Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

NHL Puck Drop 2021: NHL on TNT Debuts With High-Speed Cameras, Tracking-Fueled Graphics

13/10/2021

NHL Puck Drop 2021: NHL on TNT Debuts With High-Speed Cameras, Tracking-Fueled Graphics With more than 20 cameras per game, Turner Sports brings ambitious' plan to hockey coverage By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital

Wednesday, October 13, 2021 - 3:15 pm

Print This Story | Subscribe

Story Highlights

It's a new era for the National Hockey League in the U.S. Tonight, Turner Sports debuts as a national rightsholder for the league, with TNT carrying a doubleheader of the New York Rangers visiting the Washington Capitals at 7:30 p.m. ET and the Colorado Avalanche hosting the Chicago Blackhawks at 10:30 p.m.

Although Turner's agreement with the league is for the NHL's B package, the NHL on TNT schedule is loaded. It includes 25 Wednesday nights throughout the season and marquee tentpole events like the 2022 Winter Classic (Minneapolis) on Jan. 1, the 2022 Stadium Series (Nashville) on Feb. 26, and the 2022 Heritage Classic (Hamilton, ON) on March 13. Turner will also help carry the Stanley Cup Playoffs and host the Stanley Cup Final in three of the seven years covered by the rights agreement.

It's a sizable investment of time and resources, and the Turner Sports team is hitting the ground running. For game coverage, Turner Sports VP, Sports Production and Technical Operations, Chris Brown describes the team's plan as extremely ambitious.

Game production will, over the course of the season, lean aggressively into leveraging player- and puck-tracking data provided by the league and displaying unique graphic enhancements, including dynamic line changes (where tracking data can be used to monitor shift times and display lineup changes in real time) and a virtual power-play clock projected onto the ice (similar to the virtual shot clock used by NBA on TNT).

Our goal is to find ways to inform the diehard fan in ways that they haven't been informed before, says Brown, while also providing information for the casual fan that is trying to learn the sport.

In 2019, NBA on TNT debuted a virtual shot graphic projected onto the playing surface. Turner Sports is looking to add a similar execution on the ice for power plays on NHL on TNT.

Onsite, the camera complements rely on super-slow-motion cameras, with more deployed than for a typical show. Of the 25 camera feeds (20 are originated by Turner; five are blue-line cams and net-cam feeds provided by the league), from eight to 11 units on a given night will be high-frame-rate cameras. Brown says those acquisition devices offer a smoother look for a sport that moves extremely fast.

This has been the production request to answer the question, How do you portray the speed and fluidity that this game presents? says Brown.

Coordinating directly with the league on venues and standard game-broadcast operations has proved critical to helping Turner boot up this property in a relatively short time. To help out on the remote technical side, Turner added Eric Grossman, a veteran of hockey broadcasting, as lead tech manager.

One of the biggest things with the NHL is developing all of the new workflows that are going to have to surround it, says Brown. [That's] not just in the remote environment but in the studio as well because of the confluence of highlight operations. There's tons we have been trudging through to pull this all together. We're also doing this while maintaining the technical quality for all the productions that we do and giving each property its just attention.

NHL on TNT games are directed by Paul Hemming (who joins the Turner family after four years directing Carolina Hurricanes games for Bally Sports South/Fox Sports Carolinas). Kevin Brown and Joe Whelan will alternate in the producer's chair. The primary mobile production unit that will be used throughout the season is NEP ND5.

Graphics Package Designed To Stay Out of the Way' In addition to all the necessary technical infrastructure, one of the more substantial - and exciting - parts of beginning to broadcast an entirely new property is development of the on-screen look.

The Turner Sports Creative team was tasked with building an entire graphics package from scratch for the new NHL season, including insert graphics, full animations, studio graphics, and, of course, the in-game scorebug.

The NHL on TNT debuted a version of its scorebug during a preseason broadcast this month.

Hockey is such a fun sport to design for, says Jordan Shorthouse, VP/creative director, Turner Sports. There's so much energy, and the challenge is ensuring that fast-paced energy makes it onto the screen for the viewers. When it came to designing the insert package, we just wanted to make something that was unobtrusive, stayed out of the way, and was easy, simple, and clean. We wanted the viewers to stay focused on the action on the ice and not get confused about where they have to look to find stats.

The scorebug is a simple design, featuring solid colors and clean presentation of team logos. When it comes to designing scorebugs, which receive the most significant amount of airtime of any element in a graphics package, Shorthouse says, the creative process can be lengthy when team elements to include are debated. Are there logos? Is it just team tri-codes? A great scorebug, he notes, manages to integrate both pleasingly.

These logos are so beautiful and, to the hardcore fans, don't need the tri-codes, says Shorthouse, who has worked on graphics for Turner Broadcasting for more than two decades. They know who is playing based on the logos. However, you want to build something that new viewers can understand. For that reason, tri-codes are necessary. In the perfect world, you find the way to do both without making the bug too big. That's the challenge.

