JOE CARR
strategy director
ESPN / NBA on ESPN
THE TENSION
As NBA viewership shifted younger, ESPN’s traditional broadcast presentation felt increasingly disconnected from the culture of the modern game. We needed to break from rigid sports-media conventions to capture the attention of the 'highlight generation'.
THE IMPACT
Accelerated multi-channel viewership and subscriber acquisition, re-establishing ESPN as the definitive home for modern basketball culture.
THE STRATEGY
Developed a platform that treated the NBA not just as a sport, but as a high-energy, urgent cultural event. We intentionally broke from convention—trading traditional scores for a timely soundtrack (from Tyler, The Creator) and replaced standard broadcast graphics with a vibrant, future-forward visual system.
THE IDEA
The 2026 NBA season on ESPN is a blank slate, with no clear front runner or dynasty for the first time in decades, so we created a dynamic blank canvas for ESPN to fill as the season unfolded.