While the Paris Olympics will be a showcase for generative AI for American audiences, European audiences are unlikely to see a similar approach — a contrast that reflects how media companies around the world are considering using the technology.
Comcast-owned NBCUniversal is using AI in its U.S. coverage of the Olympics, including recreating the voices of legendary sportscasters, while Warner Bros. Discovery’s European sports division says the technology is still in its early stages for roles like sports commentary.
Warner Bros. Discovery, which will distribute the Olympics on its Max and Discovery+ streaming platforms across Europe, received demos from tech companies that translated audio into other languages, but the demos lacked the emotion that accompanies exciting sporting moments, said Scott Young, senior vice president of Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe.
“Whenever I look at any part of their (demo), I feel like they’re translating the words correctly, but they’re not translating or speaking the emotions,” he said.
For example, when Italian sprinter Marcel Jacobs stunned the world by winning gold in the 100 meters in Tokyo, Italian commentators shouted their reactions, with experts sitting next to each other and providing an authentic moment of actually living out the story, Young said. “That’s very difficult to create automatically.”
American audience
Meanwhile, a new partnership between NBCUniversal, Google and Team USA will mean US viewers will experience AI when watching the Olympics on NBC and streaming service Peacock.
AI-enhanced Google Maps imagery of Olympic venues will help viewers get a feel for Paris, and NBC hosts will demonstrate how Google AI search answers questions about the games.
NBCUniversal will also use generative AI to create personalized briefings for each day of the Olympic events, narrated by an AI-created voice of sports commentator Al Michaels.
NBCUniversal said nearly 7 million variations of daily recaps could be produced during the Paris Olympics.
The media company has the world’s largest Olympic rights deal, having paid $7.65 billion for the Games through 2032.
The Olympic Broadcasting Service, which provides impartial coverage for media companies around the world, is also using AI to help it quickly compile vast amounts of footage into short highlights, but previously told Reuters it remained wary of the risks of deepfakes and “reality tampering”.
Given how quickly AI capabilities are improving, it may not be long before European sports fans start seeing more of this technology.
“The only time it’s really going to have an impact on us is probably one more Summer Olympics,” Young said.
The next Summer Olympics will be in Los Angeles in 2028.
