TNT Sports' NBA 2K25 DataCasts Blur Line Between Video Game and Live Broadcast During Emirates NBA Cup TNT is leveraging Genius Sports technology to bring the videogame-centric broadcast to life By Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Tuesday, December 10, 2024 - 4:02 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
For more than a decade, countless sports-production leaders have opined about the need to make live broadcasts look more like video games in order to draw a broader audience. Tonight, TNT Sports is making that vision a literal reality. In collaboration with NBA 2K and Genius Sports, TNT Sports will offer the the first of four immersive NBA 2K25 DataCast presentations on truTV and Max during the 2024 Emirates NBA Cup Quarterfinals and Semifinals.
We are conscious of the fact that many fans today have experienced sports through video games first and they are used to watching the game from that perspective, says Matt Mosteller, TNT Sports' VP of Content. So we're excited for fans to be able to experience the NBA Cup through this NBA 2K lens. So many fans who have grown up playing NBA 2K will now be able to see it come to life in the real game.
The 2K Takeover: Finding the Sweet Spot Between Videogame and Broadcast The altcasts will blur the lines between the videogame and the real NBA experience with NBA 2K25 overlays, such as the iconic Shot Meter, 2K badges, and official 2K camera angles. In addition, split-second game insights - player tracking, shot probability, shot distance - powered by Genius Sports' GeniusIQ will be embedded throughout the telecasts via a consistent L-Bar graphic on the screen.
Players will be highlighted on the court with overlays that will showcase shot probability, shot distance, and other things that you wouldn't see in a normal game - all in the style of an NBA 2K25 game, says Mosteller. Then you will also see a variety of other graphics, camera angles, and other elements that come right from the NBA 2K game that fans who play the game are used to seeing.
This marks TNT Sports' latest data-focused alternative-broadcast efforts following on the heels of the first-ever NHL DataCast Powered by AWS during the NHL Western Conference Final in May and the MLB DataCast throughout the entire ALCS in October.
We've been doing [altcasts] for a while now and we've done a couple [DataCasts] with Genius, but the addition of NBA 2K25 adds a very different vibe than the others we have done, says Mosteller. 2K has been such a great partner and they're very endemic to basketball so it adds an exciting new layer to that DataCast model.
Fans who tune into the NBA 2K25 DataCast broadcasts will also have the opportunity to redeem six NBA 2K25 Locker Codes, each unlocking an Amethyst MyTEAM pack and allowing players to choose one of 11 NBA superstars to build the ultimate MyTEAM lineup.
On Hand in ATL: Standalone Production Out of Techwood Campus All four NBA 2K25 DataCasts (three quarterfinals and one semifinal) will be standalone productions operating out of Warner Bros. Discovery's Techwood Campus in Atlanta. The DataCasts will be produced out of a dedicated control room with its own director, producer, and graphics operators.
The NBA 2K25 DataCast production team will take in the line-cut from the primary TNT broadcast and insert overlays on top using Genius Sports' technology. In addition, the front bench in the control room will access to all of the main TNT broadcast's iso cameras, as well as one unilateral iso camera of its own.
The most important iso will be that backboard camera that recreates the iconic NBA 2K game angle, says Mosteller. We will bring that camera in from the trucks on site and roll back highlights from that angle. It's going to make [viewers] feel like everything is actually happening inside the NBA 2K game.
The first-of-its-kind alternative viewing experience will also feature its own dedicated on-air talent led by host Adam Lefkoe and sports-analytics expert Kirk Goldsberry along with contributions by pro hoops stars Vince Carter, Candace Parker, and Channing Frye.
Being able to utilize our own cameras, production, and graphics really gives us the ability to craft our own story around the game, says Mosteller. And we've got some really great personalities in front of the camera to help us tell that story as well.
Genius has set up two of its servers at the Techwood studios - a primary and backup - in order to insert overlays over the game action. Genius Sports leverages the data from Sony Hawk-Eye's optical tracking technology at each arena in order to insert the graphic overlays. A dedicated Genius Sports tech producer will be sitting on the back bench in Atlanta alongside other graphics operators to help manage overlays and L-Bar graphics.
