- June 28, 2024
- AI in Business
On Wednesday, NBCUniversal, the American media company, unveiled its plan to implement an artificial intelligence version of the famous sports broadcaster to provide personalized daily highlights of the Olympic events.
The automated narration, featuring Hall of Fame announcer Al Michaels, will provide personalized recaps tailored to individual viewers on the Peacock streaming platform, the company explained. Al Michaels, a well-known broadcaster who has covered nine Olympics during his career for NBC Sports and ABC Sports, expressed his initial skepticism that turned to curiosity when he was first approached about the project. “I was skeptical at first, but intrigued,” Michaels said in a statement. “After seeing a demonstration of their vision, I agreed to participate.”
According to NBCUniversal, the AI was developed using Michaels’ voice and his previous appearances on NBC. “We are combining the pinnacle of sport with cutting-edge technology to offer fans a unique, personalized Olympic experience like never before,” Kelly Campbell, president of Peacock, said in a statement.
The collaboration with Michaels comes amid a broader effort by musicians, actors, and other professionals to prevent AI models from using their likeness or voice without consent. NBCUniversal anticipates that nearly 7 million unique, personalized daily Olympic highlights will be streamed in the US during the Paris Games.
This advanced technology will analyze NBC Sports footage to create daily playlists of highlights from the previous 24 hours while previewing the day’s upcoming events. To ensure accuracy and quality, NBCUniversal’s editorial team will review all content created, the company said. NBC and Peacock will provide live coverage of the Olympic Games starting with the opening ceremony on July 26.
