How the 2024 Olympics broadcasting is using AI

US broadcasting of the 2024 Paris Olympics is set to be a showcase of generative AI, stemming from AI-enhanced Google Maps images to AI-generated broadcasting voice. However, the European audiences aren’t going to have a similar experience. Let’s take a look at how this year’s Olympics broadcast in the US and Europe is embracing, or not embracing, the use of generative AI.
Warner Bros. Discovery, which will stream the Games on its Max and Discovery+ streaming platforms across Europe, received demos from tech companies to translate speech into other languages. However, the demos have lacked the emotion that comes with heart-racing sports moments, said Scott Young, senior vice president at Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe.
“In every part of their (demos), it feels like yes, you’ve translated the words correctly, but you haven’t translated or narrated the feeling,” he said.
For instance, when Italian sprinter Marcell Jacobs stunned the world by winning gold in the men’s 100 metres in Tokyo, Italian commentators screamed their reactions, showing the genuine moment of “experts sitting side-by-side, really living out that story,” Young said. “It is very hard to automatically generate that.”
Given how quickly AI capabilities are advancing, it may not be long until European sports fans see more of the technology. “We’re probably just one Summer Games away from where the real impact will be for us,” Young said.
Meanwhile, US audiences will experience AI when they watch the Games on NBC or streaming service Peacock due to a new partnership between NBCUniversal, Google, and Team USA.
AI-enhanced Google Map images of the Olympic venues will help viewers get a feel of Paris and NBC’s hosts will demonstrate how Google AI search can answer questions about the competitions.
NBCUniversal will also use generative AI to create personalised daily briefings of the Olympic events, which will be narrated by an AI re-creation of sports commentator Al Michaels’ voice. Almost seven million different variations of the daily recaps could be created throughout the Paris Olympics, NBCUniversal said.
The media company has the largest Olympics broadcast rights deal in the world and paid $7.65 billion to air the Games through 2032. The Olympic Broadcasting Services, which produces neutral coverage that can be used by media companies around the world, is also embracing AI. This is being done by AI quickly cutting vast amounts of footage into brief highlights, even though NBCUniversal previously told Reuters the use of AI in such a way ran the risk of deepfakes and “tampering with reality.”