Turner Sports will take a shot at the sports megacast format with Sunday’s NBA All-Star game by offering alternative, live game feeds on TNT and TBS. 

TNT’s telecast of the 71st NBA All-Star Game will feature the announcing team of Kevin Harlan, Reggie Miller and Dwyane Wade, along with reporter Allie LaForce. TBS’ live Inside the All-Star Game coverage will feature comments and analysis from TNT’s Inside the NBA studio team of Earnie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith – along with injured All-Star player Draymond Green – throughout the telecast, said the network.

In addition, TBS’ telecast will feature comments from All-Stars Stephen Curry, Donovan Mitchell and Ja Morant as well as other players, coaches and referees who will be wearing mics throughout the game. 

TBS’ Inside the All-Star Game coverage is similar to ESPN’s Monday Night Football with Peyton & Eli on ESPN2 in which the Manning brothers comment on the game opposite ESPN’s traditional Monday Night Football feed. 

Also: Peyton Manning Signs Expanded Agreement With ESPN, Disney 

Turner Sports will also offer programming on Twitter, NBA Twitter Live, where fans can vote for the player they want an iso-cam to follow during the second half, said the network.

“We always strive to put the fan first and, now more than ever, we have the opportunity to serve them with multiple viewing options that share best-in-class content values,” said Turner Sports Chief Content Officer Craig Barry in a statement. “We’re looking forward to introducing this new, unique format on TBS, and we believe it will entertain fans through an unparalleled blend of sports, culture and unprecedented access.” ■

The Walt Disney Co. has added its ESPN Plus streaming service to its MegaCast coverage of  the Jan. 10 NFL wild card playoff game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Tennessee Titans.

ESPN Plus’ coverage will focus on the odds and gambling aspects of the game, using the approach from ESPN’s Between The Lines and Daily Wager telecasts.

Laura Rutledge, Mina Kimes, Dan Orlovsky and Marcus Spears along with Doug Kezirian, Joe Fortenbaugh and Tyler Fulghum will all appear and interact with each other during the telecast. The game telecast on the screen will be supplemented by an array of data and statistics, as the team provides their insights in a free-flowing format. 

ESPN’s MegaCast will put traditional coverage of the game on  ESPN, with a simulcast on ABC. ESPN Deportes has a Spanish-language presentation. ESPN2 will air the game in Film Room while Freeform’s watch party coverage will be highlighted by  a halftime performance by DJ Khaled.

Although many expect ESPN's presentation of tonight College Football Playoff National Championship to register a new audience record for cable television, the worldwide leader is giving viewers plenty of options to check out the Oregon-Ohio State title tilt.

For the second straight season, the worldwide leader is putting its "Megacast" into play for the collegiate pigskin championship, bringing the season to visual and aural crescendos through more than a dozen alternate productions across its various multimedia platforms.

The CFP Megacast initiative of the title game from Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas at 8:30 p.m. (PT) will include different telecasts across ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, ESPN Classic, ESPN Deportes and ESPN Goal Line; ESPN Radio and ESPN Deportes Radio broadcasts; five variations on ESPN3; and coverage around the world via ESPN International distribution.

With the inaugural CFP semifinals, ESPN kicked off 2015 by establishing the two biggest audiences in cable history., The Ducks' 59-20 drubbing of defending champion Florida State in the Rose Bowl scored 28.2 million watchers, erasing the 27.3 million watchers for  the 2011 BCS title game won by Auburn over Oregon from the Nielsen record book. That standard was eclipsed in the nightcap, as the Buckeyes' upset of top-ranked Alabama rolled before 28.3 milion watchers.

Below find the worldwide leader's Megacast Game Plan for the Oregon-OSU matchup:

• Traditional Telecast: ESPN’s traditional telecast will be called by Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit, with Heather Cox and Tom Rinaldi reporting from the sidelines.
• Film Room: The popular option from last year – which included coaches and ESPN analysts predicting a fake punt the play before it occurred – will be available on ESPN2. The coverage will feature ESPN analysts Chris Spielman and Tom Luginbill with Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen, new Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi, who was defensive coordinator of this season’s Michigan State squad that played both Ohio State and Oregon, and new Nebraska coach Mike Riley, the former coach of Oregon rival Oregon State, providing in-depth X and O analysis of the game as it happens from a film room equipped with multiple camera angles, coaches clicker technology and telestration at ESPN’s Bristol, Conn. headquarters.
• ESPN Voices: The ESPNU telecast will take fans into a specially-created viewing theatre with a cross-section of ESPN on-air personalities from outside college football responsibilities as they watch and discuss the game, including Jay Bilas, Aaron Boone, Julie Foudy, Barry Melrose, Mark Schlereth and Michael Wilbon.
• Off the Ball: Available on ESPNEWS, Off the Ball will give viewers an inside look at the way current ESPN analysts Kevin Carter, Matt Millen, Jason Sehorn and Matt Stinchcomb, as well as Super Bowl-winning wide receiver Amani Toomer, study and dissect the game by focusing on the plays away from the ball, including in the trenches of the offensive and defensive lines, the wide receiver vs. defensive back matchups, coaching strategy and more. Bob Wischusen will host.
• Sounds of the Game: ESPN Classic’s coverage will couple ESPN’s video with the natural sounds of the game that will be captured by the 100 microphones positioned throughout the stadium. The telecast will include the pregame and halftime performances of the Oregon and Ohio State marching bands.
• Radio Broadcast: ESPN Radio’s broadcast will use ESPN’s Monday Night Football announcer Mike Tirico with top ESPN college football analyst Todd Blackledge, reporters Holly Rowe and Joe Schad, and Rules Expert Bill Lemonnier.
• Home Team Radio: ESPN3, in cooperation with IMG College, will offer an “Oregon Radio Call” (via Oregon IMG Sports Network) and “Ohio State Radio Call” (via Ohio State IMG Sports Network) presentation. Each of the team’s specific coverage will feature the their home radio broadcast (Oregon’s Jerry Allen, analyst Mike Jorgensen, reporter Joey McMurray and host Chase Morgan, and Ohio State’s Paul Keels with analyst Jim Lachey and reporter Marty Bannister). The on-screen presentation will provide fans of both teams with the game feed plus isolated cameras on their home team’s head coach and marquee players.
• Command Center: Available on ESPN Goal Line, the commercial-free coverage will feature a full-time split screen application showing the live game action, along with immediate replays of every play and isolated camera feeds of both head coaches, enhanced statistics and the ESPN Radio broadcast call. The Command Center option will sample other Megacast content during on-field media timeouts.
• Spanish Language Call: ESPN Deportes will provide a traditional telecast of the game with Eduardo Varela and analyst Pablo Viruega providing a Spanish language call of the action. The game will also be available in Spanish on ESPN Deportes Radio.
• SpiderCam: Fans will be able to watch the entire game from the above stadium SpiderCam angle on ESPN3.
• Taco Bell Student Section: The ESPN3 commercial-free option will feature cameras in the Taco Bell student sections (special sections created by Taco Bell that treat 500 students from each school to a VIP experience) and with the cheerleaders, bands and mascots of each team to showcase how the most enthusiastic fans in the building are living and dying with every play.
• Data Center: The commercial-free coverage on ESPN3 will include significant on-screen graphic content ranging from analytics, curated social media reaction and more.
• Around the World: ESPN’s game coverage will be available to the men and women serving in the United States military branches in 175 countries through the American Forces Network. Fans in 146 countries around the world will be able to view the game on ESPN International and ESPN Deportes platforms.
• Social Media: ESPN will also use its various social media accounts on Facebook and Twitter within the coverage. Potential content includes behind-the-scenes insights, statistics and information, interaction with fans, and more.

All of the CFP Megacast options on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN3, ESPN Deportes and ESPNEWS will also be available through WatchESPN, accessible on computers, smartphones, tablets, Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360, and Xbox One to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider.

ESPN Radio’s broadcast will also be available via the ESPN Radio app, the SportsCenter App, ESPNRadio.com, SiriusXM, Apple iTunes Radio, Slacker Radio and TuneIn.

The worldwide leader is going even more "mega" with its coverage of the college football title tilt on Jan. 12.

Although network assigments have yet to be finalized, ESPN will expand the "megacast" from the final BCS championship game in 2014 with the upcoming College Football Playoff Naitonal Championship Game from AT&T Stadium.

ESPN will air a different versions of the game on each of its TV networks: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, ESPN Classic and ESPN Goal Line. The SEC Network will also be in mix if top-ranked Alabama reaches the final.

ESPN3 will also feature “multiple options” according to the network.

ESPN will air the traditional coverage of the game, along with ESPN Radio, ESPN International networks and in Spanish on ESPN Deportes.

Among the options, some of which were featured last year,:  The “Film Room,” which features ESPN experts as well as guest coaches and players providing in-depth X and O analysis; “ESPN Voices,” which allows fans to eavesdrop on multiple ESPN on-air personalities representing a wide cross-section of sports and shows discussing the game; “Sounds of the Game,” an announcer-free telecast with only the natural sounds of the game and coverage of the halftime performances by each band; and “Command Center” which will provide enhanced statistics utilizing a split screen application with live game action and immediate replays of every play.

ESPN will also play in the social media space, with Facebook and Twitter part of its overall presentation game plan.

Such cross-network gambits are becoming increasingly common. In addition to the 2014 BCS Megacast for Florida State's last-second triumph over Auburn, Turner presented the NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four across three networks, TBS, TNT and truTV, last spring. For its part, Fox complemented its coverage of Game 1 of the 2014 National League Championship Series, with a stats-driven telecast on Fox Sports 1.

The title game will pit the winners of the semifinals, which ESPN will air on New Year’s Day: No. 2 Oregon vs. No. 3 Florida State and No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Ohio State.