Sports Innovation 2024: Wonderment and Warnings in Equal Measure as AI Dominates Dsseldorf Event
25/03/2024
Friday, March 22, 2024 - 09:00
Print This Story
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and in particular Generative AI (GenAI) was a key talking point at Sports Innovation 2024 in D sseldorf this week (20-21 March 2024) with interesting broadcast-related innovations countered by warnings about the challenges AI might pose.
The Deutsche Fu ball Liga (DFL) hosted event at the Merkur Spiel-Arena adjacent to the Rhine in the North of the city welcomed visitors from across Europe who came to hear about innovations not just in broadcasting but also fan experience, stadium technology and performance analysis.
Those with a TV or media sensibility would have taken note of the cameras and camera systems, graphics applications, viewer experiences, and more, but at the heart of many on-stage presentations, and the conversations in the networking area and on the booths (regardless of the technology on show) was AI.
On stage, the DFL, for one, announced that it has extended its partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS), a move that will see GenAI used to create multiple real-time personalised text versions of match commentary during Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 matches.
But, in his opening comments, DFL CEO Steffen Merkel argued that the sports world has a responsibility when it comes to GenAI, citing the problems that Deep Fakes might cause ahead of the US Election.
GenAI is a skills amplifier, not a skills democratiser. If you suck at your job, you are still going to suck!
Viewers are looking for emotions, he said, and the next media rights packages being tendered for the Bundesliga will be different, with different offerings for all generations. But at no point will there be any doubt as to what is real and what is not.
We welcome progress, he said. We will use AI where it helps us create media. But we will always make clear what is genuine and what is not. It is our duty to be a role model.
He added that the DFL is developing guidelines on the use of AI and GenAI.
During Navigate the AI Revolution: Strategies for Leadership and Innovation, Shelly Palmer from The Palmer Group provided some historical background on AI, before declaring about GenAI: The only way to get anything out of those tools is through subject matter expertise. Anyone can prompt craft and prompt engineer. But if you are great at your job, this toolset will make you three to five times more productive. It is a skills amplifier, not a skills democratiser. If you suck at your job, you are still going to suck!
To succeed, you have to innovate workflow and process innovation in parallel to GenAI, he added.
Away from AI, DFL-subsidiary Sportcast, the host broadcaster of the Bundesliga, showcased the Top Match concept for its biggest matches.
With academy players from Bundesliga teams playing a training game on the stadium pitch, Tim Achberger, head of innovation & technology management at Sportcast, talked the delegates through the 52-camera set-up covering the game, highlighting specialist cameras in particular.
A motorised dolly (or buggy cam) was first up. For Bundesliga games, this can be located on the touchline from 60 yards along up to near the corner flag, following a fixed line. It can also be used to add movement on the pitch before or after the game, and as a corner cam' during the game, capturing close-ups of the kicker.
Being close to the game and the players is important for us, he said. Cinema cameras are something we see more and more. It is interesting because you see closeness and sharpness.
We added remote cameras to offer a reverse view of the [subs bench] too. It just focuses on the players and coaches and we can provide a split screen too. We think this can add value to our Top Match Concept.
Cinema cameras are something we see more and more. It is interesting because you see closeness and sharpness.
On a similar theme, Achberger also covered Body cams, with two players wearing vests with cameras that provide a footballer's point of view of the action.
This innovation has already been used in the German Super Cup during the warm-ups. In Dusseldorf, delegates were shown a live shot from the chest of the players during the game. Usage of this kind of technology will only be possible with authorisation from the sport's governing and regulatory bodies, of course.
A high-speed drone, a Ref cam and a Game Mode Camera giving a video game-like experience (much like the one trialled at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium for Premier League games) were also shown.
The latter camera was smaller than the one used in England. We want to see when is the right point to integrate it for our core production, said Achberger.
Remote production on Bundesliga 2 was also discussed, with plans to go remote from the next rights cycle.
A demo showed a seven-camera setup with electric cars powering an on-site tech hub. Signals were sent via a 5Gb line using JPEG XS compression back to Cologne where they were switched and graphics added before being outputted. Everything in the Production Operation Centre was software and IP-based.
