NBC uses AI recreation of Al Michaels’ voice for Olympic summaries

To support its extensive coverage of the Summer Olympics in Paris, NBC is leveraging major advances in AI to recreate the voice of renowned anchor Al Michaels. The network announced plans to use the AI-generated voice to create customizable recaps of fans’ favorite sports throughout the Olympics. Normally, it would be impossible for Michaels to deliver recaps of every event on any given day during the jam-packed games, but with AI, much more is possible.

However, the station could not use the famous voice without the owner’s consent. First, Michaels had a few questions.

“How would I sound?” said Michaels Vanity Fair his initial skepticism. “Would I sound like a guy who only spouts clichés? Would my voice be different?”

When the longtime NBC face heard how well the technology mimicked his speech and even his speaking rhythm, he was convinced.

“Honestly, it was amazing. It was unbelievable,” Michaels told VF’s Tom Kludt. “And it was a little scary… It wasn’t just close, it was almost 2% off ideal… I just thought, ‘Wow.'”

Even with yesterday’s technology, it is not too difficult to imitate speech. But the fact that the AI ​​learns Michaels’ way of speaking was just as important to the broadcaster as the question of how he would sound.

“They were able to do exactly what I – I shouldn’t say ‘exactly,'” Michaels said, referring to the AI. “It sounded like what I could we say in certain situations.”

The 79-year-old’s quick adaptation to today’s innovations earned Michaels praise from NBC Sports President Rick Cordella, who told reporters he was the “perfect choice.”

“Al deserves credit for his enthusiasm for this technology,” Cordella said.

How does the technology actually work? NBC will use a “large language model” to analyze the network’s Olympics coverage using various subtitles and metadata, then summarize the day’s events. The feature will be called “Your Daily Olympic Recap” on Peacock. The model has also been trained to learn the unique pronunciations that crop up during sporting events. The recap videos will be about 10 minutes long and will include the highlights.

The 2024 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad, will be held in Paris, France. Coverage will begin with the opening ceremony on July 26. The games will conclude on August 11. In a first for Peacock at the Summer Games, the platform will stream every event in every sport, with full replays of the events available.

RedZone’s Scott Hanson co-hosts the Olympic Gold Zone

NFL RedZone fans are excited Scott Hanson will be back on TV sooner than expected. The RedZone host is teaming up with Sunday Ticket host Andrew Siciliano to broadcast the “Gold Zone,” a wrap-around highlight show for the Summer Olympics. The Goldzone will be available on NBC’s streaming platform, Peacock. The broadcast team for Goldzone Other moderators include Matt Iseman and Akbar Gbajabiamila.

Goldzone will be streamed live on Peacock from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET daily throughout the games.

“At the Olympic Games in Paris, up to 40 events take place simultaneously. Goldzone will bring viewers the best and most exciting moments at any given time,” NBC said in a press release. “The daily live show will take fans through the excitement, triumphs and emotions of the Games, examining all of the day’s events to bring viewers the most exciting moments and key races, routines and finishes live.

“Goldzone“The daily offering will provide viewers with the most comprehensive and all-encompassing live coverage of any Olympic Games ever.”

Andrew Siciliano previously hosted NBC’s live broadcast Goldzone Coverage during the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and the 2016 Rio Olympics. Matt Iseman and Akbar Gbajabiamila are currently co-hosts of NBC’s American Ninja Warrior. It is the third and second time, respectively, that the duo has covered the Olympics. The various hosts of Peacock’s Goldzone will also invite special guests during the daily reporting.