The NBA has big plans for the 2020-2021 season. For the past few years, NBA commissioner Adam Silver has been implementing new policies and technology in order to improve the NBA experience. Technology such as player tracking, media analysis and partnerships with various companies has greatly improved consuming basketball content. The latest partnership between the NBA and Microsoft aims to change the way NBA broadcasts are done.
As of now, the NBA season is on hold due to the coronavirus outbreak, though the association is using the time to look into how to improve broadcasting and fan interaction, with the NBA doing a great deal of work to bring the most up-to-date coverage of games straight to NBA fans. Adam Silver has talked about implementing VR seats into games as well as finding a way to provide broadcasts over social media without any restrictions, and teaming up with Microsoft may be the way to introduce even more technology to the NBA.
During this partnership, games will be broadcast on Microsoft Azure and feature live stats personalized for the viewer. The broadcast will use AI to possibly determine stats, player information, and clips to provide as much data in a video overlay. The broadcasting has been compared to NBA 2K, which has been used as an alternative to live games recently.
The broadcast system will also have a reward system for viewers. Watching and interacting can grant viewers rewards such as badges and streaks and could potentially earn them discounts for tickets and merchandise. Although the system is still in development, it is expected to use AI for many of the mechanics including creating customized content like highlights and news. It will be interesting to see how sponsorships and partnerships shift with the new technology. NBA is partnered with many companies to provide deals and brand awareness, so having Microsoft on board seems like a good move.
When announcing the Microsoft partnership, Adam Silver says, “Our goal, working with Microsoft, is to create customized content that allows fans — whether they are in an NBA arena or watching from anywhere around the world — to immerse themselves in all aspects of the game and engage directly with our teams and players.”