Achberger and his colleague in Cologne agreed: For the crew, it feels like they are in the OB van and they can control the set up as usual. The hardware we need is quite small. It fits in one server rack.
11 partners were involved in this set-up: EVS, Grass Valley, Hyundai, RTL, Riedel, Lawo, TV Skyline, TVN and VIDI
We are looking for the right set-up to understand how we will produce from 2025, concluded Achberger.
Sport Innovation 2024 took place in Dusseldorf 20-21 March.
Read more Sports Innovation 2024: New viewing experiences and tracking systems provide a glimpse into the future
LINK: | https://www.svgeurope.org/blog/headlines/sports-innovation-2024-wonder... |
See more stories from svg |
More from Sports Video Group
26/04/2024
NBA Playoffs 2024: ESPN Rolls Out Huge Production Operation for Busy First Round
NBA Playoffs 2024: ESPN Rolls Out Huge Production Operation for Busy First Round Tech deployments include miked on-field personnel, shot-distance tracking, AR g...
26/04/2024
NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs: ESPN Ops Team Navigates Both Sides of the Border With Canadian Teams' Strong Showing
NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs: ESPN Ops Team Navigates Both Sides of the Border With ...
26/04/2024
NFL Draft 2024: Behind the Scenes in Downtown Detroit (Photo Gallery)
Behind the Scenes at the 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit (Photo Gallery) After just the first round, the 2024 NFL Draft has already made quite an impression in Detroi...
26/04/2024
NFL Draft 2024: Van Wagner Powers Onsite Entertainment Experience for Record Crowds in Detroit
NFL Draft 2024: Van Wagner Powers Onsite Entertainment Experience for Record Cro...
25/04/2024
NFL Draft 2024: NFL Network Embraces Motown Groove With Massive Production That Goes Beyond Detroit
NFL Draft 2024: NFL Network Embraces Motown Groove With Massive Production That ...
25/04/2024
NFL Draft 2024: Verizon Expands Broadband Capacity To Handle the Spike in Demand
NFL Draft 2024: Verizon Expands Broadband Capacity To Handle the Spike in Demand Mobile cells will help accommodate first responders, social media, sports betti...
25/04/2024
NFL Draft 2024: NFL Media Teams With The Fantasy Footballers on Hybrid, REMI Production of Post-First-Round Draft Show on NFL+
NFL Draft 2024: NFL Media Teams With The Fantasy Footballers on Hybrid, REMI Pro...
25/04/2024
NFL Draft 2024: ESPN Motors Into Detroit With Trio of Simultaneous Live Presentations
NFL Draft 2024: ESPN Motors Into Detroit With Trio of Simultaneous Live Presenta...
24/04/2024
Howie Schwab - Beloved ESPN Researcher, Producer, and Trivia Star - Dies at 63
Howie Schwab - Beloved ESPN Researcher, Producer, and Trivia Star - Dies at 63 By SVG Staff Wednesday, April 24, 2024 - 6:46 am Print This Story | Subscri...
24/04/2024
Miss the SVG Venue Summit at Allegiant Stadium? All Panel Recordings Now Available on SVG PLAY
Miss the SVG Venue Summit at Allegiant Stadium? All Panel Recordings Now Availab...
23/04/2024
Soccer's Appeal to Younger Audiences: Inside the Gamification of European Football Coverage
Soccer's Appeal to Younger Audiences: Inside the Gamification of European Fo...
23/04/2024
With NBA and NHL Playoffs in Full Swing, Never a Dull Moment for TNT Sports Production and Ops Teams
With NBA and NHL Playoffs in Full Swing, Never a Dull Moment for TNT Sports Prod...
23/04/2024
NAB 2024: AT&T Business's Scott Beckett Details Transmission Firepower With Robo Dog, Mini Copter
NAB 2024: AT&T Business's Scott Beckett Details Transmission Firepower With ...
23/04/2024
NAB 2024: Manufacturers Focus on Cinematic Look for Live Productions
NAB 2024: Manufacturers focus on cinematic look for live productions By George Bevir Tuesday, April 23, 2024 - 10:40 Print This Story With live sports pro...
