Paris Olympics coverage to include AI

PARIS:

From the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics on July 26, US television coverage of the games will include celebrities, social media influencers and generative artificial intelligence (AI), NBCUniversal said on Wednesday.

The Comcast-owned media company, which paid $7.65 billion to renew its rights to air the Olympics in the US through 2032, is seeking to modernise how it covers the world’s largest sporting event.

The stakes are high for NBC, which needs to win back viewers who are eschewing live television in favor of streaming services and watching clips online. The pandemic delayed the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics and restricted attendance at the Beijing 2022 Winter games, which drew the smallest primetime viewership since NBCUniversal began airing the Olympics.

Fans will be able to view personalised daily recaps of the Olympic competition created by generative AI and narrated by AI versions of people such as legendary sports commentator Al Michaels, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts said during a presentation in New York City. Nearly 7 million different variations of the recaps could be created over the course of the games, Roberts said.

In another sign of the times, NBC Sports anchors including Mike Tirico will share coverage duties with personalities like rapper Snoop Dogg and Call Her Daddy podcast host Alex Cooper in order to attract younger viewers. Snoop Dogg will interview and tell the stories of Team USA athletes as well as their parents. Cooper will host interactive live shows on NBCUniversal’s streaming service Peacock.

“I thought, what can we do that’s going to be different and truly gets my young audience to want to engage with the Olympics?” Cooper said. “I understand Gen Z — we’ve got to be quick, we got to keep it moving.”

The celebrities will be joined by 27 social media influencers who will film their own content in Paris for platforms including Meta, TikTok and Snapchat. The Paris Olympics coverage will include more elements like behind-the-scenes footage and pop culture discussion to encompass the most popular genres across television, NBCUniversal executives said.

One highlight reel featured rapper Cardi B meeting with American track and field sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson. “We’ll have the best drama, the best reality and the best comedy show all rolled into one,” said Rick Cordella, president of NBC Sports.