2025 NBA Draft: ABC/ESPN Prepares for Two-Day Draft at Barclays Center Partners Game Creek Video, CP Communications, NEP Specialty Capture will be on hand By Mark J Burns, SVG Contributor
Tuesday, June 24, 2025 - 2:34 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
ESPN's NBA Draft production across the next two days at Barclays Center marks the 23rd consecutive year ESPN has broadcast the annual summer event. The first round will be broadcast on ABC and ESPN on Wednesday, starting at 8 p.m. ET; ESPN will exclusively air the second round on Thursday evening.
The 2025 NBA Draft will take place at the Brooklyn Nets' Barclays Center on June 25 and 26. (All photos: ABC/ESPN)
The NBA Draft is a showcase event, says ESPN Senior Operations Manager Tommy Mitchell. The intention is to foster hope amongst the league's fans as they look to the future. ESPN's strategy is to create exposure for two sides of the story.
The first is the basketball side, he continues. What is each team's strategy around its strengths and weaknesses and how do certain players fit and benefit the vision of the team. The other is the human interest in each of these draft picks. They all had a journey to make it to this night, and each is unique. Highlighting those paths about the individual are part of what makes the Draft compelling.
Adds ESPN Senior Operations Specialist Cindy Pennington, Our ESPN operation and production teams bring their expertise and energy to the Barclays Center with the goal to deliver a tremendous live broadcast of one of basketball's biggest nights. From set design and lighting to camera coordination and virtual graphics, our crew works tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure that every moment, from the first pick to the final interview, is captured with precision.
ABC/ESPN partner Game Creek Video has deployed its Spirit A and B production trucks, along with its 9 4 and Edit 3, at Barclays Center. CP Communications is supporting ABC and ESPN's RF audio and video coverage, and NEP Specialty Capture (formerly Fletcher) is placing robotic cameras and DreamChips throughout the arena.
The ESPN NBA Draft operations team includes (from left) Game Creek Video EIC Evan Aaron; ABC Operations Producer BJ Smith; NBA Today Operations Producer Brittany Dippolito; ESPN Operations Specialist Cindy Pennington; ESPN Operations Producer Tony Gregory; ESPN Senior Operations Coordinators Sam Majewski and Kylene Hamulak; and ESPN Transmission Operations Specialist Tim Denyes.
Across the multi-day event, ABC/ESPN will deploy 24 handheld cameras, two Steadicams, one Ronin, five jibs, multiple DreamChips, and a Supracam, per Pennington. Also, nine Gen 5 Viz machines will support the virtual and graphics teams, and several microphones will be deployed on ABC, ESPN, and NBA Today broadcast sets. In addition, there will be 53 transmission paths for the broadcast production, Pennington says.
Vendor CP Communications is supporting ABC and ESPN's RF audio and video coverage.
Because the NBA Draft is more entertainment-style show than traditional sports coverage, Mitchell adds, there's some freedom with leveraging opportunities to increase the creative and technology assets deployed for the overall production. That includes drone coverage, virtual cameras, the three-point Supracam system, and the 360-degree Red Carpet camera. Nearly 230 technicians, vendors, and production personnel will be on hand for the entire Draft.
There will be some logistical challenges as ABC/ESPN moves from Night 1 coverage in the bowl of the Barclays Center to the atrium for Night 2, Mitchell says, noting, There's always a plan, and there's always a backup plan. The operations team has worked extensively with the stadium folks and the NBA to make sure that we are set up for success.
In terms of audio coverage for ABC/ESPN, given the short turnaround time between the NBA Finals and the Draft, ESPN Lead RF A2 Matt Leshner explains, the broadcaster's audio group has worked with CP Communications and Game Creek Video to prefabricate custom racks for each broadcast location to streamline setup time.
The NBA Draft virtual-graphics team is led by Brad Griswold (left) and Samantha Pratt.
Adds Mitchell, who is in his second year overseeing operations for the NBA Draft, Our goal always remains serving sports fans. Anytime. Anywhere. That's what ESPN is all about, and the NBA Draft is no exception.