23/04/2024
Save the Date: SVG Sports Content Management Forum Returns to NYC on July 24
Save the Date: SVG Sports Content Management Forum Returns to NYC on July 24 By SVG Staff Tuesday, April 23, 2024 - 4:05 pm Print This Story | Subscribe ...
22/04/2024
NEP Battles Weather to Keep the Going Good for Grand National Coverage
NEP battles weather to keep the going good for Grand National coverage By Adrian Pennington Monday, April 15, 2024 - 11:48 Print This Story The 2024 Grand...
22/04/2024
ITV Racing Under Starters Orders Live at the Grand National Festival
ITV Racing under starters orders live at the Grand National Festival By Adrian Pennington Friday, April 12, 2024 - 09:10 Print This Story The Grand Nation...
22/04/2024
Inside the Deal: EFL Fans to View Enhanced Broadcasts For the Next Five Seasons as IMG Becomes Official Production Partner
Inside the deal: EFL fans to view enhanced broadcasts for the next five seasons ...
22/04/2024
To 4G, or Not To 4G: EMG on Bringing the Iconic 2024 London Marathon to Viewers Globally
To 4G, or not to 4G: EMG on bringing the iconic 2024 London Marathon to viewers ...
22/04/2024
NAB Show 2024: Our Full Collection of Video Interviews From the Show Floor
NAB Show 2024: Our Full Collection of Video Interviews From the Show Floor Industry insights from key leaders on the NAB Show exhibit floor By SVG Staff Mond...
22/04/2024
PENN Entertainment Adds ESPN/Disney Exec Aaron LeBerge as CTO
PENN Entertainment Adds ESPN/Disney Exec Aaron LeBerge as CTO By SVG Staff Monday, April 22, 2024 - 3:18 pm Print This Story | Subscribe Story Highlight...
19/04/2024
NAB 2024 in Review: West Hall - SportsTech Buzz From AWS, Appear, Ateme, The Switch, TATA Communications, Telstra, TVU Networks, Verizon, and More
NAB 2024 in Review: West Hall - SportsTech Buzz From AWS, Appear, Ateme, The Swi...
19/04/2024
NAB 2024 Draws 61,000+ Attendees With More Than Half Attending the Show for the First Time
NAB 2024 Draws 61,000+ Attendees With More Than Half Attending the Show for the ...
18/04/2024
Ping Pong for the Masses: Bringing an Old Sport to a Brand New Audience With World Table Tennis
Ping pong for the masses: Bringing an old sport to a brand new audience with Wor...
18/04/2024
Fanatical Fans: IMG on Bringing the World of Table Tennis to a New Global Audience for WTT
Fanatical fans: IMG on bringing the world of table tennis to a new global audien...
17/04/2024
Live From NAB Show 2024: Zixi CEO Gordon Brooks on Live Cloud Production with the NHL and Version 17 of the Zixi Platform
Live From NAB Show 2024: Zixi CEO Gordon Brooks on Live Cloud Production with th...
17/04/2024
SportsTechBuzz at NAB 2024: Wednesday's Latest From Vegas
SportsTechBuzz at NAB 2024: Wednesday's Latest From Vegas By SVG Staff Wednesday, April 17, 2024 - 3:00 am Print This Story The NAB Show is in full sw...
17/04/2024
Live From NAB Show 2024: Zixi CEO Gordon Brooks on Live Cloud Production with the NHL and Version 12 of the Zixi Platform
Live From NAB Show 2024: Zixi CEO Gordon Brooks on Live Cloud Production with th...
16/04/2024
SportsTechBuzz at NAB 2024: Tuesday's Latest From Vegas
SportsTechBuzz at NAB 2024: Tuesday's Latest From Vegas By SVG Staff Tuesday, April 16, 2024 - 3:15 am Print This Story The NAB Show is in full swing,...
16/04/2024
Live From NAB Show 2024: Calrec's Henry Goodman, Solid State Logic's Tom Knowles on Audio in the Cloud
Live From NAB Show 2024: Calrecs Henry Goodman, Solid State Logics Tom Knowles o...
16/04/2024
Live From NAB Show 2024: The Switch's George Lopez on Remote Production, The Cloud, and the Future of Connectivity
Live From NAB Show 2024: The Switchs George Lopez on Remote Production, The Clou...
