Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

2019 NBA Summer League, Part 3: ESPN Puts Flurry of Tech to the Test

12/07/2019

2019 NBA Summer League, Part 3: ESPN Puts Flurry of Tech to the Test A menu of alternative broadcasts mark the event in the desert By Kristian Hernandez, Assistant Editor

Friday, July 12, 2019 - 11:32 am

Print This Story

Story Highlights

When the then-named Las Vegas Summer League launched in 2004, the league's elite prospects finally had a place to ball in the months leading up to the season. Since then, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas's (UNLV) Thomas & Mack Center has become the center of the professional-basketball world for 11 days in July. This year, ESPN is covering all 83 games with a reinvigorated spirit of innovation on the technological and digital fronts.

A look inside the production truck during the Los Angeles Lakers vs. New York Knicks.

We work with great partners in the NBA to have the perfect platform and opportunity to bring out new toys and technology, says Patty Mattero, senior operations manager, ESPN. We're all able to take a look into new interests and work together towards the future.

MORE FROM NBA SUMMER LEAGUE

The League Heads to the Next Technological Frontier

Data-Tracking Reaches New Heights

NBA Produces World's First 5G Smartphone Broadcast

New Vantage Points, Education, and Some Fun on the App

The network has given digital-savvy consumers a buffet of second-screen experiences on the ESPN App and ESPN3. With 10 games getting special digital broadcasts, the Summer League has become a haven for fans in the young age demographic that is constantly on the go.

Our fan base is extremely large, so [we need] to be able to touch upon technology for everybody's appetite [throughout] different generations, Mattero explains. The viewer can control the look of our games. These offerings will [further] enlarge the fan base and provide whatever choices they want [for consuming] content. While we're at the Summer League, we'll be able to [implement] them faster [in] the present and the future by testing all of these new ideas.

To begin the alternative viewing options on July 6, ESPN kicked back, vibed out, and chilled during a laidback broadcast called Group Textcast during a rematch of the 2019 NBA Finals between the Toronto Raptors and Golden State Warriors. In a unique meshing of the linear and digital broadcasts, 2KTV Host/Producer Alexis Morgan, NBC Sports Bay Area Host/Anchor Grant Liffmann, and co-host of NBC Sports Bay Area's Warriors Outsiders podcast Drew Shiller took fan questions via the NBA Summer League Twitter account and gave answers in real time. The stream provided a lighthearted and friendly take on a game, especially since Liffmann also works on the same podcast as Shiller.

Fans had a bird's-eye view of Pelicans vs. Bulls courtesy of a Spydercam.

The fun continued during the following night's Chicago Bulls vs. Cleveland Cavaliers contest with a similar concept seen during Game 2 of last year's Finals. Naming it the PopCast, ESPN offered a wealth of digestible facts, unknown player info, and more with the help of the league itself.

The NBA broadcast team, under the direction of [NBA Entertainment Director, Broadcasting,] Paul Benedict, prepared over 600 factoids and used approximately 300 of them, says Steve Hellmuth, EVP, media operations and technology, NBA Entertainment. I thought it was really appropriate for a Summer League game because there are so many players on the court that fans might not know. These are all guys that are getting their shot [in the league], and [fans may] want to know more about them.

A trio of games has brought fans to the front row and the rafters with Courtside Experience for the Washington Wizards vs. Brooklyn Nets at 5:30 p.m. ET and with Aerial Cam for the New Orleans Pelicans vs. Chicago Bulls at 9:30 p.m. On the former telecast, cameras positioned 10 rows back from the action and others along the baselines replicated the feeling of watching the game from the best seats in the house.

Zion showing off his strength EARLY #NBASummer pic.twitter.com/dXLBYqtWum

- NBA TV (@NBATV) July 6, 2019

For the nightcap, a Spydercam presented a videogame-style of viewing from overhead. A Supracam two-point system was used last night during the Utah Jazz vs. Houston Rockets matchup.

The digital streams also got the commentator teams involved. During this past week's game featuring the Phoenix Suns and the Memphis Grizzlies, former Grizzlies player Brevin Knight and former Suns player Eddie Johnson were Dueling Homers, facing off in multiple in-game challenges, including predictions and trivia on the opponent's team or playing career.

The Orlando Magic's Becky Bonner gave an inside look into front-office operations on Coach's View.

With a more educational approach, ESPN charged ahead with Coach's View during Orlando Magic vs. Brooklyn Nets in accordance with Coaches Appreciation Day on July 10. Current and past coaches gave insight on the nuances of the job with live footage of instructional drills and film breakdown. Representatives from each team, including Becky Bonner, director, player development and quality control, Orlando Magic, explained what it's like to be in the front office of any of the league's 30 teams.

Action-Packed Schedule in Two Separate Venues

To fit the lengthy schedule in a somewhat short time span, ESPN balanced broadcasts in the Thomas & Max Center and the Cox Pavilion. To stay connected, the network developed a complex workflow to tap into each individual mobile truck.