First-round coverage will begin Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET, with Kevin Negandhi hosting ABC's coverage alongside analysts Stephen A. Smith and Bob Myers, former GM, Golden State Warriors. Monica McNutt will be the reporter. ESPN's broadcast will feature host Malika Andrews and analysts Jay Bilas, Kendrick Perkins, and Andraya Carter on the main set. NBA reporter Shams Charania will make his NBA Draft debut for ESPN, and additional analysts and basketball experts will join the discussion.
For Thursday's second round, Andrews will once again host ESPN's coverage, with Bilas, Perkins, Myers, and McNutt providing commentary. Charania, NBA Front Office Insider Bobby Marks, analyst Jonathan Givony, and Senior NBA Writer Brian Windhorst will participate in the coverage.
ESPN Radio coverage for the NBA Draft will begin at 7:30 p.m. ET on both nights. Host Alan Hahn will lead coverage, with analysts P.J. Carlesimo, Seth Greenberg, and Cory Alexander.
Most recent headlines
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
26/06/2025
Louis Greatorex, Amrou Al-Kadhi and Bilal Hasana. (Stephen Lovekin/Shutterstock for Sundance Film Festival)
By Veronika Lee Claghorn
The world premiere of Amr...
26/06/2025
Buckle up for Great Australian Road Trips launching 31 July on SBS and SBS On De...
26/06/2025
Think of any major merger or acquisition in the media tech industry over the last 15 years and the odds are pretty good that MediaBridge Capital Advisors will h...
26/06/2025
Scott Gershin is an award-winning sound supervisor, sound designer, and mixer who has been a pioneer and leader in the film and gaming community for over three ...
26/06/2025
Bilbao Linz, June 26th 2025 - AgileTV, a European leader in TV and video technology solutions, has signed an agreement this week with the Austrian telco LIWES...
26/06/2025
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, has resolved, based on the decisions ma...
26/06/2025
LAS VEGAS Sphere Entertainment Co. has released new details around the sound, score and infrasound haptic seats for The Wizard of Oz at Sphere, a fully immersiv...
26/06/2025
Three new entry-level models introduced
Catering to everything from casual listening to professional content creation, KRK's new Kreate Series monitors ...
26/06/2025
Berklee in Puerto Rico 30th Anniversary Celebration Culminates in Awarding $3.74...
26/06/2025
PITTSBURGH NEP Group has launched Supershooter 10, its' latest IP-powered mobile production unit, which is now supporting major broadcast production around ...
26/06/2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. The HDMI Forum has released Version 2.2. of the HDMI Specification with 96Gbps bandwidth and next-gen HDMI Fixed Rate Link technology to provid...
26/06/2025
LAS VEGAS Sphere Entertainment Co. has released new details around the sound, score and infrasound haptic seats for The Wizard of Oz at Sphere, a fully immersiv...
26/06/2025
Registration closes on 8 July 2025
The deadline for entires into the fifth annual MIDI Innovation Awards is now just two weeks away. Product submissions are...
26/06/2025
Entire plug-in range updated
Waves have announced the launch of Waves V16, the latest version of their extensive plug-ins collection. Along with compatibili...
26/06/2025
THE EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING OF MAGYAR TELEKOM DECIDES ON THE SEPARATION OF...
26/06/2025
10th-Annual SVG Regional Sports Production Summit Presents Useful Roadmap for th...
26/06/2025
The Big Cloud Debate: Public vs. Private vs. Hybrid Tech leaders from CineSys, Diversified, and Net Insight breaks down all flavors of cloud By Jason Dachman, ...
26/06/2025
Program Productions' Jess Kowatch on Training the Next and Current Gener...
26/06/2025
Investment in 32 LDX 135 camera systems enhances TV SKYLINE's fleet with nat...
26/06/2025
Keeper Pictures, the Dublin-based scripted production company whose credits include The Gone and Striking Out, has optioned the exclusive TV adaptation rights t...
26/06/2025
This July, RT presents The Phone Box Babies, a documentary revealing new insigh...
