Peacock Gives Al Michaels the AI Voice Treatment for Paris Olympics
Al Michaels will get the AI voice treatment for the upcoming Paris Olympics.
Peacock will employ a generative AI software to create custom recaps of each day’s biggest events and victories while emulating the veteran sportcaster’s voice, the streamer announced at a Wednesday press event at NBC’s 30 Rock headquarters.
The synopses, which Peacock has dubbed “Your Daily Olympic Recap on Peacock,” will be tailored to viewers’ specific interests, even greeting viewers by their names. Viewers will select their three favorite sports and preferred topics, which include behind-the-scenes moments, backstories, viral and trending moments, top competition and a spotlight on international teams.
Drawing from 5,000 hours of live coverage from the summer games, the recaps will be delivered in the form of a 10-minute “playlist” which will spotlight the previous day’s highlights and serve as a scene-setter for the day to come. NBC projects that nearly 7 million personalized variants could be created over the course of the Paris Olympics.
Created in collaboration with generative AI and AI voice synthesis technology, the voice re-creation of the 79-year-old is a result of training from Michaels’ past appearances on NBC.
“When I was approached about this, I was skeptical but obviously curious,” Michaels said at the event. “Then I saw a demonstration detailing what they had in mind. I said, ‘I’m in.’”
The recaps will be featured on Peacock’s homepage and Olympics hub, and will be individual profile-specific, meaning that up to six users on one account can receive their own personalized recaps.
“Peacock continues to introduce unique customer-first features that strengthen our unmatched leadership in live streaming,” Peacock and NBCUniversal direct-to-consumer president Kelly Campbell said in a statement. “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.”
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