NEP's EN3 is our main truck that services Thomas & Mack, and that is interconnected with NEP's M11, which is used for the primary coverage in Cox Pavilion, says Eddie Okuno, senior remote operations specialist, ESPN. EN3 mobile unit is serving our distribution point, and that's connected to the Mobile TV Group
LINK: https://www.sportsvideo.org/2019/07/12/2019-nba-summer-league-part-3-e...
See more stories from svg

North America Stories

12/03/2026

Utah Scientific Expands Technology Partner Program With Integrations From Audinate, Bitfocus, and Skaarhoj

Utah Scientific Expands Technology Partner Program With Integrations From Audina...

12/03/2026

Techex Hires Matt McKee as Senior Director, Sales, Americas

Techex, a global expert in live video solutions over IP and cloud, announces the appointment of Matt McKee as Senior Director, Sales, Americas, further strength...

12/03/2026

KOKUSAI DENKI Electric America Welcomes Mondae Hott as Regional Sales Manager, Northeast

KOKUSAI DENKI Electric America has appointed Mondae Hott as Regional Sales Manag...

12/03/2026

Interra Systems Focuses on Streaming-First QC, Monitoring, and Responsible AI Workflows at 2026 NAB Show

At the 2026 NAB Show, Interra Systems will showcase its latest advancements in a...

12/03/2026

15th National Games of China Features Expansive Unified Broadcast Network

The 15th National Games of China concluded after a two-week celebration of athletic excellence and regional collaboration. Held from Nov. 9-21 across Guangdong,...

12/03/2026

SVG in Indy: Butler University Students Get Live-Sports Experience via On-Campus Studio, Production Truck

Live-production academic program Butler Sports Live produced a total of 40 fall-...

12/03/2026

Lawo Delivers Fully IPBased Video Infrastructure for University of Nebraska's HuskerVision

The University of Nebraska's HuskerVision has completed the second phase of ...

12/03/2026

University of Illinois Upgrades Game-Day Production with New Hybrid IP Control Room

Grass Valley and integration partner Tab M Solutions have completed Phase 1 of a...

12/03/2026

CBS Sports Turns to University of Cincinnati's Control Room and Staff for Two Big 12 Men's Basketball Broadcasts

The broadcaster expands its campus-production model as the university handles tw...

12/03/2026

Disney+ to Stream Men's and Women's NCAA March Madness Across Europe, South Africa

Disney has announced the addition of March Madness - the NCAA Division I Men...

12/03/2026

Apple TV Further Integrating iPhones into Friday Night Baseball' Camera Lineup This Season

Apple TV's Friday Night Baseball MLB doubleheader series returns for its f...

12/03/2026

SVG Students To Watch: Jack Rinaldi, University of Notre Dame

The senior from New Jersey is making his mark in South Bend, both on the mic and behind it...

12/03/2026

Ross Video's Kevin Dresser on Powering Graphics for Major Sporting Events Throughout a Busy February

After a relatively quiet January, the month of February was jammed packed with l...

12/03/2026

X Games Launches New Era With First League Draft at Cosm L.A.

Long-time production partner Echo Entertainment is producing the broadcast, while Cosm played a vital role in the collaboration...

12/03/2026

Film Festival Watch: 24 Sundance Institute-Supported Films to Catch at the SXSW Film Festival

By Jessica Herndon We love kicking off each year by introducing the world to po...

12/03/2026

Didn't Die Brings Improv to the Zombie Apocalypse

Samrat Chakrabarti, George Basil, Kiran Deol, Katie McCuen and Vishal Vijayakumar attend the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Didn't Die at the Lib...

12/03/2026

L3Harris and Shield AI Achieve Breakthrough in Autonomous Electronic Warfare

MELBOURNE, Fla., March 11, 2026 - L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) and Shield AI have successfully demonstrated a first-of-its-kind integration combining L3Har...

12/03/2026

L3Harris Delivering AI-Enabled CJADC2

The incorporation of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning into modern, converged all-domain systems is enabling true Joint Electromagnetic Spectrum Oper...

12/03/2026

L3Harris Appoints Sam Mehta President, Space & Mission Systems and Communications & Spectrum Dominance Segments

MELBOURNE, Fla., March 12, 2026 - L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) today announ...

12/03/2026

Australia's financial sector ad spend surged by 20% in 2025 according to Nielsen

Cost pressures, switching intent and demand for savings and credit products are ...

12/03/2026

Nielsen Launches 2026 Upfront Planning Series With New Data To Help Marketers and Agencies Unlock Growth, Innovation Opportunities

For the first time, Nielsen breaks out demographic information about FAST and AV...

12/03/2026

Disney+ Goes Vertical with Verts

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

12/03/2026

LTN and Appear Collaborate to Enable Scalable IP-Native L...

Appear's high-performance, ultra-low latency encoding platform augments LTN's fully managed global IP network and orchestration platform LTN, a leader ...

12/03/2026

Boland Communications to Showcase New OLED Displays and V...

