Saying that it is “where our fans are,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver discussed the importance of the league moving into streaming television during an appearance at NBCUniversal NBA media day on Monday. “We’ve now seen the shift [toward streaming] happening over the last several years, but it’s dramatically accelerated now, particularly for our younger fans,” Silver told Sports Media Watch. “That’s where they’re watching their programming, and they’re watching it through what I guess used to be considered unconventional sources, like YouTube, but now through the more traditional, conventional broadcasters like NBCUniversal.”
Silver added that streaming creates new possibilities in sports production. Peacock will debut options that include the ability to catch up to live action via key plays, view highlights in vertical orientation, and even play an interactive scorecard game. The streamer will also offer a dedicated performance view featuring live overlays that will display updated information on individual players and a live shot chart, plus a “Courtside Live” feature at midseason that allows users to view the main broadcast picture-in-picture with other feeds they can toggle between in real time.
“What’s happening in digital technology, AI obviously, I think it’s almost beyond what we can currently contemplate what a telecast may look like five years from now,” Silver said, referencing upcoming discussions with NBCUniversal production personnel. “I think it’s just going to allow personalization and customization that was just unimaginable, even at the time we were first [beginning] discussing these deals.”
Streaming television, of course, did not exist in any familiar form the last time NBC Sports held live game broadcast rights for the NBA. The company is seeking to blend elements of old and new sports production throughout its first NBA season in 23 years.
“We’re going to bring back touches of nostalgia, but we’re going to move the sport forward and move our broadcast forward,” NBC Sports EP and president of production Sam Flood said during a panel discussion Monday. “You can see by the team we’ve assembled here, generational talent across the board, ready to have fun, ready to grow the game and ready to engage the audience in new ways.”
It was even evident in the backdrop as NBC talent and executives gathered in a new state-of-the-art studio for NBA coverage.
But amid the bells and whistles and generational changes, Silver believes the core of sports production is the same as it was in the early days. “I look back on my early days at the NBA in the weekly meetings we would have in [then NBC Sports president] Dick Ebersol’s office, and he famously had a sign behind his desk that said ’Storytelling,’” Silver said. “That was as a reminder to his people, and I think that storytelling is just as important today with all the technology … as it was 30 years ago.”
Silver has been part of the evolution as the league embarks on a new era blending broadcast, cable and streaming across NBCUniversal, The Walt Disney Company and Amazon.
“There’s a lot of the people that we’re going to be working with at NBC were there just as I was 30 years ago, the early days of the NBC NBA relationship,” Silver said. “So there’s tremendous sense of partnership around the table, but look at all the changes — Peacock most importantly — that have happened over the years, so I’m really looking forward to this partnership.”
