NBA Commissioner Adam Silver talks about unique features in upcoming NBA broadcast

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver shared the unique elements that will be seen in the match broadcasts for the rest of the 2019-2020 season. Due to the empty arenas hosting the games in the NBA bubble, Silver announced that there will be new camera angles, virtual concerts, and virtual halftime shows.

The NBA is set to resume on July 31 in a confined location in Disney World, Florida. All NBA teams and staff are expected to stay in a quarantined environment for the duration of the season.

No fans, except potentially a few family members, will be watching the games live. There will also be a select number of sports broadcasters and commentators in the stands.

Given that there will be no fans in the arena, it allows the NBA to add cameras by the courtside, giving basketball fans VIP views of what would typically be ringside season seats. Non-essential personnel such as cheerleaders would not be allowed to join the NBA bubble, and it appears that Commissioner Silver is hinting at the possibility of virtual halftime shows.

Courtside reporting will not likely be included in the bubble. As a replacement, Silver also hinted there will be other elements in the pipeline to act as fillers during the pregame and postgame coverage. According to Yard Barker, there will also be enhanced audio and camera angles during time-outs to listen to coaches and players.

Given the unique nature of the situation, Silver, the NBA, and their broadcasting partners are doing their best to turn empty arena disadvantages into an opportunity to give basketball fans a more intimate view of NBA games. It would be interesting to see how creative they would get by the time of the NBA finals in October.

Other ideas, such as unique fan noise and two-way broadcasts, are being discussed to simulate home-court advantage during the bubble games.

Despite the setbacks from players refusing to play, security issues with Disney staff, and recent reports of COVID-19 positive NBA players, the league is pushing through with its plan to resume the games by July 31.