NBC’s Peacock will be the streaming media host for the 2024 Paris Olympics. The company plans to provide 5,000 hours of live coverage of the upcoming Olympics and “will host up to 40 Olympic events simultaneously every day.”
It’s not easy to keep up with all the action, which is why the streamer has created a new personalized recap show that will be tailored to your interests and feature AI-generated footage from legendary broadcaster Al Michaels ) dubbing.
Titled “Peacock Daily Olympic Review,” the streamer uses generative artificial intelligence and “AI speech synthesis technology” to recreate Michaels’ voice to introduce clips and summarize the action.
Brian Roberts, chairman and CEO of NBCUniversal parent Comcast, said at an event in New York that the idea of using artificial intelligence “purely for entertainment and public good” stemmed from Peacock’s preparations to broadcast its Exclusively during the NFL Wild Card Playoffs. The company used Michaels’ years of experience working at NBC to train the model, he said.
Michaels, 79, is best known for his decades-long career as a broadcaster, providing the voice for iconic moments such as the “Miracle on Ice” during the 1980 Winter Olympics and serving as chief play-by-play announcer. World Series and Super Bowl. He spent several years hosting ABC’s Monday Night Football and NBC’s Sunday Night Football, and now he’s hosting Thursday Night Football for Amazon.
“When I was asked about this, I was skeptical, but obviously curious,” Michaels said in a statement accompanying the news release. “Then I saw a demonstration detailing their ideas. I said, ‘I’m in.'”
The real-life Michaels will not be hosting any events for NBC or Peacock during the Olympics.
Peacock will use an AI version of Al Michaels to create a personalized recap of the Paris Olympics.
Starting July 27, these recaps will be available in Peacock’s Olympic Center and on the service’s home page. , ranging from behind-the-scenes footage and top matches to “viral and trending moments.” Personalized reviews will begin on July 28, the first day of the event.
Profiles can be customized for each user on the account, so if you have multiple profiles, each profile can get its own customized profile. These recaps can be viewed in a web browser on your computer and in the Peacock app for iOS and iPadOS as long as you are running iOS 14 or iPadOS 14 or later.
There is no support for Android devices, TVs, or other platforms for which the company has apps. These AI-enabled Al Michaels recaps will only be available for the Olympics and will not appear in other sports content produced by NBC, such as the NFL.
The highlights show, drawn from clips produced by NBC Sports, will be a playlist “approximately 10 minutes in length, highlighting the most relevant moments of the previous day for each user and looking ahead to what fans can expect to see on NBC primetime.” exhibit.
NBC said editors will “review all content, including audio and clips, to ensure quality and accuracy before providing recaps to users.”
