After a 22-year hiatus, NBC Sports has made a significant investment to bring the NBA back to its viewers. A key element of this effort is the revitalized Studio 1 in Stamford, Connecticut. This 7,000-square-foot facility is designed for versatile use, accommodating NBA broadcasts, college sports, and even Olympics coverage, all while providing distinct experiences for various platforms and audiences. "From day one, we knew we wanted to put a large emphasis on the studio," stated Jared Sumner, directing studio production for "NBA on NBC," which includes the pre- and post-game show "NBA Showtime."
The initial broadcasts have already garnered positive feedback, with viewers appreciating what Sumner describes as a celebration of the game, complete with nostalgic elements like John Tesh’s "Roundball Rock" theme. Studio 1 is flexible, supporting both Peacock-exclusive broadcasts and those broadcast on NBC, allowing for distinct approaches for each. "One of the things right off the bat was how we wanted to treat the Monday Peacock shows a little differently from the Tuesday Peacock and NBC shows," Sumner elaborated. "For us, that meant using the studio in different ways."
Monday broadcasts, known as "Peacock NBA Monday," heavily feature what the production team calls the demo area. This area includes a half court with floor LED and a basketball hoop, where analysts Tracy McGrady, Vince Carter, and Carmelo Anthony can stand and move around freely during the show. "It’s more of a casual feel," Sumner explained. "Our analysts are standing up and kind of moving around. They have the ability to go grab a ball off the rack and shoot around if they want to while they’re on air and just give it a little bit more of that laid back vibe."
"Coast 2 Coast Tuesday" transitions to what Sumner calls a more "high end studio show," with the analysts seated at a desk in the studio’s home base area, broadcasting from the opposite direction of the demo area. Furthermore, beginning in February 2026, "Sunday Night Basketball" will explore even more ways to utilize the studio space.
Designed by HD Studio and constructed by Mystic Custom Fabrication, the new set is built to adapt to NBC’s various properties, including "Big Ten Saturday Night," while still providing a unique home for "NBA on NBC." Bryan Higgason of HD Studio emphasized, "The space has to be very flexible."
Higgason added, "While it is the home of ‘NBA on NBC,’ it is also used for NCAA Football, NCAA Basketball and Olympic coverage. The tracking LED screens allow for flexibility in the use of the space, but it’s the scale that allows us to sculpt the space and reshape it." Four LED bands encircle the studio from floor to ceiling, creating "a dynamic ability to alter the atmosphere and energy of the broadcast," according to Higgason. The entire space uses LED lighting, enabling instant color palette changes to match different shows’ graphics packages.
Higgason noted that "With numerous reconfigurable tracking LED screens, you will continue to see the space change and grow over the season". The set incorporates Planar and Leyard LED technologies across various areas. The arches include a mix of Leyard ALF Series 1.9mm, Planar CarbonLight CLI 1.9mm and CarbonLight CLI Flex 1.9mm, while tracked walls use CarbonLight CLI 1.9mm and 1.5mm panels. Legacy displays incorporate Planar TVF Series 0.9mm and Leyard LN Series 1.9mm models.
Camera technology includes a jib equipped with a Stype AR tracker for augmented reality integration and a PTZ “slamcam” positioned behind the backboard for dynamic basketball shots. The studio also features 4K monitors throughout and touchscreens for interactive analysis. Atila Ozkaplan and Mike Sheehan, NBC Olympics coordinating director, guided the studio development on the production side. The Lighting Design Group handled lighting design for display integration from Greg Gerner Inc.
Despite the LED-heavy environment, the studio incorporates tactile elements that ground the space. The standout feature is the logo wall with 30 etched glass panels representing each NBA team, backlit with LED for color flexibility. “The logo wall is a unique feature with a more analog approach,” Higgason noted. “The panels are lit with LED so we can play with color to adjust the focus of the wall.”
The panels can be swapped for Big 10 teams during college football season or Olympic pictograms during Games coverage. Sumner highlighted a thoughtful detail: when Carmelo Anthony is positioned camera-right, the New York Knicks logo is visible behind him. “It’s just one of those things that you can play around with,” Sumner said. “There’s so many different little… I’m calling them Easter eggs. So many little things in the studio that you can change around.”
NBA coverage will also feature augmented reality to break down plays using a system called Sandbox, which layers plays on a touch display with shot charts and heat maps. "It also has the capability to do a full five-on-five breakdown of a play where our analysts will stand over the display and move guys around and actually recreate a play," Sumner explained. The system can also illustrate alternative play scenarios, offering in-depth analysis beyond simple replays. This technology is built on NBC’s previous use of the Sandbox system during Tour de France coverage, where announcers manipulated AR graphics of riders. "For the NBA, they’ll be able to move around players [on a virtual basketball court]," added Sumner.
Sumner acknowledged that this represents NBC Sports’ "entry point into AR and VR." The gradual launch approach allows the production team to introduce the technology to viewers while preserving the network’s traditionally practical approach to production. While the technical capabilities are extensive, Sumner emphasized that storytelling remains paramount. The analyst team of McGrady, Carter, and Anthony – all former NBA stars who played during NBC’s previous NBA era – brings both credibility and personal investment to the broadcasts.
“Right away in rehearsals, we saw how comfortable they were with one another,” Sumner said. “For us, it’s really just giving them the platform. At the end of the day, we could do all these cool, amazing things in the studio, but what it comes down to is what our talent are talking about.” The Monday night "On the Bench" concept extends this philosophy, with analysts sitting on team benches during Peacock-exclusive games. The casual Monday studio setup mirrors this approach, encouraging more analytical deep dives using the Sandbox system and the studio’s video walls.
“There’s been so many times throughout this process where I’ve been in a room with Carmelo and Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter and just hearing them tell their stories,” Sumner said. “For Vince and T-Mac especially, playing on NBC when they were coming up, it’s just like, wow, I can’t wait until they can actually go on air and tell these stories for the world to hear.” Studio 1’s refresh represents the latest chapter in NBC Sports’ facility management. The space previously housed “Football Night in America,” which relocated to Studio 3 a few seasons ago.
Early audience response has been positive, with viewers praising NBC’s approach and embrace of nostalgia. Sumner said the network is focused on its own vision rather than external comparisons. “Everything we do, whether it’s on the studio side or on the game side, is really about celebrating and educating the game,” he said. “In a lot of ways, the studio has sort of become its own character,” Sumner reflected. “Every night of the week you’ll see every area of the studio utilized.”