey. We're sharing a few of the main game cameras for a replays. But we control all the cameras that we're cutting for the Marvel telecast. The other cameras are just to make sure we have additional replay angles so nothing gets missed on either show.
AR elements were featured heavily in the Marvel-centric broadcast.
On Sunday, ESPN brought a local team into the Smoothie King Center to conduct a thorough rehearsal for the Arena of Heroes broadcast. After months of development, this was the first time hundreds of Marvel-centric elements were integrated into a live game. ESPN Monday Night Football director Phil Dean and Sunday Night Baseball director Doug Holmes were at the front bench.
A 3D virtual rendering of Iron Man looks on from the watch deck above the floor.
Placey notes that this was significantly different from ESPN's previous alternative-presentation productions - such as MegaCasts for the CFP National Championship Game and last season's NFL Wild Card Game or the recent NBA Daily Wager Special - which used primarily a clean feed from the main show.
On the other broadcasts, he says, including the NFL Wild Card and the National Championship MegaCast, we made it a point to make sure that nothing was taking away the primary focus on the main ESPN telecast; everything was supplementary. But this strikes more of that equal balance and gives us a great opportunity to s
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...
10/06/2026
DAZN-owned digital-media company launches three fan-first series leaning into cr...
10/06/2026
Clear-Com has announced the appointment of Jason Dino as Southwest Regional Sales Manager USA, covering Southern California and the Southwest region. Dino joins...
10/06/2026
An 11% decrease in number of global broadcast deals reflects the organization...
10/06/2026
The Women Without Boundaries Awards recognize women whose work is advancing the future of media, broadcast, AV, workplace technology, digital experience, and re...
10/06/2026
Today is match day minus two for FIFA and HBS. On Thursday, there will be two ma...
10/06/2026
SES is supporting broadcast distribution of the world's biggest football tou...
10/06/2026
NDI has announced that BirdDog has become the first hardware manufacturer to achieve full NDI 6.3 compatibility across its complete lineup of cameras, encoders,...
10/06/2026
Vince Caputo and Scott Carter, winners of the 2026 Sports Emmy for Outstanding Post Produced Audio have been announced as presenters for the 2026 SVG Advanced A...
10/06/2026
FOX One today unveiled a slate of new product features and enhancements designed to elevate the viewing experience for fans on the official streaming platform o...
10/06/2026
Primary production partners Dome Productions and Raycom Sports once again played...
10/06/2026
The Women in Sports Filmmaking Experienceship is an immersive professional devel...
10/06/2026
The league has expanded its HSAN architecture for the NBA Finals to manage more ...
10/06/2026
The inaugural MoonPay X Games League (XGL) Winter Draft will take place Wednesday, September 16, 2026 at Cosm Los Angeles from 7-9 p.m. PT. The event will strea...
10/06/2026
The University of Oklahoma (OU) Athletics Department and Learfield have announce...
10/06/2026
The Video Services Forum (VSF) has released TR-06-4 Part 8, a new specification for RIST Satellite-Hybrid: Out-of-Band Method. The specification creates a mecha...
10/06/2026
Riedel Communications provided the communications infrastructure for the 14th World Live Neurovascular Conference (WLNC) in Lisbon, supporting live medical proc...
10/06/2026
A still from The Doom Generation by Gregg Araki (Courtesy of Sundance Institute)
By Lucy Spicer
Have you checked out our Sundance Film Festival 101 list yet...
10/06/2026
Get Hands-On with Interfaces & Mic Preamp Brands
If youre after a new interface or preamp, then GearExpo UK is the place to be! Well have a whole host of au...
10/06/2026
November 13-14 2026, The Midway, San Francisco
Following their recent rebranding, MONO Music Conference (formerly Music Expo) have officially announced thei...
10/06/2026
Debut instrument free for limited time
deFORM is the debut release from newly founded developer ebbandflow, and it's being offered as a free download fo...
10/06/2026
Alone Australia Season 4: Meet the Cast
10 June, 2026
Media releases
WATCH THE TRAILER
Smash-hit survival series Alone Australia drops its highly anticipa...
10/06/2026
DEADLY THEN, DEADLY NOW, DEADLY ALWAYS: SBS & NITV IGNITE NAIDOC WEEK 2026 WITH ...
10/06/2026
Rohde & Schwarz and TRUMPF advance laser-based drone defense with THORIS LCS Rohde & Schwarz is showcasing THORIS at ILA 2026: A sovereign, end to end counter...
10/06/2026
MAHLE and Rohde & Schwarz develop application for sensor testing of modern drive...
10/06/2026
Production and Development Funding supports the creation of compelling, commercially viable, artistic and culturally relevant South African screen content. Deve...
10/06/2026
Media buyers and sellers can now compare YouTube reach from computer, mobile, an...
10/06/2026
Accedo, Humans not Robots, and the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) have announced the launch of Ecoflow X. Formerly an IBC Accelerator project, ...
10/06/2026
Frequency, the engine powering the world's leading streaming television channels, today announced that James Smith has joined the company as General Manager...
10/06/2026
At the 14th World Live Neurovascular Conference (WLNC) in Lisbon, Riedel Communications provided the communications infrastructure for live medical procedures s...
10/06/2026
Globecast, a leading provider of broadcast, media, and entertainment managed services, today announced the launch of its Content Exchange platform powered by Or...
10/06/2026
Klvr will showcase how venues, integrators and production teams are rethinking disposable battery usage at InfoComm 2026 (Las Vegas, June 17-19, booth #N6311). ...
10/06/2026
The Video Services Forum (VSF) has further enhanced the Reliable Internet Streaming Transport (RIST) protocol by incorporating a new feature, RIST Satellite-Hyb...
10/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
10/06/2026
10 Jun 2026
VEON's Banglalink Brings Every World Cup 2026 Match to Football...
10/06/2026
Wednesday 10 June 2026
How to watch every ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 match live on Sky Sports
Where is the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 availabl...
10/06/2026
Wednesday 10 June 2026
P RLA brings first-ever Beautifully Clean Oral Care'...
10/06/2026
Wednesday 10 June 2026
Sky reveals pulse-pounding first teaser trailer for upco...
10/06/2026
Wuppertal June 10, 2026
Riedel Artist at the Heart of the 14th World Live Neurovascular ConferenceAt the 14th World Live Neurovascular Conference (WLNC) in Li...
10/06/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Showcases New Mobile Experience, Collections and Games Vision in APAC
Product
10 June 2026
GlobalSouth KoreaJapan
Link copied to c...
10/06/2026
Back to All News
Ready to Join? The Netflix Fan Club Arrives at Cannes Lions
Business
10 June 2026
Global
Link copied to clipboard
Download all assets
N...
10/06/2026
Chemists snap together complex 3D molecules from highly reactive radicals-without losing their shape Scripps Research team develops stereoretentive radical-radi...
09/06/2026
Kiswe announces an expanded long-term partnership with ONE Championship (ONE), t...
09/06/2026
SiriusXM will broadcast FOX Sports' English-language commentary for all 104 FIFA World Cup 2026 matches from June 11 through July 19, available to subscribe...
09/06/2026
EVS has announced it is changing its corporate name from EVS Broadcast Equipment to EVS, reflecting the company's expanded portfolio beyond broadcast equipm...
09/06/2026
Fox Corporation and the NFL have announced a multi-year agreement to bring NFL c...
Behind the Scenes of ESPN's Graphics-Laden Marvel's Arena of Heroes' Alternative NBA Broadcast Unlike past ESPN efforts, this was a standalone production with dedicated truck and crew By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor 
