AI Michaels the artificial intelligence will be coming to you with daily updates from the Paris Olympics. Al Michaels the broadcaster will not.
With 30 days to go before the Summer Olympics, NBCUniversal today unveiled Your Daily Olympic Recap on Peacock, which it calls “a first-of-its-kind, personalized experience complementing NBCUniversal’s comprehensive coverage of the Olympic Games Paris 2024.” And the voice behind the clips and recaps on the Peacock streaming service will be none other than legendary broadcaster Al Michaels. Except, it isn’t. It’ll be an AI-generated synthesis of Michaels’ voice atop replays from the day’s events.
While the voice is computer-generated, NBCUniversal editors will review everything going into the recap, including audio and the clips, to make sure the recaps are accurate, and for general quality assurance.
That’s just part of the technology that’s going into the show. It actually will be personalized to each Peacock viewer, and NBCUniversal predicts that there could be up to 7 million variants of the show streamed throughout the games, from more than 5,000 hours of footage over 40 events.
“Peacock continues to introduce unique customer-first features that strengthen our unmatched leadership in live streaming,” Kelly Campbell, president of Peacock and direct-to-consumer for NBCUniversal, said in a press release. “With these recaps alongside interactive elements like Peacock Live Actions and Discovery Multiview, we’re bringing the best of sports together with the best of technology to deliver fans a personalized Olympics experience in a way that’s never been possible before.”
You’ll create your own recap by hitting up the Olympics hub on Peacock’s home page, and then choosing the types of highlights you want. That will include your three favorite sports, preferred topics like behind-the-scenes looks and backstories, top competitions, and more.
Your Daily Olympic Recap on Peacock will be available starting June 27 in a web browser, and on the Peacock app on mobile devices. The first edition will include highlights from the Opening Ceremony. Personalized recaps will be served up starting the following day. Each recap should be around 10 minutes long, with a preview of what to expect from the NBC Primetime Olympics show each evening.
