SVG Tech Insight: Bio-Safe Communications Inside the NBA Bubble

This spring, SVG will be presenting a series of White Papers covering the latest advancements and trends in sports-production technology. The full series of SVG’s Tech Insight White Papers can be found in the SVG Spring SportsTech Journal HERE.

Introduction

As the COVID-19 pandemic expanded in 2020, it drastically changed virtually every aspect of life — and professional sports weren’t immune. A case in point was the NBA, challenged to keep its 2019-20 basketball season alive and bringing in revenue while protecting players and personnel from the virus.

The NBA’s solution was an enclosed ecosystem — aka the NBA Bubble — in the ESPN Wide World of Sports (WWoS) complex at Disney World in Orlando, FL. This strict isolation zone enabled a truncated season in which each of 22 teams played eight seeding games over two weeks to determine playoff standings.

To meet the Bubble’s complex communications requirements, the NBA relied on wireless intercom solutions from Riedel Communications. Working with the Riedel team, Firehouse Productions deployed an integrated solution that enabled officials, coaches, and producers to communicate clearly while maintaining a safe distance from each other

In this white paper, we will describe the NBA Bubble’s communications requirements in greater detail, together with a technical description of the communications setup.

Visa Control

The Challenge: Safety First

The centerpiece of the NBA bubble was a 200,000-square-foot broadcast compound encompassing three WWoS indoor venues: The Arena, HP Fieldhouse, and Visa Athletic Center. The Arena, home to the main national-telecast court and the Conference Finals and NBA Finals, featured 20-plus manned cameras, more than 60 robotic cameras, and scores of microphones. All were connected over the WWoS network consisting of more than 27,000 ft. of fiber.

All throughout the compound, everyone – players, officials, coaches, producers, and technical staff – had to follow strict health and safety guidelines. Personnel were divided into functional groups, with the majority of the production and operations staff in the “yellow zone” and limited to specific trucks and trailers to minimize cross-contamination among the crew. All crew members were required to wear face masks and maintain social distancing at all times, and all onsite staff were subject to daily temperature checks and regular COVID-19 testing.

These restrictions meant that many conversations that would normally be held face to face would have to be conducted using wireless communications gear. The technical teams charged with building out the intercom network also had to comply with stringent safety protocols. Comms technicians across the three venues were divided into color-coded teams, which were required to stay separate. For example, one team member couldn’t simply hand a cable over to someone in another team; instead, the first tech would have to drop the wire for the other person to pick up.

Every night, all comms hardware and headsets had to be sanitized and sealed in plastic bags until their next use.

A Complex Technical Solution

To meet these requirements, Firehouse Productions deployed a comms backbone consisting of nine Riedel Artist-64 digital matrix intercom frames, two Artist-32 frames, and one Artist-128 frame. All Artist systems were networked over fiber and connected the three courts to the broadcast compound’s six production trucks supporting both TV networks simultaneously.

Deployed in a fiber ring configuration, the Artist nodes supported users communicating via Riedel Bolero wireless intercom throughout the vast WWoS complex. The setup provided almost 500 active communications ports to support 113 master panels; 57 Performer C3 intercom beltpacks; 116 Bolero beltpacks; and 186 analog 4-wire connections to six onsite OB trucks. Based on two fully redundant hub-and-spoke networks of Luminex 14R and 26i Gigicore Ethernet switches, the onsite universe of Bolero wireless beltpacks offered up to 128 multicast flows — giving the deployment room to grow as more beltpacks were added.

With this configuration, the engineering team was able to address one unique challenge of basketball in a COVID-19 bubble: facilitating referees’ interaction with scorers during each game. Each scorer’s table was separated from the court by a full-length plexiglass barrier to prevent airborne viral transmission, blocking direct verbal communication between referees and scorers. For the solution, all court officials wore omnidirectional lavalier mics, which were fed into the Riedel Artist intercom system. When scorers needed to talk to referees, they used the intercom to speak through Fostex speakers positioned on the court side of the barrier.

Bolero UV Locker

Luis Espinal, intercom curator for the Firehouse team, built custom logic functions into the Artist nodes that allowed each referee mic feed to be routed to specific broadcast trucks. The logic enabled the crew to keep private conversations isolated when necessary; for instance, when officials need to consult with the NBA replay team in Secaucus, NJ. Each official was equipped with a Bolero wireless intercom headset that could automatically mute mics and speakers for any private discussion.

The complexities of the NBA production required a hybrid comms infrastructure that mixed both wired and wireless intercoms. The Riedel Artist frames were deployed in a ring-type topology within and between venues, creating smaller islands of communication that prevented cross-contamination from users carrying equipment from venue to venue.

Looking Ahead

While NBA games may never again be played in a bubble, the COVID-19 pandemic may have forever changed the rules for pro basketball. The NBA’s 2021 season is focused on games played primarily at home venues, with similar health and safety protocols for players, officials, and crew. Rigorous testing is mandatory, as well as vaccination once vaccines become available. For teams traveling beyond their home venues, the league has enacted rules restricting conduct outside their hotels, and in-arena spectators have been severely restricted.

Regardless of what the post-pandemic future holds, seamless, reliable, and clear communications systems will be just as critical as ever for NBA games. It’s a safe bet that all contact sports will continue to rely on advanced intercom technologies to facilitate safe interactions and enforce social distancing — at least in the near future.