Scoop dreams: NBA TV uses video-conferencing system for interviews.(Technology)

For most NBA players, keeping in touch with local fans is as easy as a trip home. But the growing contingent of foreign-born players is finding it a challenge. For San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker, who was born and reared in France, giving his French fans a chance to hear from him regularly--if at all--is cost prohibitive for the NBA and broadcasters.

All that changes next season.

NBA TV will make it possible for foreign journalists to interview players in the U.S. via video-conferencing technology. The system, based on Sony's PCS-1/1P video-conferencing system, is currently being used for NBA TV'S Destination Finals.

Last year, HD production of …