16/04/2024
Live From NAB Show 2024: LiveU's Steve Wind-Mozley on IP, REMI Solutions for Light Weight Production
Live From NAB Show 2024: LiveUs Steve Wind-Mozley on IP, REMI Solutions for Ligh...
16/04/2024
Live From NAB Show 2024: Blackmagic Design's Bob Caniglia on Upgrades to ATEM Production Switchers, Recent Work in Replay and IP
Live From NAB Show 2024: Blackmagic Designs Bob Caniglia on Upgrades to ATEM Pro...
16/04/2024
Live From NAB Show 2024: Canon's Staff Gives a Tour of New Lenses, Multi-Camera Control App, Enhanced Use of Free Viewpoint
Live From NAB Show 2024: Canons Staff Gives a Tour of New Lenses, Multi-Camera C...
15/04/2024
SportsTechBuzz at NAB 2024: Monday's Latest From Vegas
SportsTechBuzz at NAB 2024: Monday's Latest From Vegas By SVG Staff Monday, April 15, 2024 - 3:00 am Print This Story The NAB Show is in full swing, a...
15/04/2024
Live From NAB Show 2024: Vizrt's Nicholas Jameson on the Democratization of High-End Graphics Tech
Live From NAB Show 2024: Vizrts Nicholas Jameson on the Democratization of High-...
15/04/2024
Live From NAB Show 2024: Sony's Hugo Gaggioni on the Power of Sharing and Connecting Live Production Resources
Live From NAB Show 2024: Sonys Hugo Gaggioni on the Power of Sharing and Connect...
15/04/2024
Live From NAB Show 2024: Lawo's Andreas Hilmer Walks Through HOME Apps, Dishes Latest on IP
Live From NAB Show 2024: Lawos Andreas Hilmer Walks Through HOME Apps, Dishes La...
15/04/2024
Live From NAB Show 2024: AWS' Julie Souza on the Maturation of Live Sports Production in the Cloud
Live From NAB Show 2024: AWS Julie Souza on the Maturation of Live Sports Produc...
15/04/2024
Live From NAB Show 2024: FUJINON Lenses' Stosh Durbacz on the Debut of the Duvo HZK14-100mm Lens, Adding Cinematic Feel to Broadcasts
Live From NAB Show 2024: FUJINON Lenses Stosh Durbacz on the Debut of the Duvo H...
14/04/2024
SportsTechBuzz at NAB 2024: Sunday's Latest From Vegas
SportsTechBuzz at NAB 2024: Sunday's Latest From Vegas By SVG Staff Sunday, April 14, 2024 - 12:41 am Print This Story The NAB Show kicks off today, a...
14/04/2024
Live From NAB Show 2024: Program Productions' Bob Carzoli on Investment Growth and Supporting Freelancers with the ProCrewz App
Live From NAB Show 2024: Program Productions Bob Carzoli on Investment Growth an...
14/04/2024
Live From NAB Show 2024: Appear's Thomas Bostrm Jrgensen, Alex Pannell, and Ed McGivern on Backing the Continued Growth of Live Sports
Live From NAB Show 2024: Appears Thomas Bostr m J rgensen, Alex Pannell, and Ed ...
14/04/2024
Live From NAB Show 2024: Amagi's Dan Marshall on Migrating On-Prem Data Centers to The Cloud and the Exciting Growth of FAST Channels
Live From NAB Show 2024: Amagis Dan Marshall on Migrating On-Prem Data Centers t...
14/04/2024
Live From NAB Show 2024: Ross Video's David Ross on Celebrating 50 Years with Major Product Intros
Live From NAB Show 2024: Ross Videos David Ross on Celebrating 50 Years with Maj...
14/04/2024
NAB 2024: NHL, Verizon Business, and AWS Roll Out 5G-enabled Cloud Broadcasting Solution
NAB 2024: NHL, Verizon Business, and AWS Roll Out 5G-enabled Cloud Broadcasting ...
12/04/2024
Inside the MultiVersus NHL Face-Off' Live Animated Broadcast With the NHL's David Lehanski and Keith Horstman
Inside the MultiVersus NHL Face-Off' Live Animated Broadcast With the NHL...