Thursday Night Football Deep Dive: Amazon Prime Video Embraces HDR, AI, Next-Gen Stats in Year 2 of Exclusive NFL Package A major goal is to enable fans to watch the game the way coaches and players watch it By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor
Thursday, August 24, 2023 - 3:28 pm
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All TNF games will be produced and delivered in 1080p HDR.
The Prime Vision alternative stream will now feature Prime Targets, Defensive Alerts, Fourth Down Territory, and Field Goal Target Zone data-visualizations.
Prime has once again deployed an intricate transmission and live-streaming scheme to offer reliability, low latency, and synchronization for viewers.
AI/ML will power X-Ray, Rapid Recaps, and new Key Moments interactive features.
Amazon Prime Video kicks off its lone preseason game tonight in preparation for its 16-game NFL regular-season slate, and viewers can once again expect plenty of high-tech production and storytelling tools to be part of the coverage. After winning its first Sports Emmy Award following the inaugural season of its exclusive primetime NFL package, Prime is looking to crank up the tech quotient yet again in year two.
The bar for primetime NFL coverage is really high, says Betsy Riley, senior coordinating producer, live events, Prime Video, and we believe that we have a strong foundation in place after last year. We have 50-plus cameras, a state-of-the-art production-truck fleet, and some very cool features and unique ways to watch the game. With all that in place, we're now focused on how we can make football fans' Thursday nights even more special.
In addition to producing and distributing all games in HDR for the first time, Prime has upped the ante on its use of AI and NFL Next-Gen Stats (powered by AWS) to drive in-game data visualizations on both the primary broadcast and Prime Vision alternative feed, as well as to create automated real-time highlights throughout the game.
HDR From Glass to Glass: Prime Enters the HDR Era After producing TNF games in 1080p HDR but distributing them in SDR last year, Prime will be end-to-end HDR this season. In the lead-up to the 2022 season, Prime worked with Game Creek Video to build the native-IP Prime One and Prime Two mobile units (along with the Prime Three office trailer), which were 4K HDR-ready from the outset. With all games produced in HDR last season, Prime conducted extensive HDR transmission tests throughout the year. However, tonight's preseason opener will be the first TNF game to reach streaming viewers in HDR.
Amazon's Prime One mobile units from Game Creek Video are back for their second season of TNF.
We're delivering games in native HDR, says Riley. That means from the camera lens all the way through to what the customers will see on screen is in HDR. We received feedback that our picture quality was excellent in SDR, but we think people are going to be wowed by the picture quality this year.
Each week, Prime One (A, B, C, D, and E units) will produce the game, and Prime Two (a standalone truck) will serve TNF's traveling pre/half/post studio show. Per Amazon's protocols, both mobile units are fully redundant in every facet, from the routing core to the cameras. In addition to 1080p HDR video, all games and studio shows are produced in Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound. Besides the primary game feed, these trucks are responsible for producing the Prime Vision enhanced-graphics feed, Spanish-language feed, and, on most weeks, a talent-driven alternative presentation (TNF in the Shop and TNF With Dude Perfect) - all in 1080p HDR.
The Prime One and Prime Two debuted last season and are among the most technologically advanced mobile units on the road today.
Although multiple broadcasters have already been producing NFL games in HDR, Prime believes it holds a major advantage due to Amazon's live-streaming-technology prowess and the fact that TNF's DTC streaming model is not constrained by local broadcast affiliates and/or MVPDs, which can affect the video quality of the final product that fans see on their TVs and devices.
Since we are a streamer, says Riley, we have the ability to reach our customers more directly, and we don't have to risk degradation of signals by going through local affiliates. That affords us the opportunity to deliver these pristine pictures all the way to the home.
A Leap Forward: AI, NFL Next-Gen Stats, and the Future of Data Visualization After debuting to much praise in 2022, the analytics-fueled Prime Vision alternative stream will see a number of enhancements this year. Prime Vision derives stats, data, and analytics from three live-data sources to enhance the broadcast. Custom logic and real-time graphic overlays are then used to offer viewers an insightful way to view the game.
As part of the Next-Gen Stats system, RFID chips in player shoulder pads are calibrated with the dedicated all-22 camera, allowing fans to see where all skill players are lined up before each play. Prime Vision then offers real-time recommendations based on thousands of data points on game scenarios along with player and coach tendencies. Prime's analytics team deploys AI and ML to provide viewers with deeper insights into the decision giving each team the best chance of winning in real time.
With Prime Vision, says Sam Schwartzstein, TNF analytics expert, Prime Video, we're not just providing analytics; we are genuinely telling a story with that data. We're not throwing metrics out to the fan; they're just watching the game in real time. They don't want to watch a spreadsheet; they want to watch football. That's what's so beautiful about what this process.
TNF's Prime Vision broadcast will heavily incorporate Prime Targets graphics, previously known as Open
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Thursday Night Football Deep Dive: Amazon Prime Video Embraces HDR, AI, Next-Gen Stats in Year 2 of Exclusive NFL Package A major goal is to enable fans to watch the game the way coaches and players watch it By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor 
