Major League Baseball is starting to look and sound like a video game.
First, the league announced that they will use the crowd noise from Sony’s MLB video game, and now Fox will use cutting-edge virtual crowds in their broadcasts.
Is that how it works:
Fox Sports, in its twenty-fifth year of MLB game broadcast, has partnered with Silver Spoon Animation to create the technology. The company said they are using Pixatope software. Sports Business Journal previously reported on Fox’s virtual crowd technology.
A Fox spokesperson told CNBC that the network tested the software at Chase Field in Arizona about three weeks ago. Passed the test.
At first, we will see virtual crowds only in the wide shots, but eventually the technology will be able to show close-ups of the players, the fans looking for home runs and maybe, if we’re lucky, the Kiss Cam.
Fox said the level of detail will even allow the network to control which team of fans the crowds use and how they react to specific plays. For example, virtual fans can leave the stadium if it appears that the home team is going to lose in a blowout.
Fox is looking to make the stream feel as natural and natural as possible, so the technology will be used sparingly and is not expected to be used for every play. Fox told CNBC that he is also “exploring” the use of virtual fans on NFL broadcasts when the season begins in September, but it has not yet ended.
The new normal
As baseball returns without fans in the stands, we’ve seen all kinds of unique innovations. Many teams are experimenting with using cardboard cutout fans, in which fans can pay around $ 100 to have their image appear on a cardboard cutout in the stands. The Dodgers even go a step further by opening a special dog section.
To fill the void for fans from an audio perspective, MLB told CNBC that they are providing each team with a variety of crowd sounds and an iPad that can be integrated into their stadium sound system to help manage noise. artificial crowd. The sounds of the crowd will be audible to staff on the field and during television and radio broadcasts. Also, fans of the house can hear their voices in real time practically cheering or booing with the noise entering the stadium.
It is all an attempt to create that sense of normality for America’s favorite hobby in a year that is far from normal. It is forcing teams and executives to think innovatively for creative solutions to problems they probably never imagined.
Players seem to be taking the new normal calmly. Appearing on “Squawk on the Street” Thursday, sports agent Scott Boras said his players can’t wait to get back on the field.
“The players I represent have waited a long time for this day, so we are all very excited.”
Boras said he doesn’t think all of the improvements affect the fan experience.
“You are going to see players who you recognize are the best players in the world. What happens in the stands and in the surroundings will surely be different … the cake is the same, but the icing may be a little different.” Boras said.
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