Genius has been a great partners to work with on this, says Mosteller. They are very hands-on and volunteered to send one of their own people down to work with us hand in hand as we produce this.
TNT is also utilizing Ross Video Xpression graphics and Inside Edge analytics platform for the broadcasts.
Looking Ahead: More Altcasts on the Horizon In addition to previous DataCasts, TNT Sports teamed up with the NHL, Warner Bros. Games, and Beyond Sports to produce a MultiVersus NHL Face-Off animated broadcast in April. Between these broadcasts and other personality-fueled altcasts, TNT Sports continues to explore new ways to bring live games to viewers.
We always want to innovate; that's just in our DNA over here at TNT Sports, says Mosteller. We want to deliver engaging content that ultimately serves the fan so we are always looking for different executions to get fans excited. That can be geared toward the hardcore fans to the hardcore fan like the DataCasts or the casual fan like the M
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...
30/08/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has adopted its FY 2025 Regulatory Fees Order that establishes the regulatory fee rates for the broadcast stati...
29/08/2025
Australian Red Cross and SBS launch training to help workplaces in the fight aga...
29/08/2025
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
29/08/2025
L3Harris Technologies has concentrated decades of expertise across the entire enterprise to develop affordable and reliable best-of-breed solutions to rapidly c...
29/08/2025
BURBANK, Calif. The CW Network and the Pac-12 Conference have announced a new media rights deal that will extend their broadcast partnership beginning with the ...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK Gracenote has released a new analysis of its global video dataset showing that the number of FAST channels grew nearly 14% from Q1 2025 and 76% since 2...
29/08/2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. Harmonic has announced a series of improvements to its live sports streaming solution that the company said will improve fan engagement, protec...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK and LOS ANGELES Fox Corp. and YouTube TV last night announced a renewal of the full portfolio of Fox networks, including Fox News Channel, Fox Business...
29/08/2025
Budapest, Hungary, August 2025 - The integration of Microsoft Teams Rooms (MTR) with Lightware's Taurus universal matrix switchers delivers a new level of f...
29/08/2025
Frequency, the engine behind many of the world's best-known streaming television channels, today announced it will launch Studio Live, a next-generation uni...
29/08/2025
In an era when AI and cyber resilience are essential, Scality will mark the 10th anniversary of Scality Day on October 16, 2025 in Paris. This flagship global e...
29/08/2025
Disguise's In-House Creative and Technical Teams Pre-Visualised, Programmed and Delivered Content for the Experience, All Powered by EX 3+
Technology solu...
29/08/2025
Disguise will be demonstrating the latest workflows for TV, film and live events on a number of partner booths at the show
Disguise, the industry-leading tech...
29/08/2025
STOCKHOLM, Sweden Accedo will showcase Accedo Compose, its AI agent-powered modular orchestration layer that assists streaming providers in transitioning client...
29/08/2025
LOS ANGELES Cineverse has announced that it is working with Xperi to bring four of its streaming channels to automobiles for the first time as part of the DTS A...
29/08/2025
DALLAS & ATLANTA Gray Media has announced an agreement with the sports streaming service Victory+ to simulcast 17 Dallas Stars NHL games in 15 television market...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK AND CULVER CITY Comcast NBCUniversal and Amazon have announced new and extended distribution agreements that will expand the content available on their...
29/08/2025
FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif. RED Digital Cinema will feature its Cine-Broadcast Module supporting live broadcast workflows during IBC2025, Sept. 12-15, at the RAI Ams...
29/08/2025
29 Aug 2025
Kyivstar Rings Opening Bell at Nasdaq Marking Landmark Listing and ...
29/08/2025
More than half of all NFL games live on Sky for the first timeFriday 29 August 2025
Sky Sports has announced a new three-year deal with the NFL, extending its ...
29/08/2025
Back to All News
RIV4LRIES: The Trailer of the New Series With Samuele Carrino ...
29/08/2025
Get ready for an inspiring and emotional insight into the world of competitive Irish dancing with My Story: Tomi Champion of the World airing on RT 2 this monda...
