Behind the Scenes with NBC's 'On The Bench': How the Network Is Redefining NBA Coverage

NBC’s new weekly NBA segment on Peacock sits one analyst on each team’s bench, aiming to provide viewers a unique game perspective.

When NBC acquired a spot in the NBA‘s media rights deal for the first time since 2002, the first question executives and producers asked themselves was how they would cover the game differently.

The network wasted no time putting its vision into action. Games would be broadcast on network television on a weekly basis throughout the regular season for the first time in decades. Pregame shows would lean heavily into X’s and O’s analysis, and in-arena pregame lineup introductions would air live to give each matchup more gravitas.

When NBC acquired media rights for the NHL in 2005, Sam Flood, NBC Sports’ executive producer and president of production, introduced the “Inside The Glass” feature, where an analyst or reporter stood next to the team’s benches for the entire game. Now was his chance to innovate the NBA broadcast experience in a similar way.

What NBC came up with was “On The Bench,” a weekly Monday night broadcast streaming on Peacock where one analyst sits on each team’s bench and is solely focused on covering and analyzing that club by listening in on timeouts and huddles and getting an exclusive, inside look that basketball viewers have never seen before. This week, the handpicked team of Noah Eagle on play-by-play, and former players Austin Rivers and Robbie Hummel on the benches as a mix of analysts and sideline reporters, were in Brooklyn, where the Nets hosted the Minnesota Timberwolves. Rivers would be following Minnesota, while Hummel shadowed Brooklyn.

"They did offer me a Hershey Bar"

Never know what will happen during an "On the Bench" broadcast. 😂 pic.twitter.com/TAPPgc8TYu
— NBA on NBC and Peacock (@NBAonNBC) November 4, 2025

I was able to speak with the trio and lead NBA on NBC coordinating producer Frank DiGraci before and after the game to get a behind-the-scenes look at how this unique weekly experiment is progressing.

“It feels like you’re a part of their team over that three-hour span,” Rivers, who played for seven different teams over an 11-year NBA career, told Boardroom about 2.5 hours before tip inside Barclays Center. “You almost get sweated on sometimes from guys walking by. That’s how close we are to the game. No one else can give you that. That’s real. So I think people can feel that through the screen as we hear the good and the bad.”

As the analysts hear everything, it’s incumbent upon them to gain trust with the teams they cover on a weekly basis. They credited the head coaches of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Detroit Pistons, Kenny Atkinson and J.B. Bickerstaff, for allowing them to participate in walkthroughs and huddles during the first broadcast, when the format had never been tried before.

“It’s on the three of us to make them understand that ‘alright, this group isn’t going to screw us,'” Hummel, who played two NBA seasons after a standout career at Purdue, told Boardroom. “For Austin and I, our goal is to be pretty much invisible. We’re hearing what’s being said in the huddle, but there’s no interaction.”

The group did face some immediate obstacles. Since Eagle, Rivers, and Hummel are spaced away from each other each week and unable to non-verbally communicate with one another with a wave of a hand, a point of a finger, or a light jab like they normally would when sat together along the traditional broadcast table, getting their cadence correct so that they don’t all talk over one another has been a particular challenge. With an eye on each bench, Eagle leans on a lot of anticipation to make sure no one steps on each other’s toes.

The broadcast is also heavily dependent on access, and when a team is down by 20 or 30 points or in the midst of a losing streak, things could go awry if a team doesn’t really want to deal with an outsider sitting right next to a frustrated group whose collective fuse may be especially short. DiGraci said there have been internal discussions on this very scenario. They would pivot to use a softer tone or revert to a more traditional broadcast to maintain the teams’ trust.

“So much of the culture of the NBA has always blamed the coach,” Rivers said. “They always get fired quickly. The microscope on the modern-day coach is borderline toxic. And we’re coming from a standpoint of exploring how great and hard their jobs are and the decisions they and their staffs make.”

One of Eagle’s goals for the broadcast each week is to help Rivers and Hummel take viewers deeper into the X’s and O’s than they would during a normal game, with each analyst focusing on the sets, plays, and strategies each team is utilizing on the fly for more teachable moments for fans and viewers. Eagle will adjust his play-by-play preparation for these games by delving deeper into statistical trends to tee his analysts up during a lull in the action.

Eagle, Rivers, Hummel, DiGraci, and I reconvened shortly after Minnesota’s 125-109 win that saw Brooklyn only down by three points entering the third quarter of a slow-paced game that had 50 fouls and 73 free throw attempts. It required Eagle to keep the broadcast lighter during all the stoppages, working with both analysts to prevent a sluggish broadcast flow.

Rivers, whose final season in 2022-23 was with the Wolves under current head coach Chris Finch, keyed in on the team’s effort without injured superstar guard Anthony Edwards as it played against a much inferior opponent on the second night of a back-to-back. Rivers was so close to the action that all he had to do to be in the huddle was lean over, able to fully focus on the conversations between the T-Wolves players.

“I felt like Finchy was drawing me up the play,” he said. “Ant was involved in the huddle, clapping at guys, getting guys’ attention up. After [Donte] DiVincenzo had a slow start to the game, Ant was like, ‘Yo, we need you. You got to be aggressive tonight.’ That led to him having 25 points tonight. That’s the dialogue I wouldn’t have got from sitting across the court.”

There was one moment during the broadcast where Eagle remembers highlighting the gravity and defensive attention DiVincenzo commanded because he was having such a hot shooting game. Eagle and Rivers used the Telestrator to point out four arrows in one direction, showing the Nets’ defense focused on the corner and how the Wolves were able to get an open shot as a result.

“Those types of moments where you can truly break it down and see the tangible results,” Eagle said, “especially then when it happens directly out of a timeout that they talked about, that’s what makes this really special.”

Last week, Hummel thought Cleveland and Detroit would play a close game, but the Cavs led by 22 at halftime and coasted to an easy win. Brooklyn made it a game for far longer than he anticipated. He was struck by how positive, upbeat, and encouraging head coach Jordi Fernandez was.

“I saw schematically how they wanted to attack the 2-3 zone,” Hummel said, “how they were doing it with ball screens, and it actually worked out for them.”

Eagle thought his analysts did a better job this week locking in on what was said in the huddles, though Hummel said he could do a better job at taking what he heard in the huddle and distilling his thoughts into a smaller soundbite. DiGraci thought the crew would get even better with their timing with more reps.

“With each week, we’ll continue to peek behind the curtain a little more,” Eagle said. “The most differentiating factor of all of this broadcast is how are NBA fans getting smarter after watching it?”

As fans become conditioned to expect an enlightening, educational broadcast they can’t get anywhere else with “On The Bench,” DiGraci and the rest of his NBC team are hopeful that teams remain open and trusting of Rivers and Hummel to go where every other analyst cannot.

“Trust is hard to gain and easily lost,” DiGraci said. “And I look forward to other teams and coaches getting to see these first two games and understanding that we’re not out to get anybody. We’re only out to get in-depth and behind the scenes a little bit more, and a unique access for our viewers. And tonight was a step in the right direction for anybody who hadn’t seen our concept.”