26/06/2025
Editor's note: This blog is a part of Into the Omniverse, a series focused o...
26/06/2025
Mark Theriault founded the startup FITY envisioning a line of clever cooling products: cold drink holders that come with freezable pucks to keep beverages cold ...
26/06/2025
This GFN Thursday rolls out a new reward and games for GeForce NOW members. Whether hunting for hot new releases or rediscovering timeless classics, members can...
25/06/2025
Aubrey Plaza getting ready for My Old Ass (photo by George Pimentel/Shutterstock...
25/06/2025
On the set of Leslie McCleave's The Shamrocks with Mount Timpanogos as a backdrop during the 1999 Directors Lab. Photo by Sandria Miller...
25/06/2025
Last week, content creators from all over the world flocked to Anaheim for VidCon 2025, one of the largest creator conferences in the U.S. As an official sponso...
25/06/2025
The combination of L3Harris Falcon radios and Project 25 Trunking waveform delivers a critical interoperable communications capability for the U.S. National Gu...
25/06/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
25/06/2025
YouTube Extends Lead and Tops All Media Distributors for Fourth Consecutive Mont...
25/06/2025
Copenhagen, Denmark - 25 June, 2025 - Nielsen, a global leader in audience measu...
25/06/2025
LONDON The IBC Show on Tuesday unveiled plans for its 2025 event, scheduled for Sept. 12-15 at the RAI Amsterdam....
25/06/2025
Covert Brings Boss' VFX To New Lenovo Legion Campaign
Brie Clayton June 25, 2025
0 Comments
Creative studio Covert recently contributed VFX to A...
25/06/2025
Study Reveals Stark Gender Gap in Jazz Education A new report from the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice and researcher Lara Pellegrinelli finds th...
25/06/2025
Olivia Trusty was officially sworn in to the Federal Communications Commission by Chair Brendan Carr on Monday....
25/06/2025
KRK introduces the Kreate Series Studio Monitors, the newest addition to the brand's wide range of audio offerings. The Kreate monitors bring extraordinary ...
25/06/2025
Collaboration with space-branded real estate specialist brings next level offshoring agility to broadcasters, OTT platforms, media tech and software companies ...
25/06/2025
Sales proceeds from 25 - 26 June 2025 donated to Lambda Legal
Soundtoys have announced that 100% of all sales made on 25 and 26 June 2025 will be donated to...
25/06/2025
No Apollo or UAD hardware required
Universal Audio have announced that their software recreation of Dolby's renowned multiband enhancer - which was laun...
25/06/2025
Recreates AKGs sought-after C24
Warm Audio have announced the launch of a new stereo valve microphone that offers a modern take on AKG's sought-after C2...
25/06/2025
TBS Drama Series Extremely Inappropriate! Uses DaVinci Resolve Studio
Brie Clayton June 25, 2025
0 Comments
Tokyo Broadcasting System's hit comedy...
25/06/2025
ESPN said ABC's telecast of the Oklahoma City Thunder's victory over the Indiana Pacers in Game 7 of the NBA Finals on June 22 was the most-watched fina...
25/06/2025
CLAREMONT, N.C. CommScope has unveiled its new FiberREACH product and has launched the CableGuide 360 platform. Both fall within CommScope's SYSTIMAX 2.0 po...
25/06/2025
LOS ANGELES Allen Media Group streaming platform Local Now today launched 23 news, sports and entertainment channels from Warner Bros. Discovery....
25/06/2025
LONDON Electric Sheep has launched a new AI-powered platform that is designed to provide creators with the hands-on ability to iterate, edit and produce pro-lev...
25/06/2025
NUGEN Audio will host Can You Hear Me Clearly, an online panel discussion on speech intelligibility and why it matters, on Tuesday, July 8 at 2 p.m. EDT (7 p....
2025 NBA Draft: ABC/ESPN Prepares for Two-Day Draft at Barclays Center Partners Game Creek Video, CP Communications, NEP Specialty Capture will be on hand By Mark J Burns, SVG Contributor 