29/08/2025
RT has today announced that David McCullagh is to be the new presenter of RT Radio 1's flagship Today programme, which airs every weekday at 10am, replaci...
28/08/2025
By Kristin Feeley, Director, Documentary Film & Artist Programs
If you want to tell untold stories, if you want to give voice to the voiceless, you've got ...
28/08/2025
Directed by Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, Sundance Institute-supported Amer...
28/08/2025
Corridos have been a cornerstone of M sica Mexicana for generations, telling stories rooted in everyday life. Now, a new chapter is taking shape: motivational c...
28/08/2025
Los corridos han sido un pilar de la M sica Mexicana durante generaciones, contando historias enraizadas en la vida cotidiana. Ahora, un nuevo cap tulo est tom...
28/08/2025
Earlier this month, we promised our Verano Forever party would bring the heat, a...
28/08/2025
L3Harris will provide the Polish F-16V fleet with the Viper Shield electronic warfare system as part of an upgrade program....
28/08/2025
Bilbao, August 26, 2025 - AgileTV, an international television and video technol...
28/08/2025
Ken Wilkinson is an Emmy Awards nominated New York audio engineer who specialises in production sound mixing for film, commercial, episodic and documentary work...
28/08/2025
NEW YORK FuboTV today announced that it will launch Fubo Sports, a skinny bundle that focuses on sports with a subscription price of $56 monthly....
28/08/2025
NEVADA City, Calif. At IBC2025, Sept. 12-15 at the RAI Amsterdam, Telestream will debut its new Global Ingest strategy, introducing a next-generation ingest arc...
28/08/2025
Dr. Rhoda Bernard Releases Groundbreaking Debut Book on Accessible Arts Educatio...
28/08/2025
TAG Video Systems, the leader in software-based IP end-to-end workflow monitoring, deep probing, and real-time visualization, has named Oliver Gappa as Sales Di...
28/08/2025
AI-based voice enhancement will be among a series of innovations making their IBC 2025 debut on the DHD stand B46 in Hall 8 at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Cent...
28/08/2025
Telef nica Servicios Audiovisuales (TSA), the leading system integrator and service provider in the media sector in Spain, with the support of Appear, the globa...
28/08/2025
To fully immerse sailing fans in the world's biggest offshore yacht race, production company, Optical Media turned to LiveU's On-site Production solutio...
28/08/2025
Working with Calrec on its most recent overhaul, radio and television broadcaster, WNED has migrated to a fully IP infrastructure with multiple Type R consoles,...
28/08/2025
Cleeng, the Subscriber Retention Management (SRM ) inventor, has unveiled Cleeng Pro, the first-ever direct-to-consumer (D2C) subscription management platform t...
28/08/2025
Zixi, the industry leader in live broadcast-quality video over IP, today announced that French media distribution platform OKAST has selected Zixi to enable rel...
28/08/2025
Solution offers a streamlined, speaker-free architecture to optimize integration with premium external loudspeakers and advanced loudness metering
Nixer Pro Au...
28/08/2025
Cinegy, the premier provider of software-defined television technology, has announced a strategic partnership with Vision One Touch Film Production Services L.L...
28/08/2025
Telestream, a global leader in media workflow technologies, will debut its new Global Ingest strategy at IBC2025, introducing a next-generation ingest architect...
28/08/2025
Tier 1 operator selects Broadpeak to power high-performance, unified CDN solution across Norway, Sweden and Finland
Broadpeak, a leader in streaming and moneti...
28/08/2025
Leading video software provider, Synamedia, today announced that 24 Frames Digital, one of India's leading live event streaming service providers, has chose...
28/08/2025
Meet VisualOn at IBC2025: See What's Next in AI-Powered Video Streaming Join VisualOn at IBC2025 and discover how our AI-driven Optimizer and advanced media...
TNT Sports' NBA 2K25 DataCasts Blur Line Between Video Game and Live Broadcast During Emirates NBA Cup TNT is leveraging Genius Sports technology to bring the videogame-centric broadcast to life By Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S. 
