PARTNERSHIPS | COMMUNITY | PODCAST | FRIENDS
NBC Wants Olympic Viewers To Watch Just Their Favorite Athlete
Courtesy of viztrick AiDi
NBC Sports is set to roll out an innovative feature on its app that will allow users to literally focus on just their favorite athlete during a game.
The Big Picture: NBCUniversal is doubling down on sports coverage not only as Peacock’s biggest engagement driver, but as its biggest growth engine across all of its content silos. With Silicon Valley also jockeying for broadcast rights, NBCUniversal has decided it needs to step up the technology behind its coverage to stay competitive.
Behind The Curtain: NBC Sports is betting on AI to transform game coverage.
The company has licensed the viztrick AiDi tech created by Japan’s Nippon Television Network — marking the first time the tech will be used by another broadcaster.
According to The Verge, the system “uses facial recognition to identify and track the movements of individual players and features a simplified interface that only requires operators to tap an onscreen athlete they want to follow.”
On the NBC Sports app, it will “automatically extract footage of athletes in real time and crop them from horizontal broadcasts into a vertical orientation for mobile viewing” — in other words, an endless scroll of your favorite players in action.
The system can also “add overlays with a player’s name and stats,” and NBC plans to layer in additional “custom content” to the feature.
Final Round: NBC Sports will roll out the tech across its live event coverage this year, including the NFL, NBA, WNBA, and Premier League soccer. But the most important test case will be the Olympics — with the Winter Games in Italy this year — which have become the crown-jewel asset of NBCUniversal.
The company is already introducing cutting-edge features and blockbuster tie-ins to build hype for the Games, using the global stage to communicate to both pro leagues and advertisers that it deserves a gold-medal ranking above bigger competitors like Apple, Amazon, and YouTube. Expect the viztrick AiDi tech to be part of that pitch.
Next Games: For sports fans, following their favorite player on their phone while watching the same game on TV could become the ultimate second-screen experience.
Together with Shortform
How Many Books Are You Missing Out On?
Want to read more, but just don’t have enough time?
You need Shortform. Known for its superpowered book summaries, Shortform helps you digest the best non-fiction books fast — from biographies and business to self-help and beyond.
Why fans love reading (and listening) to Shortform:
In-depth guides and smart analysis for deeper understanding
One-page overviews, chapter breakdowns, and thought-provoking exercises
Connections between ideas from other books and authors
The best part? It costs less than the price of a new book each month.
PARTNERSHIPS | COMMUNITY | PODCAST | FRIENDS
Today’s email was written by David Vendrell.
Edited, Polled, & Copy-edited by Kait Cunniff.
Published by Darline Salazar.