For major animations, Turner Sports worked with Toronto-based design
LINK: https://www.sportsvideo.org/2021/10/13/nhl-puck-drop-2021-nhl-on-tnt-d...
See more stories from svg

More from Sports Video Group

01/07/2025

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Spyrosoft's Jonathan Witty on Futher Business Expansion in the U.S.

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Spyrosoft's Jonathan Witty on Futher Business Exp...

01/07/2025

The NIL Effect: How the Shifting Business of College Athletics Impacts On-Campus Video Production

The NIL Effect: How the Shifting Business of College Athletics Impacts On-Campus...

01/07/2025

Cherry On the Cake: Inside the Technical Production of the Tour de France 2025 with EMG / Gravity Media

Cherry on the cake: Inside the technical production of the Tour de France 2025 w...

01/07/2025

NESN's Josh Jun on Keeping Alternative Broadcasts Fresh for Boston Red Sox, Boston Bruins Fans

NESN's Josh Jun on Keeping Alternative Broadcasts Fresh for Boston Red Sox, ...

01/07/2025

TNT Sports Races Back Into NASCAR With Fresh Look, Familiar Edge

TNT Sports Races Back Into NASCAR With Fresh Look, Familiar Edge Production approach emphasizes creative freedom, bold storytelling, casual-fan-friendly tone B...

27/06/2025

How Smarter Video Compression is Creating a Sustainable Future

How smarter compression is creating a sustainable future By Michael Burns Monday, June 23, 2025 - 14:13 Print This Story Live sport is especially vulnerab...

27/06/2025

RTL Group To Acquire Sky Deutschland

RTL Group To Acquire Sky Deutschland By George Bevir, Editorial Director, SVG Europe Friday, June 27, 2025 - 8:00 am Print This Story | Subscribe Story ...

27/06/2025

Frictionless, At Scale: The Current State of Live Video Streaming Techology

Frictionless, At Scale: The Current State of Live Video Streaming Techology Leaders from Bitmovin, Comcast Technology Solutions, Harmonic, IMAX, and Phenix brea...

27/06/2025

Marquee Sports Network's Nick Steger on Meeting the Moment of the Contending Chicago Cubs

Marquee Sports Network's Nick Steger on Meeting the Moment of the Contending...

27/06/2025

NHL Draft 2025: The League Is Primed for First Decentralized Draft in Non-Pandemic Era

NHL Draft 2025: The League Is Primed for First Decentralized Draft in Non-Pandem...

26/06/2025

10th-Annual SVG Regional Sports Production Summit Presents Useful Roadmap for the Future of the RSN, Local Media Business

10th-Annual SVG Regional Sports Production Summit Presents Useful Roadmap for th...

26/06/2025

The Big Cloud Debate: Public vs. Private vs. Hybrid

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 Generation of Sports TV Technicians

Program Productions' Jess Kowatch on Training the Next and Current Gener...

25/06/2025

SVG College Summit 2025: Select Sessions Now Available to Watch on SVG PLAY

SVG College Summit 2025: Select Sessions Now Available to Watch on SVG PLAY Tackling the latest in college sports video: NIL, live production, virtual productio...

25/06/2025

ESPN Is Set To Bring AR Graphics to Wimbledon, Revamps Bunker and Studio 18 VO Booths

ESPN Is Set To Bring AR Graphics to Wimbledon, Revamps Bunker and Studio 18 VO B...

24/06/2025

2025 NBA Draft: ABC/ESPN Prepares for Two-Day Draft at Barclays Center

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 M...

24/06/2025

Cloud Broadcast Tech Update: Google Cloud's Jane Day on the Impact of AI on Sports

Cloud Broadcast Tech Update: Google Cloud's Jane Day on the Impact of AI on ...

24/06/2025

Cloud Broadcast Tech Update: AWS's Dana LaGattuta on Data-Driven Innovation in Sports

Cloud Broadcast Tech Update: AWS's Dana LaGattuta on Data-Driven Innovation ...

24/06/2025

British & Irish Lions Men's Tour: Dublin Opener Sees Sky Sports Take Remote Route

Lions live: Dublin opener sees Sky Sports take remote route By Fergal Ringrose ...

24/06/2025

British & Irish Lions Men's Tour: Pumas Maul Lions as S4C and TG4 Deliver First-Ever Joint Host in Dublin

Pumas maul Lions as S4C and TG4 deliver first-ever joint host in Dublin By Ferg...

24/06/2025

ABC/ESPN Prepares for 2025 NBA Draft, the First at Barclays Center

ABC/ESPN Prepares for 2025 NBA Draft, the First at Barclays Center Partners Game Creek Video, CP Communications, NEP Specialty Capture will be on hand By Mark ...

23/06/2025

Adventures in Live Cloud Production: Stories From the Trenches with MLB, NHL, NBC Sports, Warner Bros. Discovery, and AWS

Adventures in Live Cloud Production: Stories From the Trenches with MLB, NHL, NB...

23/06/2025

Finding the Edge: How Badger & Combes Produces Live-Streamed Coverage of County Cricket for LancsTV

Finding the edge: How Badger & Combes produces live-streamed coverage of county ...