2026 NAB Show Exhibitor Preview April 18-22 Las Vegas Booth C3519 Summary: At the 2026 NAB Show in Las Vegas, Boland Communications will be showing the bro...

12/03/2026

Riedel Expands Managed Technology Division in the America...

Riedel Communications today announced the continued expansion of its Managed Technology Division in the Americas and the appointment of Jan Schaffner as Vice Pr...

12/03/2026

Grass Valley Powers Hybrid IP Game-Day Production Hub for...

Grass Valley and integration partner Tab M Solutions have completed Phase 1 of a new broadcast production control room for the University of Illinois Division o...

12/03/2026

NAKIVO Expands Platform Support and Elevates Security in...

NAKIVO, a global provider of backup and ransomware recovery solutions, announces the general availability of NAKIVO Backup & Replication v11.2. This release exp...

12/03/2026

BIScience Adds Linear TV to its AdClarity Analysis Platform

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

12/03/2026

Gray Stresses Importance of DRM for NextGen TV in FCC Sports Probe

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

12/03/2026

Nebraska's HuskerVision Deploy Lawo IP Tech for Studio Upgrade

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

12/03/2026

Comcast NBCU, Telemundo Station Group Announce $600,000 In Grants

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

12/03/2026

EditShare To Highlight Analytical AI Capabilities At 2026 NAB Show

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

12/03/2026

FreeWheel Launches AI Agent Infrastructure

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

12/03/2026

COW Jobs: Editor de Vdeo - Direct Response, Performance Ads - Brazil, Remote

COW Jobs: Editor de V deo - Direct Response, Performance Ads - Brazil, Remote Brie Clayton March 11, 2026 0 Comments Editor(a) de V deo (Direct Respon...

12/03/2026

Avatar: Fire and Ash Graded with DaVinci Resolve Studio

Avatar: Fire and Ash Graded with DaVinci Resolve Studio Brie Clayton March 11, 2026 0 Comments Colorist delivers premium cinematic color across 2D, 3D...

12/03/2026

Boston Conservatory to Timothe Chalamet: We Care About Ballet and Opera

Boston Conservatory to Timoth e Chalamet: We Care About Ballet and Opera Boston Conservatory at Berklee students and faculty respond to the actors recent comm...

12/03/2026

Netflix Develops an Unprecedented Series About the Passionate and Turbulent Lives of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera

Back to All News Netflix Develops an Unprecedented Series About the Passionate ...

12/03/2026

Netflix Opens Eyeline Studios in Hyderabad, Anchoring Long-Term Investment in India's Growing AVGC Sector

Back to All News Netflix Opens Eyeline Studios in Hyderabad, Anchoring Long-Ter...

12/03/2026

A Documentary About Ronaldinho Gacho Leads Netflix's Slate of Soccer-Related Releases in 2026

Back to All News A Documentary About Ronaldinho Ga cho Leads Netflix's Slat...

12/03/2026

Into the Omniverse: How Industrial AI and Digital Twins Accelerate Design, Engineering and Manufacturing Across Industries

Editor's note: This post is part of Into the Omniverse, a series focused on ...

12/03/2026

GeForce NOW Raises the Game at the Game Developers Conference

GeForce NOW is bringing the game to the Game Developers Conference (GDC), running this week in San Francisco. While developers build the future of gaming, GeFor...

11/03/2026

Calrec To Unlock Hybrid Workflows At 2026 NAB Show

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

11/03/2026

Matrox Video Enables the Next Era of Software-Defined Med...

Matrox Video will showcase its vision for the future of live production at NAB 2026 in Las Vegas, April 19-22, highlighting how broadcasters and media organizat...

11/03/2026

GlobalM Showcases Distributed Video Gateway Architecture...

Geneva-based technology company, GlobalM SA, is presenting its GMX Distributed Video Gateway, a software-defined IP media transport platform designed to replace...

11/03/2026

Video is King - 2026 Iconik Media Stats Report Finds Vide...

Backlight (booth #N2829), the company behind Iconik and Wildmoka, which power video workflows for large media and entertainment organizations, has released the ...

11/03/2026

QuickLinks Latest StudioEdge Models to Make North America...

QuickLink, a leading provider of award-winning video production and remote guest contribution solutions, presents its latest StudioEdge models at The NAB Show ...

11/03/2026

Telestream Expands Its Cloud Services with the Introducti...

Telestream, a global leader in media workflow technologies, today announced the expansion of Telestream Cloud Services with the introduction of UP, a new cloud-...

11/03/2026

Operative Launches AOS Configuration for Digital-First Mo...

Operative, the preferred advertising management provider for the world's leading media brands, today announced the launch of AOS for digital media, an AI-po...

11/03/2026

Calrec Redefines Broadcast Workflows at NAB 2026

Calrec will be located in Central Hall, on Booth C6907 Choice without compromise The broadcast industry is going through a rapid evolution that s signalling a...

11/03/2026

Worldstream and Cubbit launch sovereign S3 cloud storage...

The new service is hosted and operated entirely in the Netherlands, combining data sovereignty, resilience, scalability, and predictable costs without relying...