23/06/2025

Masters of Madness: New Football Format Shakes Up the Rules of Sportainment

Masters of Madness: New football format shakes up the rules of sportainment By Adrian Pennington Monday, June 16, 2025 - 11:38 Print This Story The ball i...

23/06/2025

New State-of-the-Art Mountain Media Center Launches in Former Starz Encore Building Near Denver

New State-of-the-Art Mountain Media Center Launches in Former Starz Encore Build...

23/06/2025

ESPN Says Goodbye to Seaport Studios, Hello to New State-of-the-Art Production Facility at Disney's 7 Hudson Square

ESPN Says Goodbye to Seaport Studios, Hello to New State-of-the-Art Production F...

20/06/2025

A True Test? Cricket's Growth on the Global Stage and the Role Broadcast Can Play

A True Test? Cricket's Growth on the Global Stage and the Role Broadcast Can...

20/06/2025

Sky Sports Goes Large for the British & Irish Lions Tour with AR Graphics, UHD and a Pop Up Channel

Sky Sports goes large for the British & Irish Lions Tour with AR graphics, UHD a...

20/06/2025

ESPN's Men's College World Series Finals Coverage Combines Innovation, Legacy

ESPN's Men's College World Series Finals Coverage Combines Innovation, L...

19/06/2025

SVG Rewind: PGA Tour Introduces Drone AR Smart Tracing, Reflects on Winning George Wensel Technical Achievement Award

SVG Rewind: PGA Tour Introduces Drone AR Smart Tracing, Reflects on Winning Geor...

18/06/2025

Technology Focus: Fan Expectations Drive Advances in the In-Stadium Experience

Technology focus: Fan expectations drive advances in the in-stadium experience By Jo Ruddock Tuesday, June 3, 2025 - 08:36 Print This Story For years, att...

18/06/2025

Making Connections: How Stadiums Are Meeting the Ever-Growing Demand for Data and Connectivity

Making connections: How stadiums are meeting the ever-growing demand for data an...

18/06/2025

SVG Venues & Teams Summit Keynote: RWS Global Powers the Stadium Environment at 2024 Paris Olympics

SVG Venues & Teams Summit Keynote: RWS Global Powers the Stadium Environment at ...

18/06/2025

SVG Rewind: Behind the Scenes of Producing Tottenham Hotspur's Europa League Victory Parade

SVG Rewind: Behind the Scenes of Producing Tottenham Hotspur's Europa League...

17/06/2025

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Mercury Intermedia's Tom Richardson, Mike Ligon on Powering DTC Streams for Teams Reclaiming Media Rights

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Mercury Intermedia's Tom Richardson, Mike Ligon o...

17/06/2025

Total Sports Performance from Relo Metrics, VideoAmp, Offers Next-Level Media, Brand Measurement

Total Sports Performance from Relo Metrics, VideoAmp, Offers Next-Level Media, B...

17/06/2025

From Stage to Stream: Producing Live Esports Events in 2025

From Stage to Stream: Producing Live Esports Events in 2025 Leaders from ESL FACEIT Group, Riot Games, and more break down the latest trends By Jason Dachman, ...

17/06/2025

Inside FIFA 2025 Club World Cup Operations With FIFA's Oscar Sanchez, HBS's Stefan Wistuba

Inside FIFA 2025 Club World Cup Operations With FIFA's Oscar Sanchez, HBS...

17/06/2025

Production Ambitions: Over Exposed on Making the National League Promotion Final for DAZN as Spectacular as Possible

Production ambitions: Over Exposed on making the National League Promotion Final...

17/06/2025

DAZN Brings Global Ambition to U.S. Soil With Production of 2025 FIFA Club World Cup

DAZN Brings Global Ambition to U.S. Soil With Production of 2025 FIFA Club World...

16/06/2025

Grass Valley 4K Cameras Head to Greece for View Master Events' New Production Truck

Grass Valley 4K Cameras Head to Greece for View Master Events' New Productio...

16/06/2025

Behind The Broadcast Booth, Ep. 3: Golf. My Future. My Game. Founder and CEO Craig Kirby Talks Advocacy in Sports and More

Behind The Broadcast Booth, Ep. 3: Golf. My Future. My Game. Founder and CEO Cra...

16/06/2025

The REMI Revolution Is Here: How Remote Production Technology in Esports Pioneers a New Age of Broadcast

The REMI Revolution Is Here: How Remote Production Technology in Esports Pioneer...

16/06/2025

From Super Bowl to Indy 500, New Orleans Artist Frenchy' Captures Energy of Sports Production on Canvas

From Super Bowl to Indy 500, New Orleans Artist Frenchy' Captures Energy of...

16/06/2025

NFL Films Enhances Post Studio With Dolby Atmos Audio

NFL Films Enhances Post Studio With Dolby Atmos Audio Forty-three channels of audio enable the facility to migrate to immersive By Dan Daley, Audio Editor Mo...

16/06/2025

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Storj's David Colantuoni on Expanding Cloud-Based Storage to Live Sports Production

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Storj's David Colantuoni on Expanding Cloud-Based...